Handling Racial Prejudice

Dear Uncle Tom,

As you know, I’m black and have struggled with racial prejudice at school and now at work. Overall, however, I have no complaints because I have been blessed with an understanding of the Truth and look forward to working with saints from every kindred, tongue and nation in the kingdom of God. That fact alone overshadows every problem that may occur. But, I don’t feel that in the Christadelphian community I’m treated the same as a white brother. Am I being overly sensitive or is there really an element of discrimination in the brotherhood?

Yours in Christ,
Samuel

Dear Samuel,

Discrimination of one kind or another has always been a problem in the ecclesia of Christ. Look at Acts 6. The Hellenistic Jews complained their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food in the Jerusalem ecclesia (Acts 6:1).

This situation reflected an attitude in the world-wide Jewish community where friction existed between those Jews raised in Israel, Palestinian Jews, and those raised in the diaspora, Hellenistic Jews. The latter spoke Greek and had adopted some Greek customs of dress, home furnishings and food preferences (while still being kosher).

Here was an ecclesia comprised of all believing Jews under the guidance of the apostles with many, if not all, ecclesial members having Holy Spirit gifts, yet they had problems of discrimination. I guarantee you, if they had the problem under those circumstances, we’re going to have it!

You can imagine what happened when the gospel went to the Gentiles, and Jewish and Gentile brethren were supposed to live together as one in Christ. Actually we don’t have to use our imagination. Look at Galatians 2:11-13: “For before that certain came from James, he [Peter] did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself. .And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him.”

Just think of the implications of this situation. The Jewish brethren on one side of the room with their own potluck table and the Gentiles on the other. You can be sure that before the dissimulation actually occurred, there had been much talk about the advisability of all eating together. They were obviously very much aware of their ethnic associations and had been all the way along. This could not help but be sensed from time to time in ecclesial appointments or who showed hospitality to whom.

And imagine the feelings even after Paul straightened the matter out. This incident would not be easily forgotten. For years there would be hard feelings.

There were also class distinctions to be overcome in the early ecclesias. Consider I Timothy 6:1-2 and then think about the implications of Paul’s exhortation. “Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor. ..And they that have believing masters, let them not despise them, because they are brethren…”

Having slaves and their owners in the same meeting, trying to function as equals in Christ, is fraught with obvious difficulties. In the meeting, the brother-slave may be in a situation of instructing or correcting his brother-owner. During the day, however, he is expected to implicitly follow the instructions of his brother-owner. While disciples of Christ should handle the situation fine, and many no doubt did, some did not. Thus Paul’s pointed admonition.

And can you imagine what would happen if an ecclesial committee consisted of all slaves or of all owners. Immediately there would be suspicions of cliques, which would probably be true.

This should not happen, we say! Doing anything in the meeting that reflects discrimination along ethnic, economic or racial lines is worldly, it is fleshly.

That’s right, it is! But who ever said we would not have problems with the flesh after we were baptized? We are still human; we are still affected by the world around us and the prejudices we learned while in the world. The difference is that, in Christ, we must take corrective steps, communally and individually, because, in Christ, we can not tolerate prejudice or bigotry.

In Jerusalem (Acts 6), we see corrective action being taken. Seven sound brethren were selected by the ecclesia at large to handle the matter. Notice that all seven have Greek names. The ecclesia as a whole was so concerned about the issue that they appointed seven Grecian Jews to get things right. As a community, they knew what was right and tried to do it.

I’ve seen the same thing happen in Christadelphia. There was an ecclesia which was informally split between people attending from two different towns which were ethnically and economically different. Cliques had formed which were reflected in where people sat and with whom they worked on ecclesial matters. Once they realized what was happening, they made deliberate moves to reorganize committees and seating arrangements to wipe out the division that had encroached into the meeting. As a community, we know what is right, and you can find many examples where we try to do it. You can also find examples where problems of discrimination have been neglected for years.

On a personal level, we have the New Testament example of Philemon and Onesimus. Owner and run-away slave came to be brethren in Christ. Paul made a personal appeal to Philemon to let his love and faith find full expression in his treatment of his returning slave, Onesimus.

In like manner, I’ve seen many a believer in Christ making sincere efforts to overcome their personal prejudices. We had one brother who had been raised feeling all black people must be out of town by sundown. You can imagine his struggle to accept all brethren as equals. Yet, over the years, he changed coming around to an attitude that astonished his worldly associates. But it didn’t happen all at once; for many years he could have been pointed to as an example of a prejudiced brother.

As I’ve told you before, every problem that exists in the world will be found in the ecclesia only to a lesser extent. That doesn’t make wrong right, but it does mean we should not give up on the community just because we see problems.

So don’t be unduly discouraged. By working through prejudice yourself and not being easily upset by it, you’ll go a long way toward helping your brothers and sisters walk in the spirit and not in the flesh.

Yours in Christ,
Uncle Tom