Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.
—Acts 10:34–35

The apostle Peter struggled for years to overcome his deeply rooted prejudice against Gentiles (Galatians 2). The daughters of Zelophehad faced gender discrimination regarding their family inheritance in the "promised" land and had to appeal to Moses for justice (Genesis 27). Martin Luther King lived and died promoting a dream that all men are equal. Nelson Mandala suffered to see apartheid abolished.

We've all been discriminated against. To discriminate means to "differentiate," to treat somebody with prejudice, which is a preconceived judgment. It means to judge a person as "different" for some reason—ethnically, socio-economically, or in gender, age, belief, life experience, or some other reason—and, therefore, as inferior.

When someone prejudges us, they show the narrowness of their life. What happens in life is if we haven't been exposed to something, if it's unfamiliar to us, we tend to have blinders on, like a racehorse, which makes for narrow-mindedness. They think that only the people who look like, act like, make money like, dress like, and go to church like them should be given dignity and worth. And many of them discriminate against other people because they are jealous and afraid that if another person is given the digntiy he deserves, they will "lose" something.

They do not understand that God is no respecter of persons—He does not discriminate, but freely and generously pours out His gifts to all people. Jesus' death on Calvary is what I call an equal opportunity business. It cuts off all arguments for socioeconomic, gender, religious, or racial injustice,

The reason discrimination hurts so bad is because it is based on rejection. Rejection means to "deny" or "to refuse to acknowledge" or to "cast or throw aside as being useless." A person who is rejected feels devalued and less worthy than others. The only way to not feel a need for other people's approval is to know deep inside yourself that God totally accepts you and approves of you (Ephesians 1:4–6). You can overcome discrimination if you know who you are in Christ.

That's why God's opinion is the only opinion that really counts! That's why it's critically important that you know what God thinks of you. Recognize that people who deny you, refuse to acknowledge you, or reject you don't have the ability to see the real you. Remember, you are fearfully and wonderfully made by God—the word fearfully means "reverent"; the word wonderfully means "different" (Psalm 139:14). It's your differences that distinguish you and make you so valuable because you are a Designer's original.

Related Texts: Deuteronomy 1:17; Psalm 33:15; 139:14; Romans 2:11; Ephesians 1:6; 6:9; Colossians 3:25