Pride & Prejudice …ello Hump Day readers. Today is Global Dignity Day. It began on October 20, 2008. The organization Global Dignity was founded in 2006 by Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and others and it didn’t take long to go through the entire world. I dug into this and it is so interesting from around the world how people made a decision to drop their pride, their prejudices and come together with dignity for one another.

I couldn’t help thinking about one lady who did that on her own and that was Catherine Booth—the “Mother of The Salvation Army.” Wherever she would go, large cross-sections of society-princes and paupers alike-would gather to hear her speak. One night as she shared a message, many people came to Christ. Her faith shines through her and others. However, here is a kick-back that caught her off-guard. A wealthy family asked her to come to their home after the service was finished. When she arrived the lady of the manor spoke up loudly, saying, “That meeting was dreadful! When you were speaking, I was looking at the faces of the people standing around me. Many of them looked terrible, awful clothes and many had different colors of their skin. I don’t think I shall sleep tonight!”  Mrs. Booth didn’t hesitate to tell her “My dear lady don’t you know them? I didn’t bring them with me. They are your neighbors! Did you not listen to my sermon about dignity and caring for one another?”

I can just image what went through the mind of that woman. It hit my heart too, because we do the same thing! We look at the world and quickly start categorizing people through our prejudices which strips the dignity of others. That’s what happens with our pride–whether it be based on race, gender, economic background, etc., the categories we’ve made are not from God—it comes from us and it comes from the sin of our own hearts — shame on us.

In Colossians 3:3-11 using The Passion Translation, we find the Apostle Paul telling us something that we may not want to hear but we need to hear it: “Live as one who has died to every form of sexual sin and impurity. Live as one who has died to the desires for forbidden things, including the desire for wealth, which is the essence of idol worship. When you live in these vices you ignite the anger of God against these acts of disobedience. That’s how you once behaved, characterized by your evil deeds. But now it’s time to eliminate them from your lives once and for all—anger, fits of rage, all forms of hatred, cursing, filthy speech, and lying. Lay aside your old Adam-self with its masquerade and disguise. For you have acquired new creation life which is continually being renewed into the likeness of the One who created you; giving you the full revelation of God. In this new creation life, your nationality makes no difference, nor your ethnicity, education, nor economic status—they matter nothing. For it is Christ that means everything as he lives in every one of us!”

The truth is, every person is to be treated as a neighbor with dignity, no matter how different they are from us. When we allow the Holy Spirit to transform how we see the world, we will change how we see people and treat people with dignity. So let the Holy Spirit in, she will transform any and all of your prejudices into deep love for others.

In closing, let us embrace the pledge for Dignity: “I want to: be kind, friendly, humane, compassionate, and thoughtful of others. To be loving, for love is not an emotion, but a decision. To be a person of peace, that as far as it depends on me, I will be at peace with everyone. To be a person of patience.”  God help me to do so, AMEN.