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Today's Quote
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Today's Verse
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Daily Wisdom
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Prejudice is an insidious evil that lurks around every corner so that all of us must struggle with our attitudes concerning those who are in any manner different from us. Because we do not fully understand persons of another color or culture, we fear them. Ignorance breeds all manner of misconceptions and, unfortunately, ungrounded fear.
I recall my first few months as a missionary in Korea. Every time I went out I just knew that people around me were talking about me. When I finally learned enough Korean to understand what people around me were saying, I was devastated to learn that they were not paying any attention to me at all.
As a foreigner in another country, my greatest desire was to be accepted for myself. I remember attending a dinner at a friend's home. When we went out to a picnic table to eat, my wife and I saw a platter loaded down with leaf lettuce. We had seen this lettuce in the market but had no idea how Koreans ate it. Now we were going to find out!
As the guests (all Koreans except for Joyce and me) started to gather around the table, one man said quietly to the hostess, "Are we going to eat this with these foreigners here?" He did not know that we understood all that he said. The hostess' reply was one of the nicest compliments we received while in Korea. She smiled and said, "The Hardins are not foreigners. They are now Koreans!" She then reached over and took a leaf of lettuce, laid it on the palm of her hand, piled meats and vegetables on it, rolled it up, and crammed it into her mouth. Since Koreans never opened their mouths wide while eating and never ate with their hands, this was something done only with one's most intimate friends.
Matthew wrote, (7:12) Treat people as you want them to treat you. This is a lesson for all of us. In Korea I wanted to be accepted. When I was, it was a great blessing
