Monday, September 04, 2017

How do I deal with my own bias?

I have implicit bias. Inside my heart there are biases in many forms. I believe my heart is infected with sin (Jer 17:9), so I believe that it contains racist and classist ideas. So how do I deal with this?

1. Being honest that I'm prejudice.
The Bible says that if I say I'm without sin I'm a liar (1 John 1:10). Psychologists say we all have implicit bias. So I openly say, 'I'm a recovering racist, a recovering snob, and a recovering pharisee!'

2. Enjoying Christ's righteousness.
The more I focus on how much I'm accepted by God the Father BECAUSE OF Christ's righteousness, the more happy I am, and the more I can be honest about my sin.

3. Soul Searching before meeting with people.
The Bible tells me to ask God to search my heart and let me know if there's any offensive way in me (Ps 139:23-24). Therefore, before I meet with people, I try to spend time reflecting and praying about what ways I might be biased with this person. Then I repent, and ask God for the grace to treat this person as a fellow image bearer, and a fellow heir of salvation (if they're a believer).