Craig Clouston

 Offhanded Prejudice

October 20

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 try-

ing 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.”

h

If confronted, many of us would do as Kevin did and immediately defend our-

selves. “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."