Craig Clouston

 Offhanded Prejudice

Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing … this should not be.

James 3:10

“Okay,” Kevin started his joke. “There was a Jew, a German, and a blonde—”

“Wait a minute, Kevin,” Martin interrupted. “Look, I know you’re just trying to be funny, and maybe you don’t mean anything by it, but I don’t appreciate those kinds of jokes, and I’d appreciate it if you’d not finish it.”

“Yeah, me too,” said Carlos. “To be honest,” he continued, “I used to think it was okay. But then I realized that it’s a form of implied prejudice hidden in unsavory humor. It’s a slam against individuals or a race of people meant to generate laughter. I have to admit that when someone told a Hispanic joke in my presence, it made me angry.”

“Excuuuuse me!” Kevin dragged the word out for effect. “I didn’t realize you two were too good to listen to a simple joke anymore.”

“Not too good, Kevin,” Martin gently corrected. “I’m just trying to be more thoughtful of the language and words I use these days. You yourself know that I used to freely slander ethnic groups and blondes because it got laughs. But then God showed me that these people I’d been slamming are no different than me; they’re actually just like me, and they’re undeserving of my offhanded prejudice. Whether you believe it or not, what we say influences others toward those we speak. And I, for one, don’t want to be responsible for planting seeds of prejudice anymore.”

†

If confronted, many of us would do as Kevin did and immediately defend ourselves. “It’s just a joke for goodness sake!” we’d say. But that’s just not true. It is an audible statement of opinion—whether unconscious or otherwise—and we are responsible for it.

James addressed this issue two thousand years ago: double-talk, or what society now calls being two-faced—saying one thing while pretending to say something else.

If in the future you are tempted to use this form of prejudice or are present when others do, remember God’s exhortation through James and have nothing to do with it.

Prayer

“Lord, reveal to me the consequences of offhanded prejudice so that I might know in my heart how wrong this form of insensitivity really is. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”