I hope that upon reading the title of this piece, you found it thought-provoking. Nevertheless, many individuals, including myself and my children, regularly encounter what I’ll refer to as “ignorance.” Can you guess the typical response we receive?

I understand that regardless of our backgrounds, the extent of our exposure to other cultures, and the purity of our intentions, we approach every interaction with our past experiences, beliefs, and, consciously or unconsciously, our stereotypes and biases. All these viewpoints shape our interactions.

Swiftly, we make assumptions about others based on our biases, whether they confirm our preconceived notions and stereotypes or not. Consequently, we treat them accordingly, either acknowledging and relating to similarities or passing judgment and dismissing differences. Why does any of this matter? It matters because there exists a third option: recognizing both differences and similarities and learning from them, or even embracing them.

Yet, there’s nothing new under the sun. If we look back at ancient texts, including Scripture, we find a consistent theme of one group being exalted while another is considered inferior. Take, for example, the Jews and Samaritans, who harbored a deep-seated hatred for each other. The Jews viewed themselves as pure descendants of Abraham, whereas the Samaritans were a mixed-race resulting from intermarriage between Jews from the northern kingdom and other peoples after Israel’s exile. Jews even avoided traveling through Samaritan towns.

However, if you’re familiar with the parable of the Good Samaritan, as described in Luke 10:25-37, you’ll notice an interesting twist. When you truly grasp this parable, you’ll see that the law expert treated the wounded man as a mere topic for discussion, the robbers viewed him as an object to exploit, the priest considered him a problem to avoid, and the Levite regarded him as an object of curiosity. Only the Samaritan treated him as a person deserving of love. This is the challenge I extend to both you and myself today: regardless of your initial, secondary, or even tertiary impressions of someone, can you love them? Can you love them as you love yourself? Can you embrace them?

Application: Simply love people. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by what you learn and how you grow.