Becoming Ethiopian

My companion and I greeted our countrymen cordially, but we were secretly laughing inside, "Look at those funny Americans!" After a couple weeks of serving alongside our Ethiopian brothers and sisters, we'd almost forgotten that we were Americans too, after all. Other white people were startling now, and it felt out of place to greet someone with a mere handshake and refrain from speaking what Amharic we knew. Who were these people who didn't know how to eat injera, or even ask a child his age? An extra dose of humility was in order -- not everyone has had the lifelong advantages in culture training that I have enjoyed. All the same, I found it difficult to understand how anyone could come to serve in another country and not dive headfirst into understanding and adopting the local culture in every way possible.

One of my favorite chapters of Scripture is Acts 17, in which Paul encounters three different groups of people on his mission to preach the Gospel, strategically adjusting his approach to fit each audience. For the skeptical Thessalonians, he had many arguments to share, making connections for them between the Scriptures they knew and Jesus as the Christ. For the open-minded Bereans, he had only to guide them in the right direction, and they were equipped to seek out the truth for themselves. And for the Athenians, he took time to get acquainted with their culture, so different from his own, and presented a powerful object lesson based entirely on ideas they understood. Wherever he was, Paul habitually made whatever lifestyle changes were necessary in order to most effectively impact the hearts of his hearers.

I believe everyone should have a cross-cultural experience at least once in their lives. But it won't do you or those around you any good if you spend it keeping a safe bubble around you and compiling a list of reasons your own culture is better. Every culture is flawed, including yours. Set aside all expectations and lose yourself in the life of other people (even in your own culture, for that matter) so you can love them to the fullest and grow yourself in the process. Make it your goal to live as Jesus would live if He were Oregonian, or Texan, or Ethiopian, or Indian, or Welsh, or Mexican, or Chinese...

...I have become all things to all men,

that I might by all means save some.

1 Corinthians 9:22