Some early studies about racial prejudice showed that we’re quite capable of reordering our perceptions of the world around us in order to maintain our conviction that we’re right.
A group of white, middle-class New York City residents were presented with a picture of people on a subway. Two men were in the foreground. One was white, one was black. One wore a business suit, one was clothed in workman’s overalls. One was giving his money to the other who was threatening him with a knife.
Now as a matter of fact it was the black man who wore the suit, and it was he who was being robbed by the white laborer.
But such a picture didn’t square with the prejudices of the viewers. To them, white men were executives, black men were laborers and on welfare. Blacks were the robbers, whites were the victims.
And so they reported what their mind told them they saw — that a black man was assaulting a white man. As human beings who desperately desire our lives to be consistent and untroubled, we’ll go to great lengths to reject a message that implies that we’re wrong.
This study was done years ago. I hope and I pray that we don’t have as much prejudice as we did 40 years ago. But today prejudice is much more educated than it used to be.
Prejudice is a great time saver. You can form opinions without wasting time to get the facts.
How are YOU & I, as individuals and as a community, blinded by our prejudices?
MAKE YOUR PRAYERS BIGGER THAN YOUR FEARS!
My Commentary:
The reflection on Prejudice and the Need to Be Right is both a challenge and a mirror. It reveals not just how bias distorts what we see, but how much we want to believe we’re already right—even when we’re wrong.
The New York City study shows how deeply rooted stereotypes can override objective truth. People didn’t just misremember the scene—they rewrote it to fit the narrative they were comfortable with.
This is the nature of prejudice. It’s not just about skin color or background—it’s about the deeper need to feel safe, correct, and in control. When new information threatens that security, we don’t change our thinking. Instead, we reshape reality to suit our assumptions. That’s how bias lives on—not only through hatred, but through comfort.
What’s even more dangerous today is that prejudice has become more sophisticated. It wears the disguise of logic, data, and selective storytelling. It sounds smart. It sounds justified. But it still blinds us to truth, erodes empathy, and divides communities.
Prejudice is, indeed, a time saver. But truth takes time. Understanding takes patience. And love takes humility.
We must all ask: What prejudices are we still holding onto? How do we subconsciously rearrange facts to fit our beliefs? If Jesus came to open the eyes of the blind, perhaps that includes those blinded not just by ignorance, but by the pride of being “right.”
My Prayer Reflection:
God of Truth and Justice,
You created each of us in Your image—
Not to judge each other by what we see on the surface,
But to recognize the sacredness within.
Yet we confess, Lord, that we often cling to our assumptions.
We are quick to label and slow to listen.
We want the world to make sense on our terms,
Even if it means distorting the truth to feel safe.
Forgive us for the ways we have participated in prejudice—
By our words, by our silence, by our blindness.
Open our eyes to see with compassion.
Open our hearts to confront the lies we’ve believed,
Even the ones that have made us feel “right.”
Give us the courage to slow down and seek truth.
To hear the stories we’ve ignored.
To welcome the people we’ve misunderstood.
To love not just in theory, but in action.
Let our faith in You make us humble enough
To admit when we are wrong—
And brave enough to change. Amen.
This is an important Message for many other people to hear. The only reason they will not hear it or read it is because you have not taken a few seconds to share it. Do listen to my Podcast by clicking the white arrow in the blue circle and invite others to listen as well.
