Counsel #1 — Bias Pervasion And The Ideal

Picture: Counsel #1 — Bias Pervasion And The IdealCSI 36.1

Prejudice refers to conscious or unconscious biases we have about people that impact our individual decisions and actions toward them. These biases may be based on race, gender, class, age, religion, ethnicity, nationality, or even disability - to name a few.”^{[73]https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/permeation-race-national-origin-and-gender-issues-initial-law} Prejudice also impacts group policies and opportunities. For example, some ethnicities do not have the same access as White people to quality education, housing, health care, job opportunities for growth, mentoring and promotion, as well as other resources.CSI 36.2

Cultivated or inherited, prejudice is an inevitable part of the human condition. But what is God’s ideal concerning race, class, and gender relations, and as Christians how can we work toward that ideal? The Bible provides answers.CSI 36.3

“And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth.” Acts 17:26 NKJVCSI 36.4

“Whoever of the human family give themselves to Christ, whoever hear the truth and obey it, become children of one family. The ignorant and the wise, the rich and the poor, the heathen and the slave, white or black,—Jesus paid the purchase money for their souls. If they believe on Him, His cleansing blood is applied to them. The black man’s name is written in the book of life beside the white man’s. All are one in Christ. Birth, station, nationality, or color cannot elevate or degrade men. The character makes the man.” Ellen G. White in Selected Messages, bk. 2, p. 342CSI 36.5

Reflect: How can we become aware of our own cultivated and inherited biases so Jesus can renew our hearts and minds?CSI 36.6