Big Black Rottweilers & the Church.

"Who in their right mind would own a Rottweiler?" This was the question I asked my wife one-day as we passed someone walking his big, black rotty. I was totally afraid and ignorant about rottweilers. I had heard the stories on TV. Two weeks later my wife fell in love with a puppy that just so happened to be a rottweiler. Needless to say for the last few years I walk, feed and play with my "wife’s" rottweiler. His name is Carmine and he has become a very sweet friend. I have learned to love Carmine. When we are out for walks Carmine is often confronted by dog lovers who just melt in his presence. Other times we pass mothers pushing strollers who seem to be so terrified by his presence that they cross the street, but if they knew him that would know his is extremely loving. Those who take the time to get to know him (and for him to get to know them) usually love him. People are like big black rottweilers.

Fear and ignorance makes us prejudice. Prejudice means the act or state of holding unreasonable preconceived judgments or convictions or an adverse judgment or opinion formed beforehand or without knowledge or examination of the facts. There is a difference between caution and fear. We do it with dogs, denominations, and people. It is amazing how much our fear will allow us to remain ignorant and how much our ignorance will allow us to remain afraid.

What are your prejudices? Perhaps there is a certain food you refuse to try based on how it looks? Perhaps your prejudices are big black dogs? Big black people? Big white people? Baptists? Roman Catholics? Episcopalians? Perhaps your prejudices were passed down from another generation.

It is hard to listen to someone when we are afraid, isn't? It is hard to "receive" someone when we don’t, won’t or can’t listen. If we cannot receive someone, we cannot know someone. When we won’t move beyond our fears and ignorance love breaks down. Taken to the extreme prejudices have led to genocide which is the ultimate expression of hatred and violence against a group of people.

I wonder how often we see something we fear and rather than confronting our fears, we choose to cross the street? This happens in the church. Someone doesn’t talk about God like we do, so our fear shuts us down. Our ignorance prevents us from receiving and loving the "outsider" and we look for those who think, speak and act like us so that we can remain secure and comfortable.

I wonder why we find so much prejudice in the church? Maybe the question is why does massive parts of the church choose to remain ignorant and afraid? Jesus probably had a pet rottweiler.