It Finally Happened...

Well, I honestly should not be surprised. I am a product of my race, generation, and being just plain American. I was reading in one of my books entitled Walking with the Poor by Bryant L. Myers, and I came across a section that slapped me directly in the face.

The section was on capitalism and its affect on the world but the quote goes something like this, "What is wealth for? What are we if we do not have wealth? Who are we if we do not have wealth?" (22). Right when I read these questions my mind jumped to an instance earlier in the day when I was helping Anne (one of the Spiritual Development directors) count Bibles. I seriously remember thinking to myself, "She is probably not as smart as she could be since she is from Africa." WHAT?! Did I really make that prejudicial comment in my head? Thinking back on it, I am pretty embarrassed.

First of all, who am I to judge someone's worth by the place they come from and their background? I recall learning about this in many of my missions classes. Missionaries in the past, and still today, would come into countries believing that they were superior to the people because of their education or wealth or status. I never thought that it would happen to me. But it did, and God has revealed something that many white, middle-class Americans struggle with and don't even realize.

Wealth has absolutely nothing to do with someone's mental capacity. We are all made by the same Creator with the same materials. On the inside, there is nothing different. We each have a brain that functions quite the same as the next person, but when someone is poor, or from a poor country, then oh they must be uneducated and consequently incapable altogether. False.

I am being humbled and I am very grateful. I pray that God humbles you too and begins to crush the debilitating prejudices in your lives as well.