Cartoonology Devotional 01-05-10

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Cartoonology devotional 01-05-10

E. Larry Ross

Cartoonology.  There is great theology in cartoons and comics.

Profiling, in and of itself, is not necessarily a bad thing.  It can be used constructively.  However, the word has developed a negative connotation due to the fact that profiling is used for the purpose of singling out a race, people group, etc in order to discriminate against them.

I stopped recently to help an elderly man shovel snow from his sidewalk.  We engaged in conversation about church and his salvation.  In the meantime, his neighbor joined us and asked me where I was from.  When I told him I was from Big Island, Virginia, he immediately responded with, "Oh, you are one of those river rats".  I responded that this was a phrase I had heard many times, and that I had actually used the phrase myself.  The truth is there are a lot of real rats (big rats) along the James River in most every community along its banks. 

Profiling, prejudice, and discrimination are practices we all have to deal with.  How often do we label someone based on information we have without first spending time with them and finding out who they really are?  We are good at putting labels on people.  The thing about labels is that they often "stick" and become difficult to remove.

Wouldn't it be better if we were more like Jesus, who spent time with the people who had been labeled as the outcasts of society?  These people were not considered worthy of association by the religious leaders of their day.  The interesting thing is that Jesus had a few labels of His own for those leaders.

Matthew 7:5 (NKJV)
⁵ Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

Visit the Pastor's blog at http://larryross.blogspot.com to see all previous Cartoonology Devotionals .

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