It may come as a surprise to many who think prejudice is simply one race against another, particularly whites against blacks. That's untrue. Many blacks are as prejudiced against whites.
It's more amazing to find people of the same origin prejudiced towards each other. This writer remembers Professor Paul Benjamin talking to one of his church members. He complained about Germans coming to America. When reminded that he was a German who had come to America, he replied, "I know, but I was here first." He thought priority has its privileges, even in immigration. The arrival in America of huge numbers of Irish in the 1840's proved that prejudice within race was nothing new. It ignited wholesale opposition—from Irish settlers in America who had come earlier, in smaller numbers. They had become assimilated into American life and resented seeing MORE of their nationals. It hit the newcomers hard that their own people treated them with the disrespect often shown by native-born Americans. As Hebrews 11 delineates, Christian believers in every generation have enjoyed an immense circle of Old Testament heroes cheering for us. Even though they lived under Law, and we under Grace; they with an honored Moses as their leaders, we with the I AM God Almighty Jesus Christ as ours. They don't begrudge us our spiritual benefits; they instead rejoiced that their faith in lesser privileges would encourage our faithfulness to God with greater. Understand...they don't sit in Paradise now in a gigantic amphitheater cheering. No, THEIR LIFE with lesser light encourages us with greater. For, however different the temptations today, all temptation is conquered by resisting to overcoming the devil, James 4:7, with spiritual dominance the Holy Spirit provides. In a symbolic sense, the ancient heroes would never slam the door in our faces. Having emerged through their time to victory, they assure us of success in ours through Christ's overwhelming, can't-be-denied, must-be-acknowledged victory over all of God's enemies I Corinthians 15:20-26.
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