Eye of the Beholder (43 page)

1. Do you believe every person is equally valuable to God? Or do you think God loves the saved more than the lost? The beautiful more than the unlovely? The healthy more than the infirm? The intelligent more than the mentally challenged? One ethnic group more than another? Explain your answer.

2. According to James 2:1–9, how are we to treat one another in the church? Do you see this biblical attitude reflected in your own church? Do you practice this attitude yourself? If not, can you pinpoint the reason? What is the difference between prejudice and conceit? Have you been guilty of either?

3. Do you find it difficult to respect people who hold different religious beliefs than you do? Different political views? Does your response to them line up with Luke 10:27, to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself?”

4. Read the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10: 29–37. Do you believe the actions of the Samaritan man would be practical in today’s world? Have you ever had occasion to help someone you would never choose to be associated with? How did it make you feel? Have you
ever passed by someone in need of help because you felt superior—or because you were afraid to get involved? Did you regret it? Are there times when not getting involved is wise? Times when it is an excuse? Explain your answer.

5. Have you ever known a mentally challenged person like Billy or Lisa Lewis? Someone disabled? Disfigured? Chronically ill? Did you tend to avoid them? If so, why? If not, was your experience with that person positive or negative? What types of physical flaws in other people tend to put you off? Can you identify the reason? What should your response be?

6. Have you ever been guilty of judging an entire group of people based on the actions of a proportionately small number? Has anyone ever misjudged you in that way? How did it make you feel? What would you have liked to say in your own defense? Do you think many people are prejudiced against Christians? If so, why? Do you think Christians come across as being prejudiced against certain groups? If so, which ones? What should be our response when we disapprove of unchristian lifestyles or behaviors?

7. Could you relate to Will Seevers and Guy Jones’s feelings about Muslims in this story? Do you think their feelings represent the way many Americans feel? If so, why do you think the feeling is so widespread? Is it fair? Is it Christian?

8. Does the way we perceive others affect the way we act toward them? Should it? Is prejudice always related to a person’s ethnicity or can it also result from feelings about
social class, job status, physical appearance, educational background, church affiliation?

9. Are we sometimes guilty of being prejudiced even when we don’t want to be? Have you ever intentionally or unintentionally passed on prejudices to your children? If being prejudiced is sinful, what should you do about it?

10. Based on Matthew 5:43–48, what do you believe should be the appropriate Christian response to our enemies? Is praying for your enemies difficult for you? Why do you think Jesus told us to do it? Have you ever prayed for someone you were either afraid of or thoroughly disliked and found your perception changed? How do you understand Proverbs 25: 21–22? What does it mean to heap burning coals on an enemy’s head?

11. Is the attitude of our heart as important to God as our actions? What do our actions reveal about our true feelings? If you were a character in this story and the attitudes of your heart were revealed, would the reader be appalled at you—or applaud you?

12. Is there an attitude or prejudice you feel God’s Spirit nudging you to change? Will you let Him change you?

DON’T MISS BOOK ONE OF THE SEAPORT SUSPENSE SERIES

A Shred of Evidence
by Kathy Herman

“When I get myself out of bed an hour early in order to keep reading a book, I know I’m hooked! But I also squirmed as this supense novel probed that uncomfortable gray zone between what’s ‘concern’ and what’s ‘gossip.’ ”

—NETA JACKSON
Author of
The Yada Yada Prayer Group
novels.

Ellen Jones is enjoying a leisurely lunch at Gordy’s Crab Shack when she overhears a private conversation at the next table—and disturbing accusations about her friend’s husband. Reluctant to go to her friend with hearsay, yet compelled to search for answers, Ellen stumbles onto information that gives her chills—facts too frightening to keep to herself. Is a child in jeopardy? That question drives Ellen to delve deeper into a stranger’s past. How can she turn a blind eye when she has information that might prevent a heartbreaking tragedy?

ISBN 1-59052-348-2

Available NOW!

A
NOTHER ONE OF

KATHY HERMAN’S

PAGE-TURNING NOVELS!

Poor Mrs. Rigsby

Nursing Assistant Sally Cox is about as happy to be at Walnut Hills Nursing Center as the patients are. But it’s work or starve, now that her husband has found a younger companion. Sally’s new crowd skews toward the elderly—ninety-year-old Elsie Rigsby, for instance, whose dementia comes and goes with her gold-digging son and grandson’s visits. Elsie’s not going to tell those vultures where she stashed her money. Still, she’s not getting any younger, and someone besides her needs to know. Three deaths later, is anyone watching Sally?

ISBN 1-59052-314-8

Available NOW!

THE BAXTER SERIES

by Kathy Herman

Welcome to Baxter: the very best of small-town America. Life here is good. People are bonded by a proud heritage—and a hundred-year history unstained by the violence that has seeped into nearly every other American city. But when a powerful explosion shakes not only the windows, but the very foundation on which they’ve based their safety and security, the door is left open for evil to slither in. The death of innocence is painful to endure, but with it comes the resurgence of faith and hope.

Suspenseful, unforgettable stories that inspire, challenge, and stay with you long after the covers are closed!

LEARN MORE ABOUT THESE NOVELS FROM BESTSELLING AUTHOR KATHY HERMAN

LOG ON TO
WWW.KATHYHERMAN.COM
TODAY!

An excerpt from Kathy Herman’s

All Things Hidden
,

the next book in the Seaport Suspense series

“Do not be deceived:
God cannot be mocked
.
A man reaps what he sows.”
GALATIANS 6:7

E
llen Jones stood next to her white Thunderbird in the driveway of her father’s house in Ocala, Florida, her eyes fixed on the Sold sign in the front yard, and her mind echoing with the sound of her mother’s laughter.

She took one last whiff of orange blossoms, wishing she could bottle the sights and sounds and scents that evoked the good memories of this place. It had been a long time since she enjoyed coming here, but the thought of leaving it forever was bittersweet.

“I hope you’re happy. You’ve ruined my life,” Lawrence Madison said.

No, Dad, you’ve had an eighty-seven year head start
. Ellen looked in the car at her father sitting in the passenger seat. “We’ve been over this a dozen times. Your moving in with Roland is the best possible scenario.”

“Sure, best for you. Always did think of yourself first.”

Ellen bit her lip. She took comfort in the knowledge that her mother would be proud of her, not only for looking after her father but for standing up under his crushing criticism.