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Have you been infected?
No, no, not with an actual virus,
but with something
that has infected people throughout history,
something that no one is completely immune to
—prejudice.
‘Whoa! Whoa!’ you may think,
‘Prejudice—me?
‘That can’t be right.
I like all kinds of people!’
The truth is that all of us are capable of
or even guilty of prejudice to some degree.
But it can be hard to recognize in ourselves.
So, what is prejudice?
To overcome prejudice,
you have to understand what it is.
Prejudice often means
having a biased opinion,
either good or bad,
of someone you don’t even know.
We can be prejudiced against people
and even treat them badly
simply because of their age,
where they’re from,
what they look like,
how much money they have,
or because of other things
that make people different from us.
But judging others
based on appearances or superficial traits
before getting to know them
would be unfair and unreasonable.
It would be like hating a food
before you’ve even tried it.
Prejudice can lead us
to give special treatment to some people
and exclude others.
It can make us act like we’re smarter
or better than people who are different.
But that can be dangerous.
The Bible says at Proverbs 16:18
that “pride is before a crash,
and a haughty spirit before stumbling.”
Having a superior attitude
can keep us from having real friends.
That can take the joy out of life.
If you recognize prejudice in your heart,
what can you do?
Try these steps:
Learn more about those around you.
What have they experienced in their life?
What are their talents?
When you appreciate others’ strengths,
it can be a powerful antidote to prejudice.
Next, take a look at your friends.
Do they all look, think,
and act a lot like you?
If so, follow the Bible’s advice
at 2 Corinthians 6:13 and “widen out.”
Make friends with people
who are different from you.
But what if you discover
that some of them practice bad things?
In that case, stay away!
Their bad conduct can make you act badly.
In this world, prejudice is everywhere.
But we don’t have to let it
control our thinking.
We can overcome prejudice
if we avoid
reaching negative conclusions about people
before we get to know them,
make an effort to learn about others,
and try to make friends with people
who are different from us.
The more we know
about the people around us,
the more we can appreciate
the things that make us different.

What Is Prejudice?