Today at 64 years old, I try very hard to be accepting of everyone. I try never to judge them, but to only look at what’s in their hearts.

When we are born, our families celebrate the birth and thank God for a healthy baby. They take us home; they try to teach us the way to live. Growing up, even as toddlers, we are like sponges soaking in the good and bad. Sometimes parents teach us unknowingly by their descriptions of even the simplest things. For instance, driving down the road I would hear Dad complain about “women drivers.” I would hear Mom refer to the “black” across the street, or the “Jewish” man 4 doors down, or the Chinese guy at the hand laundry, instead of just describing them by name. She and Dad, both Christians, were unwittingly teaching us discrimination by using terms of race, creed and nationality to discuss people they knew. We children learned that behavior inherently.

When I attended high school, we had a mix of races and religions: mostly white, some Jewish, and smaller numbers of Hispanic, Asian and African-Americans. We were taught by our spiritual leaders to be tolerant of all. But I wonder if things would have been different, if it had been instilled in us early on by the example of our elders. Would we have grown up accepting that we are all children of God, uniquely made and equal? I understand our parents were mostly unaware of the example they set. Yet maybe every kid in that school could have felt special and excelled, especially in that 1960’s setting where civil rights were violated constantly.

As we grew as Christians, my wife and I tried hard to be sensitive to those who were different than us. We tried to embrace their uniqueness as our God would. Scripture shows us that He sees the heart of those He created and sees only the beauty in His creation.

Let us all strive to use language carefully. What’s in our descriptions? Our Abba Father shows us that He looks at what’s in the heart AMEN?

Remember God Loves Us Unconditionally!

Joey