Othering
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. John 13:34-35 (NLT)
Othering is a word that I had not heard before. It must exist because my spell check accepted it without any problem. So what does it mean? Google says this: Othering is the act or process of treating a person or group as different, inferior, or separate from a dominant social norm.
This has been going on since the beginning of time. It divides people into an accepted "in-group" and a marginalized "out-group". Othering labels differences based on race, gender, religion, age, or disability as negative or abnormal. When holidays rolled around, were you seated at the kids’ table until you reached that age of acceptance? Were you ever included in the “in-group”? Have you been overlooked for a task because of your age or disability? This is all considered othering.
Thankfully, Jesus did not buy into this concept. In fact, He went out of His way to avoid it. He ate with sinners, washed dirty feet, healed the insane, blessed noisy children, and more. Jesus even shared His last meal with Judas (a betrayer) and Peter (a liar). How easily He could have ignored all these or even told Judas and Peter to take a hike. But He didn’t!
We spend a great deal of time defining them and us. There seems to be a mental boundary, a division that keeps us apart. But this is not what Jesus told us to do. The Old Testament tells us in Leviticus 19:18: Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. The standard changed and Jesus raised the bar with His words while He walked this earth. (Re-read verses above.)
Learn to see “them” differently! God created all of us—including them. Their uniqueness might just turn out to be a blessing. We must stop thinking of them as others.
Jesus made room for all at His table. It was important that there were no exclusions where He was concerned. We must do likewise.
Loving Lord, thank You for making room for all of us at Your table. Please teach us to not be involved with othering; show us how to love as You love us. AMEN.
Inspired by Pastor Liz Jackson’s message 10/4/26