THE PSYCHOSIS OF RACISM
Racism is not only a sin of the tongue or of the hand — it is a sickness of the heart and a blindness of the soul. It is a spiritual psychosis, a delusion that separates man from the truth of God’s creation. The racist mind does not see men and women as God made them — in His image — but through the distorted lens of pride and fear.
When people say, “Some of my best friends are black,” they imagine they are proving their innocence. Yet friendship with those of another race does not cancel prejudice any more than being near a church makes one holy. When love is pure, it does not measure or label. It simply loves. A heart free in Christ does not think, “This is my black friend,” or “This is my white friend.” It simply rejoices, “This is my friend.”
James wrote, “If ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors” (James 2:9 KJV). What is “respect to persons“? The New Living Translation (NLT) clears it up: “But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law.”
The apostle was not merely speaking of wealth or social class. The principle reaches deeper — to every form of partiality that divides those whom Christ died to make one. At the Cross, the blood of Jesus washed away every dividing wall. To rebuild those walls is to deny the work of Calvary.
Jesus said, “You shall know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16). The fruit of racism is hatred, suspicion, mockery, and division. The fruit of the Spirit is “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22–23). When a person consistently bears fruit that separates and scorns, we must face the truth: they are walking in darkness, not in the light of Christ.
Think of Archie Bunker and Fred Sanford — two men from old television who made us laugh, yet were written to expose the foolishness of prejudice. They didn’t see themselves as racist. They believed they were just “telling it like it is.” But that’s the tragedy of the psychosis of racism — it blinds its victim to the disease itself. Those who watched only for humor and not for lesson missed the mirror being held before them.
Contrast Archie and Fred with Lionel and Julio. Lionel from All in the Family, and Julio from Sanford and Son — men who met the ignorance of others with grace, dignity, and patience. They rose above hatred without becoming hateful. They saw people as people, not as colors. You could live next door to a Julio or a Lionel and find peace (not so with Fred or Archie). That is the fruit of a heart in touch with reality — God’s reality — that all men are one in Adam and redeemed by one Christ.
Paul declared, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). In the kingdom of God, the dividing lines of flesh are erased by the blood of the Lamb. When a man still insists on drawing them, he is walking contrary to heaven’s design.
The psychosis of racism is that it makes people see color first and character later, if at all. The mind enslaved by prejudice cannot rejoice in diversity as God’s artistry. It sees difference as danger, not design. But to be renewed in Christ is to have the mind of Christ — to see with His eyes, to love with His love.
When we stop saying, “I don’t see color,” and start saying, “I see Christ in every person,” we begin to heal. For we are not called to blindness, but to truth — and the truth is that every soul is precious. Every shade of skin is a brushstroke of the Creator’s beauty.
Let us then repent of all respect of persons, for in doing so we draw nearer to the heart of God. Let us put away the delusion that love can coexist with prejudice. Let us look at one another and see not color, but creation — not difference, but divine design.
Lord, heal our eyes that we may see one another as You see us. Deliver us from the madness of pride and the blindness of hate. Let the mind that was in Christ Jesus be in us, that we may walk in humility, justice, and love. Teach us to live as citizens of one kingdom, one family, one redemption. In Jesus’ name, Amen
BDD
