Stereotypes

Ah, stereotypes.   We love to use them on others and hate to have them used on us!  A way to find out what stereotypes are out there is to use google to let you see what others have asked it.  (See here). We all have stereotypes.  We often lump very large groups of people into "types" without realizing it.  Canadians do it to Americans.  Rider fans do it to Eskimos fans.  Baptists do it to Catholics.  Jews did it to Samaritans. 

On at least three different occasions, Jesus broke down the cultural stereotypes that the much hated Samaritans had for the Jews.  The woman at the well, the Good Samaritan, and the healed Samaritan leper.  The Good Samaritan was a parable which, no doubt, ruffled some Jewish feathers since the Samaritan was the hero of the story. The other two were real people, and Jesus treated them as...well... real people.  And that's the tip off of what's wrong with stereotypes.  They can paint someone with a broad brush that has nothing to do with them personally.  Jesus dealt with the real people as persons...and individuals... and cool stuff happened.

So, next time you cross paths with someone from "another group" of whatever kind it may be...get to know them as a person and place those stereotypes on the back burner where they belong.