HELL'S CORRIDOR: THE PREJUDICE MINORITY CHAPTER 8

  

HELL’S CORRIDOR: 

THE PREJUDICE MINORITY.                                

“...In every nation HE (God, the Holy Spirit) ACCEPTS those who fear him and do what is right ...there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all…” (Acts 10:34-36 NLT). “…that was [God’s]… plan from before the beginning of time—to show us (all mankind) his GRACE through Christ Jesus…” (2 Timothy 1:9 NLT).

 “…God SO LOVED the world (all nations), that he GAVE his only…Son….” (John 3:16). “…God SHOWS NO FAVORITISM.  In every nation HE ACCEPTS those who fear him and do what is right. This is the message of Good News for the people of Israel—that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all…” (Acts 10:34-36 NLT). “…God is no RESPECTER OF PERSONS: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)…” (Acts 10:34-36 KJV).

“...[Everyone]… who believe the Good News...[and are REDEEMED]... BELONG TO CHRIST JESUS…” (Ephesians 3:6 NLT).   “…YOU BELONG to him … ” (Romans 8:1-14 NLT). “...We (the redeemed from ALL nations) are his; we are HIS PEOPLE...” (Psalms 100:3 KJV). 

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Lucy was biracial. Her father was biracial and so was her mother. She had Jewish, African, Indian, and Asian in her blood. Even though she went to a Methodist Church, her family consisted of people from the  Jewish faith, some believed in the Great Spirit, and others were Hindu.

Lucy hated White Nationalists because of all their discriminatory acts against minorities. She was 84 years old when she died and she blamed ALL white people of racism. She was negative and unbending with her prejudice attitude against them.

She thought all white people were the same and all of them were hateful or racists. She held preconceived ideas about them her whole life. She never had a desire to change her mind and she DID discriminate against them every change she got.

She once worked in human resources, for the government, and she often ripped up their resumes in order to give the opportunity to a minority. She decided, because of her OWN prejudice, white people didn’t deserve it and wanted to treat them like THEY treated minorities all the time.

Lucy had judged ALL white people and yet she was no different. Prejudice against her family had existed and it caused them heart wrenching trouble during their life time. It saddened her to see and hear how they were or had been them treated by whites. A few years before she died her grandmother’s synagogue was burnt to the ground and she’d been devastated over it. Her grandmother was heartbroken, because she’d been there for years and years.

Her grandmother told her stories of her mother and grandmother who was mistreated and persecuted during World War II. Some of her relatives were murdered in German concentration camps because of a Nazi desire for “racial purity.”

She had pictures of the holocaust and saw the genocide of the Jewish people. Her grandmother’s family was in some of those pictures. It hardened Lucy’s heart and she hated white people for the oppression and discrimination against her family.

Lucy also heard how her grandfather, a Cherokee, and his people were forced to walk from their homes in the southern states to Oklahoma. His grandfather died during the journey, along with 4,000 others. All because white people wanted THEIR land.

Another grandmother, who was Asian, told her, she was a good speller. She won so many spellings bees her talent bought her to America. When she won in America it was the first time she ever heard the word “chink,” “monkey,” or “flat face.” White Americans stereotyped Asians as all being karate experts during that time.

Her grandmother  stayed with a relative and went to school in America. She was bullied a lot and the victim of multiple racist jokes about Asians. Her grandmother felt wonderful about who she was until she came to America. She said she felt uncomfortable about who she was from then on and was always fearful of being discriminated against.

Her grandmother hated she was Asian for a long time and had often wished she was white. It took her years to embrace the color of skin and her ethnicity. Her grandmother started hanging with her OWN people more and more. Her self-image was restored.

She became proud to be Asian again. She was friendly to white people, but her grandmother preferred the love and acceptance of her own culture. She often said “...when white people are out of your life, so is the problem of skin color and ethnicity...” Lucy took her grandmother’s words to heart.

Her other grandfather was African American. She got the greatest glimpse of racism through him and his experiences.  It is through her African American heritage that she developed a heartfelt disdain for white people.

She began to resent them as they  resented other  racial and religious minorities. Her resentment was noticeable too.

Her family was a community of diversity where she saw loving people who all got along together despite their differences.

But in the MAINSTREAM community racism was still prominent. Lucy’s attitude about white people became just as bad, if not worse, than those of the white nationalists.

Lucy realized she took on a victim mentality her whole life and complained, in her heart, about the racists and the oppressive behaviors of white people.

One of her mother’s lifelong friend was white, Ms. Betty, and she had been a beloved aunt to Lucy. Ms. Betty told her about Jesus, his salvation and his ability to heal the human heart, but Lucy never accepted her truth.

She thought Ms. Betty was white and didn’t understand her ethnic struggles. She would talk to Ms. Betty about racism, mistreatment of whites, the injustices, and things unique to the black culture.

Ms. Betty never defended herself or white people.  She, herself, had dealt with discrimination as a woman and a Catholic. Yet, she once said, “...I have never been black and never will be. So I honestly don’t know the impact of oppression, religious persecution, misogyny, name-calling, or institutional bias, but I love you, Lucy and empathize with your struggles...”

 Ms. Betty also always told her about Jesus, his love, and that HE was the answer to the problem “....one  authentically saved person at a time...”

Ms. Betty told her that her prejudice attitude was just as wrong as the racists attitudes of the white nationalists. She also said if she and they were both wrong how would the problem ever get right. Ms. Betty said “...JESUS...”

Ms. Betty said nothing was impossible for God and nothing was too hard for him, but Lucy was stubborn and didn’t want to hear it.

Lucy kept her hate for white people, in her heart, until the day she died. Everywhere she went she spewed her venom about white people’s covert and overt racism and prejudices.

