Racism Isn’t About Race

Don’t fool yourself; racism isn’t about race. If we were all to wake up in the morning with the same skin color discrimination wouldn’t end. How long do you suppose it would take until we found a new way to discriminate against each other? Would it be eye color, hair color, height, weight, or some other way to differentiate between people? The possibilities are endless, but without question, we’d find a reason.

You see, racism isn’t really about race at all. It’s about an unjustified hatred that some people have allowed to dwell in their hearts. Racism, prejudice, and discrimination have nothing to do with the color of skin, body size, or geographic origin. Racism, pure and simple, is about hatred, and the solution to hatred is filling one’s heart with Jesus so there is no room left in which hatred can dwell.

Once again, as is the case with all moral problems, “Jesus is the answer.” That’s not a trite platitude, but a weighty truth. If you can imagine how much better the world would be without racism, prejudice, and discrimination, then you’ve caught a glimpse of day to day life in the kingdom of God (Isaiah 11:1-9; James 2:1-9).