Racial prejudice remains one of humanity’s most stubborn and destructive vices. We live in a world that habitually sorts people by utility, measuring worth by the benefits they can provide. Tragically, “whiteness” has been marketed as a premium brand, valued not by the true standard of dignity—the capacity to serve rather than the demand to be served—but by a false hierarchy. This dehumanization persists because we often fail to grasp our intrinsic worth, which is fundamentally spiritual, not physical.
The insidious lie that being born black diminishes one’s humanity has fueled a toxic ideology that positions “whiteness” as something to be revered. Yet, for all our geographical and racial divisions, humanity remains fundamentally one. This is the essential truth that must be urgently disseminated and lived out each day. It is patently irrational to discriminate against people because of their race or educational pedigree.
True, disparities in access to information and opportunity exist, but these are accidents of circumstance, not measures of inherent value. A person who appears physically defeated or materially disadvantaged may seem weaker on the surface; however, beneath that external fragility often lies a formidable spiritual resilience.
It is frequently those who endure such hardships who hold the keys to humanity’s collective future. Consider the divine perspective on the sanctity of life. The physical body houses a being created in the image of God; therefore, it is both wrong and unreasonable to deem any group more deserving of life and dignity than another.
The brothers of Joseph committed a grievous sin when they mistreated him and sold him into slavery. Yet Joseph, in his wisdom, later clarified a profound truth: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Genesis 50:20). This principle—that suffering and prejudice do not nullify one’s ultimate purpose or worth—remains a lesson tragically unlearned by many.
When Joseph’s brothers sold him to foreigners, they could not have imagined that the Egyptians would treat him with any civility. To them, condemning Joseph to a life among strangers was as good as condemning him to death. That is why, years later, they could not recognize the powerful Egyptian governor as their own brother. What the physical eye perceives often fails to capture reality.
After their father Jacob died, Joseph’s brothers were gripped by uncertainty. They feared Joseph would finally take revenge for their barbaric treatment. Jacob had been the reconciling presence, the anchor of their identity and security. With him gone, what would become of them, now dependent on the mercy of the very person they had so cruelly wronged? They sent word to Joseph, inventing a final plea from their father to forgive them. When the message reached him, Joseph wept (Genesis 50:15-17).
Here lies a deep truth: those who commit evil are often haunted more than their victims. Joseph’s brothers knew their guilt and expected justice. They found themselves entirely at the mercy of the man they had condemned to die. Yet, as far as Joseph was concerned, no vengeful thought had crossed his mind. He had already facilitated their protection in Egypt, fully aware of God’s plan to save lives. He carried a divine knowledge that his fallible brothers lacked. Egypt, though a foreign land, had become a place of refuge for Joseph. The blood of Joseph and his brothers was the same. The only dividing line had been jealousy—the same jealousy that led them to sell him into slavery.
Joseph’s story is a precursor to what is fully revealed in Jesus. The condemnation of Joseph, being sold to what his brothers saw as godless foreigners, was a fate worse than a swift death in their eyes. They were certain of the kind of end that would befall him. But the brotherhood of humanity cuts across every border. When you see a white person, you see a person who is white, yet whose blood is as real and red as your own. When you see a black person, you see a person whose blood is just as precious as yours, regardless of skin colour.
The same applies to every racial and cultural group. This was the divine knowledge living in Joseph’s mind, but absent from his brothers’. Humanity suffers needlessly under the curse of this dividing racial line. We treat one another as foreigners even though we are of the same blood. There is no need for vengeance. Not one person deserves death in the place of another.
In Jesus, we encounter a human character not easily identified by race. He was born a Hebrew Jew, yet His own people disowned Him, just as the Israelites once disowned Joseph. Who was Jesus? More pointedly, who were those who disowned Him? All humanity comes from one source—God Almighty—because we were all created in His image. We are God’s children, just as Jesus is the Son of God. No sane mind can doubt that the treatment of Jesus was worse than any suffering endured at Calvary.
Any label—racial, tribal, or otherwise—is an inaccurate description of humanity. Jesus revealed this mystery to His disciples. When He asked, “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven” (Matthew 16:17). The identity of Jesus was not limited to His Messiahship; He was the Son of the Living God. The knowledge of this revelation could not come from flesh and blood.
The habit of categorizing people by race and background has never been of God. Such faulty understanding belongs only to the carnal mind. Joseph’s brothers treated him in a way they would never have wished to be treated. Life’s experiences, however, taught them that whatever evil they inflicted on Joseph, they ultimately inflicted upon themselves. An evil committed against another, regardless of racial appearance, is an evil committed against oneself.
