Stereotypes are labels, usually negative ones, placed on an entire group of people in an attempt to isolate that group. By definition, every stereotype is false, because no two people are the same, much less an entire group of them. Many years ago I took a course in logic and one rule was, “An argument based on a false premise will always lead to a false conclusion.” I have been attacking stereotypes all of my adult life.
I have found the easiest way to destroy a stereotype is to get to know at least ten members of the group individually and personally. The first thing you will discover is that they are not all alike. The second thing you will discover is that they are much more like you than you thought based on the stereotype. If you get to know less than ten, there is a chance you will continue to believe the stereotype and label the few you know as exceptions.
In my roll as a corporate trainer, I found myself stereotyped and then labeled as an exception. I trained more than a few young men from Chicago with darker skin than mine. When they entered my classroom the first day, saw my gray hair, light skin and heard my Indiana accent they immediately got a chip on their shoulder that this old honky would decide if they get the job. Within two or three days they knew I not only wanted them to get the job, I wanted them to succeed at it. I became the exception to their old honky stereotype. If I ran into any of them today it would be like a family reunion, but I still may be the exception to some of them.
What does all of this have to do with living the Christian life? When you are a child of God, you are stereotyped by the world with all Christians as hypocritical, judgmental, hateful and egotistical (just for starters). We must lovingly demonstrate none of those traits to everyone around us until we become an exception and begin to cast doubt on that false stereotype. Praise God for giving us his Holy Spirit to help us live a life of witness.