By Danny Minton

Let’s admit it. When it comes to things in the past that we are ashamed of, we often want to blot them from our minds. Sometimes we “sugarcoat” them, convincing ourselves that it’s the way things were at the time. One of those areas where many find themselves is seeing how discrimination not only plagues our country’s past but still lifts its ugly head today. It’s the dark side many possess, the darkness of discrimination.

I recently watched a movie entitled “The Woman and the Sea.” It is the story of a young teenage girl in the late 1920s named Trudy Ederle. It was a time when women were heavily discriminated against. Most had come to accept it, but looking back, the way it was showed how unfair life was for women. It was 1920, almost 150 years after our country declared independence, that women were given the right to vote; however, in Mississippi, it was 1984 before the amendment was ratified. Even though Black males were given the right to vote in 1870, discriminatory practices kept many from exercising this right until 1965. 

Our country’s history is dotted with discrimination against various groups. In states like Texas and California, Hispanics faced issues with poor schools for their children and children not being allowed to attend “White Schools” to receive a better education. It would be the late 1960s before Black and White schools would be integrated. Hispanics and Blacks still face discriminatory tactics in some places when they try to rent or buy a home. On the West Coast and throughout many other states, Japanese Americans were rounded up and sent to internment camps because of their nationality. Early on, American Indians faced hatred and discrimination as the new Americans moved through their homeland. Travel to any state in our country, and you will find some group that faces discrimination because of how they look or their nationality.

It’s sad, but discrimination is still alive and well today. While most people try to be fair and inclusive, there are still many incidents of hatred and abusive behavior. While most think of White Americans as being the ones who show prejudice, it extends across all cultural and racial lines, with different groups having ill feelings toward those who are different from them.

So how do we solve the problem of people judging and treating others differently when they’re different from themselves? The answer is found in the Old Testament, specifically in the story of David in 1 Samuel. Samuel has been sent to the house of Jessie the Bethlehemite to search for the king God had chosen to succeed Saul. The first son presented to Samuel was Eliab. Eliab made a big impression on Samuel; as he looked at him, he thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.” God told Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 (NASB) God rejected all of Jesse’s sons brought before Samuel, but there was one more, the youngest out tending the sheep; his name was David. It was this unlikely boy that God chose to be the next king. A man who would be described as “A man after My own heart.”

Until we can shed the judgment of people based on their outward appearance, we will continue to be divided. I have friends and relatives who are Hispanic, African, Russian, Black, White, men, women, and others who are different from me. When I look at them, I do not see the physical differences; I see them for who they are on the inside. When I walk into a hospital room to visit a patient, I know that they are often different from me on the outside. Still, before I leave, I will hold their hand to pray for what they are going through on the inside, without regard for any outward differences, spending that moment together before God.

Trudy Ederle fought the system and the prejudices that she faced to become one of the top female swimmers in the world. In 1926, in her early twenties, she defied the prejudices of those opposed to her because she was a woman and became the first woman in history to swim the English Channel from France to England. In doing so, she not only beat the best man’s time by two hours but also helped pave the way for women to be more readily accepted in the areas where they sought equality.

The Bible teaches, “For God so loved the world.” That little phrase reminds us that, no matter who we are, we are loved by God. If God loves everyone and we are to be like Him, then we should do the same.

Danny Minton, a member of Southern Hills Church of Christ, is a hospital chaplain