Racial division was never God’s idea. When every obstacle is stripped away, humanity returns to its original condition: made in God’s image. There is only one guide for this restoration—Jesus, as revealed in the prophecies about Him. The prevailing worldview today falsely assumes that humans are not fundamentally related. Some are deemed superior, others unworthy of life. At face value, this may appear true, but it is a complete fabrication, crafted by the architect of falsehood—Satan.
Humans are equal, created in God’s image. The failings or inadequacies we see in others are not theirs alone to bear; they are a charge upon those who perceive them. The greatest truth each of us must embrace is that we are our brother’s keeper. We owe one another help, according to our capacities, no matter the sinful condition in which we find the other person to be.
The condition of many African people is, at present, an embarrassment across the world. Some blacks are even embarrassed to be African. Other races may pretend affection, but often only for the limited benefits they can extract. Yet, even if you are educated and of Germanic origin, or of any other background, Africa stands as a reflection of your own true character. This is even more applicable to black people who watch fellow Africans behave wickedly and look the other way.
One may feel comfortable in a foreign land while being haunted by a deep-seated conviction when witnessing the suffering of one’s own kin. Some go to such extremes as killing their relatives to access wealth. To them, humanity means owning property and living comfortably, even while others die on street corners. Humanly speaking, people of other races may feel justified in making contemptuous remarks about Africans.
But such feelings rest on the legendary falsehood that people in sinful conditions are responsible for liberating themselves. It takes someone outside the miry mud to rescue the one trapped within it. The condition of Africa is not one that Africans can solve on their own. Already mired, they cannot pull themselves to freedom. Africans need those in a condition of freedom to come to their rescue. There are excuses like “non-interference” peddled by purveyors of wickedness, but Africans need help in their miserable state. This requires genuine expertise in rescue operations; the inexperienced risk perishing alongside them.
The focus must be on rescuing before calculating the risk. What can one do to rescue a person sinking in the mire? It is an exercise demanding heroism on a grand scale. Jesus left a legacy that His followers ought to emulate. Africa needs tactical, compassionate rescue skills to handle its predicament—skills that become possible only when we refuse to view Africans as different from ourselves. Africa’s appalling, sinful condition is dangerous, but Jesus did not suggest avoiding confronting such kind of dangers (Matthew 10:16-20).
It has created dictators obsessed with crushing human progress. The wrong response is to take a paternalistic stance, distancing oneself from African realities. A committed rescuer cannot be irritated by cantankerous behaviour. Like Joseph toward his foolish brothers, the rescuer fixes his eyes on the principle of saving lives. Regardless of skin colour, he carries a deep-seated conviction that all humans are his brothers, created in God’s image just as he is.
“We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers” (1 John 3:14-16).
Africa has become a citadel of many evils, inherited from colonial masters who instilled the impression that some humans are superior to others. Tragically, some black leaders then blindly assume that oppressing others is necessary to secure a higher classification. This mindset includes evading responsibility, so that wrongs are blamed on scapegoats. A person may kill another and then blame the murder on the one killed.
The available scapegoats remain the colonial masters, even though the generations that perpetrated those injustices are long gone. The symptom of evil is blaming others—finding fault with everyone except oneself. When Joseph’s brothers ganged up against him, they felt entirely justified. They considered themselves innocent until they stood at Joseph’s mercy. Joseph, however, never sought to attach fault to his brothers.
He exonerated them, declaring that God intended it all for good, to save lives. Joseph was used by God to rescue the very brothers who had wronged him. Similarly, there is no justification for other races to feel antagonized by Africa’s behaviour. The only desirable response is to seek solutions that will extricate Africans from their miry condition.
Except for skin colour, Africans are no different from other races. The tragedy is that what now appears as reality is that many Africans have agreed to treat themselves as subhuman. The way to handle this condition is to treat others as one would treat oneself. The common denominator is God’s image. This is why the golden law stands: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” Everything else falls into place according to this law, as long as love remains at the centre.
Andrew Masuku is the author of Dimensions of a New Civilisation, laying down standards for uplifting Zimbabwe from the current state of economic depression into a model for other nations worldwide. A decaying tree provides an opportunity for a blossoming sprout. Written from a Christian perspective, the book is a product of inspiration, relieving those who have witnessed the strings of unworkable solutions, leading to the current economic and social decay. Most Zimbabweans should find the book to be a long-awaited providential oasis of hope, in a simple conversational tone.
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