Whether we are of a mixed background or not, the fact of life is that the way we have grown up is a culture. It is a way of life. However we learned to operate within our family and our neighbors growing up has shaped our view of the world and how it should run. It is challenging when other people have grown up with another culture and the way they do things is completely different. It has all been one way for each person. And in many cases, we insist that we are right. That the other person needs to conform to our way of doing things. Sometimes this a perceived demand from another person or the culture around us. This is where things go wrong...terribly wrong. God didn't make the world so that everything was done one way. If it were, He would have said so. God is creative, and the way He made us and cultures is creative. It is supposed to come together eventually and make a whole. I don't know about you, but when I have prayed with internationals from other countries, the perspective they bring to prayer is so differently edifying that I learn something about my attitude towards God. In the same way, I bet they learn from me too. Even other Americans who have grown up differently than I have teach me things about God.
None of us is perfect, and embracing other people's differences can make us a better person and even a better Christian. Things that are emphasized in another culture maybe be taught in our culture, but that element may be important to a balanced life. When it comes to other cultures, especially ethnically speaking, remember this: God made every culture. When we find someone from a different country, keep an open mind. Learn how they do things and learn to speak their heart language. Often times we are saying the same thing but using different words.
One day we will be worshiping in God's kingdom with a great crowd of every tongue, tribe and nation. (Revelation 7:9-10) We might as well live it out here on earth.
For further reading: Deuteronomy 10:19, 24:17-22; Isaiah 56:1-6; Luke 10:25-37
