Is Prejudice A Sin?
    In a nation as diverse as the United States, many cultures and ethnic groups come into contact with one another.  The result is a wonderful conglomeration of peoples and cultures which the world identifies as America.  It is a wonderful site to see all of the unique races and cultures intermingle, many times forming a new piece of Americana.  At the heart of this great melting pot called America is the desire to retain the identity of the individual cultures and ethnic groups.  This desire must be respected, else the individuality of these various groups may become blurred, perhaps even lost altogether.  What a great tragedy that would be!  Hence, in America we all walk a fine line—desiring to see all cultures and ethnic groups blend into one great culture, yet at the same time desirous that these cultures not be lost in the mix.  Many who attempt to walk this line find themselves on one side or the other.  One extreme would be to see all cultural and ethnic lines erased.  The other would desire that these lines be more well-defined to the point of building impenetrable barriers.  Herein lies the problem.  One extreme or the other lends itself to a growing problem—prejudice.  But does prejudice have to exist in our world?  Should it exist in our world?  What does God think about those who harbor a prejudicial spirit?
     A common statement found in the Scriptures is that God is no respecter of persons (2 Chron. 19:7; Rom. 2:11; Eph. 6:9; Col. 3:25; Jas. 2:1; 1 Pet. 1:17; Acts 10:34).  This is not to say that God does not respect man’s character, for this, indeed, He does.  As Peter came to find out, all those who respect God as they should, and subsequently do those things which God has commanded, are, in return, respected, or accepted, of Him.  God respects the character within man, but He shows no favor toward any man based on the container wherein that character is housed.  Peter learned the hard way that God does not favor a person based upon his ethnic or cultural backgrounds.  As a matter of fact, Peter was rebuked to his face by Paul because he (Peter) harbored a prejudicial spirit toward the Gentiles (Gal. 2:11,12).
     Society may show favoritism to a certain group of people because of race, financial stature, etc., but God does not.  When it comes to salvation, God has put all of us on the same level playing field (Gal. 3:28).  God does not look at the color of our skin, the size of our wallets, or the high-scale friends we may or may not have.  He looks at our hearts to see whether or not we love Him, and we are doing all that we can to faithfully serve Him (1 Sam. 16:7).  Prejudice is indeed a sin—a sin that will eat at our souls like a cancer, and if left to run its course, it will condemn our souls to hell.  If you can’t get along with those who may be culturally and/or ethnically different from you on earth, what makes you think you will enjoy their company in heaven?  The truth of the matter is that you won’t have to worry about that, because heaven has no room for those who are prejudiced!