Perspectives of Cleanliness

  These days, I am studying a lot about cultural differences, and how they affect morality and evangelism.   Each people group has a certain way to look at the world, and that molds the things that they do.  Jim Storti would say that a person's behaviors are direct results of their values, beliefs, and assumptions about the universe.*
   Naturally, since everyone has differing values, beliefs, and assumptions, everyone's behaviors diverge from everyone else's.  So, two cultures coming together can lead to interesting interactions as quick condemnations can come flying from both sides, especially when morality and religion are mixed in.

   I found an illustration of this today while cleaning a mirror.  I was using Windex to clean my parents bathroom mirror.  I was about done when a thought crossed my mind, "I wonder if Mom and Dad will think that this is clean?"  In my opinion, it was a clean mirror.  But, I figured that I need to see it how my folks would see it.  But, how could I gain their point of view? I can't enter their minds to determine how they interpret the cleanness of a looking glass.  So, I did the best that I could to see through their eyes: I flexed my knees a little, bringing my eye level to about 6 feet above the ground.  Aha! Now, I was seeing the mirror like my Dad does.  I bent my knees a little more, and Tada! I had Mom's perspective too!  As a result, I could see streaks that I could've never seen at my normal height.  The ultimate consequence was that the mirror got cleaner.

  The application to communication is simple (simple not easy): look at the world through the other person's eyes.  Granted, when crossing cultures is involved, the difficulty is exponentially increased, but the principle remains the same.  Keep on bending your knees, and that will lead to a posture of prayer, which is the most important ingredient.  Prayer is closely followed by education. (I knew to make myself shorter to see the the world like my parents, but recognizing the distinctions between cultures can take a lot of bookwork and talking to experts).

   Once your perspective has been changed, then accurate evaluations can be made.*  Only then can effective ministry happen.




Resources:
*Figuring Foreigners Out by Jim Storti
ICS 365 Intercultural Ministry taught by Dr. Tom Stalter
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