Whenever the topic turned toward white people Lucy got on her soapbox. In college she stayed away from them and when she went into the workforce she continued to keep herself separate from them.

She only associated with racial and religious minorities socially and totally avoided white people, expect Ms. Betty.

She favored minorities in business dealings, religious worship, cultural events, and social gatherings. She only went to movies about minorities and watched television that showed MORE diversity.

She watched the news to keep up with current events, but to the best of her ability she purposefully segregated herself from white people.

Her life VIDEO showed her prejudices clearly. She really was no different than the white nationalist she judged. While she rallied for diversity, she actively kept herself segregated from the effort of bridging the divide.

She SAW how she’d gone to the movies with her two nephews and some white people came into the theater and sat next to them.

Lucy sneered at them and moved to another row. Lucy had let her prejudices BLIND her to her OWN actions. Her hate for white people had permeated her thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.

She’d encountered multiple racist white people in her lifetime upon earth. There were a number of people, upon earth too, she could find who would justify her attitude.

However, in HELL’S CORRIDOR, she couldn’t BLAME white people for going to HELL. A WHITE person, Ms. Betty, tried to SAVE her from her sinful nature. Her OWN sin had clouded her judgement.

Common sense would have told her she didn’t hate ALL white people, because she loved Ms. Betty. Ms. Betty never discouraged or encouraged her prejudices, she always focused on the condition of her soul.

Lucy had a BLIND hate for white people and had stereotyped them ALL as being the same. She thought because of ALL the wrongs minorities suffered at the hands of white people that she had the RIGHT to hate them.

Not once did she considered some of them were victims too who were not always aware of the prejudice mindsets or behaviors they’d inherited from their ancestors. Some white people were genuine and wanted to HELP and LOVE like Jesus.

But Lucy had no compassion. Yet, her HATE was a dangerous PIT that led her straight to HELL. Ms. Betty was white and had USED love to win Lucy’s heart, but she didn’t even SEE it until too late.

Instead of hateful retaliation, Lucy could have USED God’s love too, like Ms. Betty did, to HEAL the racism and prejudices between the RACES. Reginald had listened to the conversation between William and Lucy. He said to Lucy.

“...I am one of the White Nationalists who hated your kind...”

“....And I hated her kind. Where did it get us?...”

“...Since hate is our common denominator. I guess it got us a first class ticket to hell...”

“....my white privilege doesn’t matter here...”

“...and neither does my prejudices...”

“....I knew I was wrong....”

“...I did too...”

“...Why do you think we didn’t change or do something about it...”

“...we didn’t want to and we didn’t choose to....”

“....I wish I could go back and warn others now...”

“...why, they won’t listen either...”

“...why not?..”

“...the people who warned us, was sent by God, and we didn’t listen to them...”

“... if we come back from the dead after being in hell they will listen...” Lucy shook her head.

“...Do  you see those people who appear here for a few minutes, in HELL’S CORRIDOR, and suddenly disappear....”

“...yes, what is that about?...”

“...the gathers said they are people, upon earth, who died, but were bought back to life....”

“...and?...”

“...and they will go back and tell people they came back from the dead and will tell them hell is real...”

“...will people listen?...”

“...yes, but that doesn’t mean they’ll change...”

“...why not. I don’t understand....”

“...the people who tried to tell us about heaven and hell were just as convinced as those who visited hell after a near death experience. People won’t listen to them no more than you and I listened...”

Reginald turned around sadly. Lucy looked sad too. All they had to look forward to was an eternity of regret.

Lucy thought “... What would I go back and said. What a disadvantage prejudice had upon her life. She ended up in HELL...”

She wasn’t opened to see the errors of her way and she missed multiple opportunities to be SAVED. Most of her prejudices against white people weren’t even based on experience, but hearsay.

Her attitude was HATEFUL at best and led her to misjudge and discriminated against people who were decent like Ms. Betty.

She was quick to judge them, even without sufficient evidence of the individual. It was one thing to be cautious of racist individuals, but it was wrong to make those  judgements of ALL white people. Many of her judgements were misleading, which made her behavior toward them unethical.

Lucy’s prejudices were hurtful and unkind and she denied herself the opportunity to meet other great people like Ms. Betty.

All her prejudices were personal and selfish and NEVER benefitted another soul; not even her.

Lucy had prejudged the whole white race and made assumptions about them without ever actually getting to know them individually.

The only white person she’d had adequate knowledge about was Ms. Betty and she was NOTHING like the stereotypes she had in her mind.

She’d had preconceived judgements toward white people because of their skin color. She believed, without experiential knowledge of the facts, that ALL whites were evil and racists.

Ms. Betty told Lucy that God had sent his Son to die for ALL NATIONS and he played no favoritism. She said neither the White Nationalist or the prejudice minority has a God-given right to show partiality toward someone God created.

Ms. Betty said God was a JUST God and was concerned with SAVING every lost soul.

The white nationalists’ ideology or the prejudice minority’s justification meant nothing to God. All of MANKIND, from every nation, met God and his PLAN of SALVATION on equal ground and with equal opportunity.

Mankind may show favoritism, but God doesn’t. Lucy NEVER tried and hadn’t wanted to try to resolve her prejudices. She didn’t want to love white people or let them off the hook for all the wrongdoings and evil they’d done to her and her people.

Regardless of her nasty attitude toward them, God loved white people and he valued them like he valued people of all nations. Lucy looked around HELL’S CORRIDOR.

If Lucy wanted to go to HEAVEN, she should have chosen to let go of her prejudice. God sent his Son to die for NATIONS and those who are “IN” Christ are ALL ONE Christian race.

Lucy fell on her knees weeping and wailing, she looked up when Roger Bennington entered the line.