Greetings from the back hills of North Carolina. Currently, I am in this little tiny town that could probably (accurately) be described as the middle of nowhere. However, this setting allows for more intentional community and has become a place for growth. Attending pre-field training in North Carolina wasn't my idea, but I'm glad I'm here. After a full week of classes and lectures, I thought I would go ahead and share some of my ideas on one of the topics we have touched on (significantly) in class. My ideas are sloppy and kind of all over the place, but hey, we all process differently, right?
Cultural Discussion take aways:
Culture isn’t confined to one place, to one nation or to one set of standards. Wherever you are in the world, you are going to be affected by culture. However that plays out in countless ways. Our personal culture stems from the environment in which we were shaped, yet when we enter a new culture, our old culture comes with us. This can lead to tensions in our beliefs, our values and our thought processes. When we grow up believing something to be ‘right’ or something to be ‘wrong’, we are appalled when someone else does not agree with our view. You don’t even have to go overseas to notice this. Instead, if we go from country to city or suburbia to a more rural area and vice versa, we see different ‘norms’, different ways of living. Who do we think we are as Americans? Who do I think I am, as a white, middle class, female, from upstate New York? My ways and values are not the clearcut right and wrong ways of doing things. By what authority can I judge others who act, respond, or react differently than I would in a particular situation? When we view other cultures as lacking, weird, or less than the culture that we come from, we do a great injustice to that culture. I think it is easy to rationalize in our heads that we are doing things the right way, not only as Christians, but as Americans. It’s easy to rationalize that because we are doing what is right, then another must be doing wrong. If another culture is doing what is wrong, then they must be inherently evil and their way of life must be altered. Or so we think.
As I prepare to go to Guatemala, I know that there are cultural norms in America that I have considered right or good that may not be either of those things in Guatemala. I know at times I will have a hard time understanding or relating to the culture around me because I have been brought up in a completely different context. From language, to style of living, to clothing style and many other cultural distinctions, I will be immersing myself in a completely new world. Though I have been to Guatemala a few times already, it has only been short-term. I have an idea of what to expect, but until I get there, I will not know for sure.
I’m all about affirming the culture that I am going into and learning how to adapt my current worldview, based off of my culture, to a worldview that encompasses both. Some things I do will have to change as I enter the country, and things will feel strange and different, and I know I will have to remind myself that it is okay. Different does not mean wrong and different doesn’t mean stupid or unimportant. Differences are good. Duane Elmer, in Cross-Cultural Connections, writes: “When we see the differences of others, we may well be seeing more of God. He cannot be contained in or explained from only one cultural perspective.” Amen. I cannot add anything more to that. Culture was made to be good, but because of the fall, it has become corrupt. Until God decides to reconcile those cultures or ultimately until Jesus comes again, every system is going to remain broken. We (Christians) are not the heroes here. We were not meant to be the ones who sweep in and act as savior. We have a Savior who is meant to do that and he is on the mission and in the process of restoring what has become broken. Because of this, culture is something that we should regard as important, worth saving and worth redeeming, as modeled by Jesus. In the redemption process, we are not the change agents. We are merely used by God to do good deeds. All of our cultures are broken. No culture is superior. Sure things might need to be adjusted in the cultures that we enter, but things need to be adjusted just as much in the culture that we have come from. It’s all about God’s timing though. Until the broken has been made whole, we must press on. We must view others as important and we must begin to view differences as something to embrace, rather than something to fear.
