Dealing with hidden prejudices

I am reading an old book titled, "Lincoln and His Generals". It is a fascinating book with great details of the Civil War battles and the decisions surrounding each one. I have always been a big Lincoln fan and deeply appreciate his belief that "right makes might". As I was reading I was doing well until I came upon the battle of Atlanta. As Sherman began his march to the sea and the order was given by Grant to break the back of the Confederacy by destroying the general populations will to support the war, something stirred in me. I pondered what I was feeling. It amazed me actually. How could something that happened 150 years ago irritate me? It was like an offence in my heart toward Sherman. Crazy, right? Today I am ministering in New Braunfels, Texas at World Indigenous Mission's International Conference. This morning I talked to native Texan and they told me about some Mexican people who just moved into their neighborhood. When the neighbor asked why they chose to move to Texas, the Mexican lady said, "this is our country and we are taking it back". Now before you rush into the immigration debate let's look at heart matters. The person telling me the story said it caused something to rise up in them that went all the way back to the Alamo.

My point in all this is that we might examine our hearts for issues that could hinder our usefulness as "ambassadors for Christ". While I am an American patriot and a native son of the great State of Georgia, I am first and foremost a child of God with a mission to bring the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all people of all Nations. Are there things in our heart, deeply rooted things that could hinder our effectiveness? I can't answer that question for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to shine His light in and be courageous enough to deal with whatever is revealed.