We’ve all heard of the unconscious bias, and sometimes racist statement, “You people.” Although, I don’t always agree that the statement is outright racist, context matters, there is definitely a statement of truth in that stereotyping people by group does say a lot about how we think.
This twisted way of ‘othering’ by avoiding the fact that EVERY HUMAN on earth is family, coming from Adam and Eve, is not new to our attempting-to-be-post-truth generation.
The Holy Bible kicks cultural relativist theory in the teeth as we find atrocious human behaviour sprawled across the pages as God teaches us by exampling us.
Genesis 39 vs 13-18, is one of those moments.
Potipher’s wife, to cover her tracks of making sexual advances on a slave who rejects her, in an act of cruel toxic feminist revenge cries rape. It is so tragic how many people cry rape to appease their own shame, which only minimises the believability of men and woman who actually have legitimately experienced rape.
‘Enduring Word’, posits (point a) a sorrowful mirror at humanity and othering:
1) Classism
2) Racism
3) Dehumanising
4) Supremacy
5) Violent ill-wishing
As we stare into the cruelty of Potipher’s wife, besides objectifying Joseph to a mere sex toy, we see a harsh reality of humanism calling out to us- minimizing human value based on circumstantial ideology.
Haven’t we ALL othered people?
“Those trash poor people,” when we are drunkard, promiscuous, lying, corrupt, thieving people ourselves?
“Those faggots,” when we ourselves are masturbating watching porn, cheating on our spouses, or engaging in sexual deviant, fetish behaviour?
“Those blacks, indians, whites, asians, etc, “ when we ourselves are acting supremacist and ignoring that we are exploiting people to our own gain?
Potipher’s wife othering Joseph is so poignant as it stares down thousands of years, along the vile corridor of people hurting our own family. And, then justifying it by othering them to minimise our guilty conscience.
If, you, like me, have ever othered others, and, yes, WE ALL HAVE, we need to repent before God, asking Him to teach us to “love our neighbour as we love ourselves,” in order to claim that we “love God with all our heart, mind, and soul.”
JESUS CAME FOR THE OTHERED OTHERS, and not those who think they are so righteous they have the right to other.
JESUS LOVES YOU.
#Hayibo 