Bias Blocks Blessings

1 Let love of your fellow believers continue. 2 Do not neglect to extend hospitality to strangers [especially among the family of believers—being friendly, cordial, and gracious, sharing the comforts of your home and doing your part generously], for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.
Hebrews 13:1-2

The ministry of Jesus Christ is highlighted by the new commandment given to us in John 13:34, to love one another as Christ loved us. By loving one another this way, we make it explicitly plain that we are disciples of Christ and we position ourselves to freely receive the love and blessing of our Heavenly Father (John 14:21). As believers and not doubters of God's promises, we must pray constantly for God to create in each of us a clean heart and renew in us a right spirit so that we are free from obstacles that can block us from loving others as we love ourselves, and that get in the way of us basking in God's love and blessings in our lives (John 14:12-14, Psalm 51:10).
Let us be aware and honestly self-examining when it comes to biases we may harbor that get in the way of us seeing the truth and character of God in people. A bias can be described as "a personal and sometimes unreasoned judgement" or a prejudice according to Webster's online dictionary. When we employ bias when interacting with or getting to know people, we are relying on what we have experienced and what we think we already know about a person in the context of our own experiences and ideas about life and the world we live in. In order to truly be able to love one another as Christ loves us, we must decide to get to know people with the help of the Holy Spirit rather than by our own ideas about them shaped in the image of our implicit and explicit biases.
Let us be reminded and encouraged that God made each of us in His own image (Genesis 1:26-27). Somewhere in each person we meet the image of God is reflected. Each person we meet is fearfully and wonderfully made by God (Psalm 139:13-14). Let us commit our hearts to pray for the help of the Holy Spirit in our interactions with people (John 14:26). As we come into contact with and get to know people and as we interact with people we consider to already know, let's choose to dismantle our biases and rely on the Holy Spirit to gain the highest and best understanding of them and connect with the reflection of God in each of them (Romans 8:26-30).

Be Blessed!
​~Nina
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Declaration: I will seek the help of the Holy Spirit to intercede in my relationships with people.