The same – not different
One of the tenets of Christianity is all human kind is made in the
image of God (Genesis 1:27). Repeated throughout the Bible, it is particularly underscored in Jesus life and teaching, and throughout the New
Testament. Jesus constantly reverses the cultural tendency to erect
walls of disparity between people groups such as men and women, rich and poor,
saint and sinner. The apostle Paul followed his lead and states
clearly that God’s intention for the world is a place where “There is
neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female for you are all one.”
(Galatians 3:28)
Living in a country where the color of your skin is different than
the majority of the population is a reminder that being one or ‘all the same’
does not equate to looking alike. The beauty of humanity is our
diversity. Our skin color, abilities, talents, language,
preferences, and personalities are delightfully contrasting. The world might be
pretty boring without it. Morris often tells the story of visiting a supermarket in Kakamega last year. He was browsing around the store, when a little hand gently touched his arm. It was a young boy about three or
four years old. Morris greeted him with “hello little one” and the boy shyly
scurried off. Within a few minutes, the boy returned and without any exchange
of words, reached out again to feel Morris’s arm. Another smile and off he ran.
Morris thought ‘my, the children are very friendly
here’. Then, after a third return ‘touch’, Morris thought 'perhaps this is the first time this boy has seen a mzungu (white man).' There
was a good chance the boy wanted to know if this different colored person felt
the same as he did! Since then we’ve had several occasions where little children want to
feel the touch of our skin or our hair and it always brings laughter and a
chance to say “see, we’re just like you”!
Imagine the peace and prosperity our world would have if everyone
valued that “What unites us is much greater than what divides us” (Pope
John XXIII). I believe the desire of God is to eliminate, as much as we are
able, the human tendency to think that our variances detach or dissect us. To
focus on the differences between people, rather than the similarities has
potential to accelerate superiority and inferiority. Superiority is the
inclination to see oneself as better than another and inferiority to see
yourself as someone less than. This is where the seeds of power struggles are
birthed and likely why we live in a world of enemies and conflict, war and inequality,
oppression and poverty.
As much as I love many things about The Salvation Army, I must
confess that I also think of this challenge with our denominational
quasi-military hierarchical structure. There has been (and perhaps still can
be), the danger of considering someone of a higher rank to be superior not only
in a supervisory role but in value or accomplishment. In a conversation with an
officer some time ago, Morris was asked “What do I need to do to get
promoted?” The officer wasn’t referring to the required responsibilities of
completing certain courses to move from the rank of Lieutenant to Captain or
Captain to Major. It was about what he should do to one day become a Divisional
Commander or a Chief Secretary because by attaining those positions you would
be ‘arriving’. Morris diverted the dialogue to a focus on the essence of our
service having nothing to do with status, position, or rank. We are called to
be servant leaders who follow Jesus example. “Whoever wants to be great must be a servant of all” (Matthew 20:28)
There have been occasions through the years when Morris
and I have been part of gatherings where separation was evident. One
example is being seated at a head table and served in a contrasting way from
the rest of the group. Or the time we arrived at a youth workers
event and were ushered to a room to have lunch with the facilitators instead of
lining up with the delegates. We asked if we could queue up to connect with the
participants and find out what they had learned at the seminar. It made so much
more sense in that situation and we were so glad we did.
Any opportunity we have to help reduce barriers between us can
increase mutual respect and equality. It will never be perfect and I fully
acknowledge the occasions when we have supervisory responsibilities. However, the goal of inclusiveness
can get better if we look for intentional situations where we can reverse the
impulse to be separate and nurture what it means to be ‘the
same’. We are all fallen people in need of God’s grace and
forgiveness. We stand on level ground in the eyes of our Creator. If we are
truly meant to reflect Him, then surely this vision of egalitarianism must also
be ours. Neither our abilities or our inabilities or our
disabilities define us so neither should that divide us.
The belief in Jesus Christ as both a personal Saviour and the
world’s Saviour is to understand Christ’s role in bringing us together
(reconciliation). The Cross was (and is) the way of restoring the brokenness
between God and humanity and by extension, the brokenness existing between
humanity. No wonder Jesus simplified what it means to be a Christian – to love
God and love each other. Jesus death and sacrifice is the causeway that
connects us. Christian faith breaks down the barriers between us (Ephesians
2:14) and gives us the responsibility to be reconcilers too (2 Corinthians
5:18).
How do we find ways to intentionally connect and converse with
people who are not exactly the same as we are? How do we do better at opening
the doors of our home, our churches, our social groups, and our ‘on the street’
encounters and welcome into our lives the person who looks, talks, smells, or
thinks differently than we do?
Recently someone told me about a gentleman who biked across Canada
from June to September. In his travels, there were 11 different occasions when
complete strangers he met along the way (some just in casual conversation in a
coffee shop) invited him to spend the night at their house. Risky?
Maybe, but it was a risk that resulted in mutual comradery. In the last city he
visited, Halifax, a Christian couple whom he did not know hosted him for three
days where he received the warmest hospitality. “I ate some of the best fish in
my life” he said with a big smile. He even joined them in a worship service,
and this man was not of the same faith. A great example of looking beyond what divides
us and embracing what unites us.
As I write this blog, I am conscious of so many heart wrenching
examples where the opposite experience from the biker is occurring. Discrimination, racism, and segregation
sabotage the splendor of diversity. The cruel attack on a Jewish
synagogue in Pennsylvania last week, with 11 lives lost, and in Egypt where
seven Coptic Christians were killed in an attack on two buses near a monastery
are just two of those instances. Immigration and refugee situations also come
to mind. We cannot solve every global social issue. Only God will reverse all
evil but while we wait for that day, let's consider our best opportunities to
respect, include, and embrace one another in every way we can.
Morris and I have lived in Kenya for almost two years now. It is
not always easy, but it has enlarged our understanding and appreciation of what
it means to look beyond the divides and embrace the bridges.
