Did you know that it’s been over fifty years since the Civil Rights Movement and Christians are still struggling to overcome racial differences in the marketplace? One would think that, by now, believers should be the experts in handling race related issues.

However, recent political events and social injustices prove that we have a long way to go to improve race relations, even among the Christian community. Unbelievers, on a large scale, should be running to Christians for real answers on racism, but they’re not. Why?

In this article, we’re going to address 3 key factors that hinder excellence in race relations and how you can overcome them so you can give the people in your sphere of influence the answers they need to experience the reality of Jesus Christ.

Still Thinking Like The World

Christians have been too caught up into the world’s system of thinking when dealing with racism. Our society wants to talk about it openly and put more policies, laws and programs in place to prevent racism. Even though that’s good, the deeper question that you have to ask yourself, as Christian, is this: is that God’s solution to the problem?

Romans chapter twelve, verse two, tells us to stop being conformed to the same thought process of world, but undergo a deep inner change by the entire renewing of our mind. That means we need to see people the way God sees them and treat them the way Jesus would treat them. In other words, it’s a heart and mindset issue rather than a skin color issue.

Lack Of God’s Love

If we don’t have an understanding of God’s love, then we can’t express the reality His love toward others. Love is synonymous with the heart. The Hebrew word for love tells us that love is the Father’s heart revealed. So, when we interact with people, it is to be a reflection of how God loves.

I heard someone say that everyone has their own definition of love. That may be true because of each individual’s life experiences. However, every Christian should know, experience and live out God’s definition of love. When His love is in us and flowing out of us, that will bring excellence in race relations and change the world. Therefore, it is vitally important that you know God’s definition of love and live it out.

Wearing The Wrong Pair Of Glasses

How you view the world affects how you view others. The set of glasses through which you view the world is called a worldview. It's not so much what you see as you look around you, but it's how you process it. If you process life through the glasses of your sin nature, then all you’ll get is a corrupted view. It's not what you see, but what you see with.

You can get so caught up into what’s happening in today’s society, that your view of life becomes distorted. And if you’re not careful, you’ll be deceived and confused about what is true and what is false. That’s why, as a child of the Most High God, you must view life through the eyes of God’s love and His Word so that you will know, think and live by the truth, and not be persuaded to think and live by the lies.

You must look beyond the negative biases of skin color and see God’s goodness and purpose within the person. Don’t focus on their personality, but use your prophetic gift to see what’s deep inside of them. Your job is to allow the Holy Spirit to show you how to help the people around you fulfill their God-given purpose. When you do that, you will demonstrate God’s love and excellence in race relations.