Daniel’s Prejudice

“Daniel, come here!”

Daniel pulled his mind back from Nazi Germany and looked up. Mom was calling. She must be ready to leave the library now. He tucked his books under his arm and headed towards the check out.

“There he is!” Mom said. She was standing with a lady and a boy about Daniel’s age. “Daniel, I would like you to meet Mrs. Matthews and her son, Robert. They have started homeschooling this year and would like to get together sometimes.”

“Hello,” said Daniel, shaking hands politely. Robert didn’t say much, so Daniel tried to start a conversation. “I’m reading about Hitler right now and the Nazis. Have you read about World War II?”

Robert shook his head.

Robert had never read about World War II? What kind of boy was he? “Do you like to read?” Daniel asked aloud.

“Not really.”

Daniel tried again. “I like making forts and playing games outside. Do you?”

Robert shook his head. “I like to draw,” he said. He opened one of his books and showed Daniel drawings of arms and legs and strange flying machines.

“That’s interesting,” Daniel said. But he didn’t feel interested at all. He was glad when it was time to leave.

“Did you have a good time with Robert?” Mom’s asked as they drove home.

Daniel blinked and looked up from his book. “Huh? Robert? All he likes to do is draw.” Daniel would much rather think about the Nazis. They might be the bad guys, but at least they did some things.

“Mom, why didn’t Hitler like Jews?” Daniel asked as they stopped in the driveway. “They never did anything bad to him, but he just hated them.”

“Most people are prejudiced about something. It usually starts because of a bad experience, or because you just think your own way is best,” Mom said. She looked at Daniel. “If we aren’t humble, we can be prejudiced, too.”

“I’m not prejudiced,” Daniel said. “I don’t think certain people are bad. Hitler didn’t like the Jews just because they weren’t German. That wasn’t fair.”

“No it wasn’t,” Mother agreed. “But what about when someone doesn’t like the same things you do? Will you think that your way is best?”

Daniel didn’t answer. He looked at the proud face of Adolf Hitler on the library book’s cover. I’m not prejudiced like he was, he told himself.

A week passed before Robert’s name was mentioned again. “I just talked to Mrs. Matthews,” Mom told Daniel. “Remember the family we met at the library? Robert is turning ten next Saturday. They have invited us to come over.”

“Do I have to go?” Daniel asked.

Mom looked surprised. “Robert is your age and I thought you would like to.”

“But he just likes drawing. That’s all. He doesn’t like to play ball or build forts or read or anything!” Daniel said. “I don’t want to go to his birthday party. It won’t be much fun at all.”

“Daniel!” Mother exclaimed. “I told Mrs. Matthews that we would be glad to come. She said Robert doesn’t have many friends and he really wanted you to be there. Besides, he is the kind of boy that I would like you to be friends with.”

It was settled, then, and Daniel didn’t have any choice about it. Mom said she had a nice set of colored pencils that Daniel should wrap for a present. Well, I won’t sit inside and watch him drawing the whole time, Daniel grumbled to himself as he cut out the wrapping paper. I think artists are a big bore and I don’t want to be friends, even if Mom thinks I should.

Artists. Adolf Hitler had wanted to be an artist. A new thought startled Daniel: Aren’t you being prejudiced—just like Hitler? If Robert liked to build forts or read books, you would be his friend. What is wrong with liking to draw?

Daniel stared at the box of colored pencils. Why didn’t he like Robert? Because he’s selfish—he only thinks about his drawings, Daniel told himself. He imagined Robert’s room. There were pictures of arms and legs and strange flying machines all over the walls. Faces of artists would stare from the shelves and hallways. It gave Daniel the creeps. But deep down inside Daniel knew he wasn’t being fair.

Daniel became quite a grouch. When Rosie asked what Robert was like, he exclaimed, “I don’t know! He hardly would talk to me at all!”

“Mom says that he is really good at drawing,” Rosie said.

Daniel rolled his eyes and walked off. I don’t like Robert and I don’t want to be his friend, Daniel thought. I guess I’m really prejudiced. Maybe if I found a box of Robert’s drawings I would burn them. Hitler burned people’s things. Daniel frowned. I don’t want to be like Hitler! But I can’t like Robert, no matter if I tried.

It was at family devotions that night that Daniel realized what was wrong. “If you have God’s love in your heart you will love others, too,” Dad explained as they read from 1 John 4. “If we hate others and treat them in a bad way, we really don’t love God. God’s love is big enough for everyone.”

When he knelt down to pray with the rest, Daniel felt a hard lump in his chest. He couldn’t get Robert out of his head. He hadn’t loved Robert at all, so he hadn’t been loving God. What could he do? Finally he covered his face in his hands and asked God to forgive him for all the bad thoughts he had had. “I’m sorry for being grouchy and having a bad attitude,” he prayed. “Help me to love everyone like You do.” And that meant Robert.

And the Lord did help Daniel. The morning of the party, Daniel even felt a little bit excited. Mom had heard that the Matthews’ had a creek near their house. “Bring an extra pair of clothes,” she told them.

As they stood in front of the two-story house, Daniel suddenly felt nervous. Mrs. Matthews welcomed them in and he looked around at the wide hall and long staircase. “Robert’s upstairs,” Mrs. Matthews said, smiling at the package he held in his hands. Daniel was glad for the chance to fly up those stairs. At the landing he turned and looked out of the high front window. He could see across the rooftops to farmland and the far off hills.

“That’s my favorite window,” Robert said from behind him. Daniel turned.

“Yeah. You can see really far,” he agreed.

“Do you like the country?” Robert asked.

“Yeah, I wish I could live on a farm,” Daniel said. “I like hiking in the woods a lot.”

“I like the woods. I especially like waterfalls and mountains,” Robert said, staring off across the fields. “I like painting them.”

Daniel remembered the gift then. “We brought you a present.” He hoped that Robert didn’t already have colored pencils. One thing was true. There were drawings and paintings on the walls. But they weren’t of arms and legs and flying machines.

“Prismacolor pencils!” Robert’s face lit up as he tore off the wrapping. “I’ve been wanting these forever! Thanks so much!”

Daniel couldn’t help grinning. “Do you want to try them out?”

“Oh, not today,” Robert said, quickly. “I guess you don’t like drawing much, so Mom suggested—maybe you’d like the creek.” Robert looked at him shyly.

“That would be fun! I like water as much as hiking, especially on hot days like this,” Daniel said. “What is the creek like?”

“There’s a little waterfall that I like to sit by and draw,” Robert said, as they headed down the steps. “There’s an old rope swing near it.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, it isn’t much fun by myself.”

“It’ll be a lot of fun together!” Daniel promised.

And it was.