very once in a while as I look in our small backyard I notice a green, snake-like vine that is forcing itself between the slates of our fence. If I am not vigilant, it will slowly, but violently push through into our yard. Then, I have to deal with it because this particular vine is a wild blackberry vine...it brings its thorns with it as it invades our space.

So I walk to the fence, cut it, and throw it back where it came from. "Done!" I proclaim and walk away confidently.

Then two weeks later, two vines start coming through the slats in our fence. Each as determined and damaging as the first. After I cut them and cry "done!" I go back to our house a little less confident that it really is done.

Then two weeks later, the familiar vine creeps through our fence again, unaware and disobeying my decree that it as "done."

The truth is, though I cut the branch with skill and precision, I wasn't paying attention to what causes the vine to grow. When I looked over the fence to what I could not see I was awakened to the reality that the problem is much deeper that I thought. The vine was connect to a quietly swirling mass of vines. That mass of vines was protecting itself and growing quickly in many directions...affecting all of the other plants and fences around it.

And somewhere, deep within the dense mass of thorny blackberry vines, is the the part where the plant gets it nutrients: its root. On my toes, looking over my fence, I cannot see the root. It is buried. It is deep. It is protected. It would be painful- exposing even- to get to the source of my vine problem.

Frankly, it is easier just to cut the vines back every couple of weeks. So, at this moment, the vine exists and grows on the other side of a fence I can't see through. Easily looked over until it bothers me a little.

So it is with prejudice and injustice when we deny the root of the problem.

The root is not systemic as many would have us believe. That is a vine coming from the root, but not the root itself. Reshape the system, undercut the institutions that are built on prejudice or have prejudice intertwined within its DNA and it will seem to die. But, slowly, while we sleep it will come back and form new systems and new institutions. Burn it down and it will rebuild right on the other side of our fence.

The root is something that few want to look at. It is deeper than is comfortable for us and we protect the root from exposure. The root of all prejudice and injustice is our own desire to justify ourselves by putting down another. "I am not perfect, but at least I am not as bad as________________." To justify ourselves we have to create a picture of ourselves in our mind that is better than someone else: prejudice. Pre-judging someone by what they look like, what they sound like, what they act like and then declaring them "not as good" as ourselves.

Or another way to say it...to get to the heart of it all...is to say this is sin. The pride that overwhelms us and controls us so that we will do whatever we can to protect our fragile selves, even demean someone else.

If the root of pride is not uprooted, then the proverbial vines will still creep through our proverbial fences.

The pride of prejudice (and injustice that follows) will only ever be ended when the root is uprooted. That is painful, but that is what Jesus died to do for us. He uproots our pride to plant a new kind of heart. A heart free from self-promotion at someone else’s expense. A heart free to love another with joy even to the point of sacrifice. A heart that is free to create new systems and institutions that will cause people to flourish.