Prejudice means "to pre-judge." It's the most personally insidious form of injustice, as well as one of the most difficult forms of injustice to recognize and eradicate. In our minds we readily form judgments about people based on purely external factors, such as skin color, clothes, speech patterns, and many other things.

The Bible warns against prejudice in many ways. For example, several parables of Jesus subtly point to it in our lives. In the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, the Pharisee sees a tax collector in the temple (perhaps he recognizes him from having done business with him) and immediately judges his soul. He thanks God that he's not a sinner like that man; whereas the tax collector, who is repentant, is in fact more spiritually healthy than the Pharisee. In the parable of the good Samaritan, Jesus' Jewish listeners were surprised to hear it was someone from the despised Samaritan ethnoreligious group who showed mercy to the robbery victim.

In the epistle of James, the author points out how prejudice operates even in the church: Someone shows up wearing fine clothes and gold jewelry, obviously quite wealthy. The church people are impressed. Here is someone the community recognizes as important, someone who adds prestige to this marginalized group of Christians. What a boon! And who knows what kind of financial contribution this person might be willing to make? We should put him on the building or finance committee!

They not only notice this person, but immediately show him special recognition: "Let's find him a good seat. Oh, but the best seat is already taken by that filthy homeless guy who started coming a few weeks ago." They then "invite" the poor man to take a seat on the floor so the rich man can have a better spot.

James says, "Have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?" (v. 4). As we have seen, justice in God's eyes is not just doing the right thing or being fair; it's also paying special attention to those who are the weakest and the least powerful.

James continues: "Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?" (v. 5). Instead of showing preference to the rich and powerful, God's way is to show preference to the poor and needy. God seems to discriminate toward people who need love and care the most. In a sense, the rich already have what they need for this life, but the poor do not. So in "discriminating" toward the poor, God evens things out. That is God's brand of justice.

Fighting prejudice means seeing other people through God's eyes, rather than through the eyes of the world. The person we see may be poor or homeless, but in God's eyes he or she is one of his precious children. God regards this person with the same love and mercy as he has for everyone else. Jesus tells us that when we encounter people who seem to be of no importance, we meet him. Seeing others through God's eyes erases our prejudices and helps us to see each other as the disadvantaged kin we are---all in need of the advantage of God's grace.