Key Bible Verse: I am a real Jew if there ever was one! (Philippians 3:5). Bonus Reading: Romans 12:3-5

A third young man poured out his heart to me as we prayed together. "You know," Mike said, "our society is always blaming white males. I feel blamed and mistrusted just because I'm white. When minority people share the hurts they've suffered, I feel like saying, 'Hey, I have hurts too! I grew up without a dad. I haven't had an easy time. What did I do to cause racial oppression anyway? It all happened so long ago.'"

Many in the dominant culture have almost no awareness of their own ethnic identity. They haven't needed to know it to experience its benefits. But subtle forms of the white supremacist false identity infect all European Americans. Like a virus, this endemic mindset has been passed on to white children from parents and grandparents. When they see a person of color, they tend to make judgments without knowing anything about that person.

Yet to be reconciled we need to know who we are, which includes who we are in our ethnic dimension. As we seek healing, we can face intense ethnic self-hatred or complete ethnic ignorance. God wants to replace these unreal identities with true identities that are eternal and substantial.

—Rick Richardson in The Heart of Racial Justice

My Response: What fallen aspects of my culture should I renounce? What positive elements should I value?

Thought to Apply: The shadow [of race prejudice] is darkest over those who feel it least and allow its evil effects to go on.—PEARL BUCK (novelist)

Adapted from The Heart of Racial Justice (InterVarsity, 2004) by permission.

Prayer for the Week

Thank you, Lord, for creating my good and beautiful ethnic ancestors and their culture. Help me to embrace my true self in Christ.

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