I reviewed some interesting cultural differences in the last blog entry and mentioned there was one more I want to try to write about. This difference is about people. I saw a graph of this difference someplace earlier this year. The horizontal axis had independence on the left and group relationship on the right. In the middle most of the western nations were placed. To the far left, all alone, was the United States and on the far right were the Asian countries.
Americans tend to stand alone, each trying to build their own little empire. They constantly seek more attention, power, things, wealth, comfort, pleasure, to name a few. Through the misuse of credit they have created an artificial image of wealth and power. My Chinese students see this and see us as wealthy, but they do not realize the debt most carry to present that image. We live in the present at the expense of the future and in the process transfer our wealth to those who hold our debt. Our fixation with bigger and newer; with more things and greater comfort blinds us, with what the world has to offer, so that we fail to see what is really important that comes from God. Unfortunately, the Chinese are beginning to find this same path of deception that we have been on that has led our country to the brink of disaster.
For the American Christian the focus is on what I can accomplish in my strength and then what I have to show for it? Even in our churches the focus is on projects, results, and efficiency at the expense of just hanging out with people and enjoying God. We are a “doing” people, not a “being” people. The Chinese are clearly a being people and are willing to spend enormous amounts of time just being together. Schedules become less important. It is very difficult for an American to wait on God, who seems to operate on more of a Chinese schedule than an American one. Better quality and more fruit may require time for unseen things to happen first. James tells us that patience and endurance is required to produce that which is perfect and complete (James 1:4). As an American, how are you increasing endurance and ability at being patient?
When I return to America I feel pressure from its culture to force me back into its mold. It is amazing how subtle this is, especially from family members. When I come to China I must lay aside my American views and simply spend time with people. In the process I have seen people come to salvation and have developed some very deep relationships that rival my own family relationships. This is probably my biggest source of tension. I have learned how to turn an ice cold response from those I meet here where I live to one of welcome when I now return. I totally love sacrificing my life to accomplish these kinds of relationships. Life is about God and his people; not about efficiency and performance. Life is about what God does in and through you; not what you accomplish for God in your strength. One is about faith in God and the other is about strength in self.
As I spend time here the sights, sounds, and smells become a mark of home for me and when I leave they tear apart of me out and I leave deeply wounded. The people I leave behind in China leave a need unmet in my life in the states. In a special way, I am part of a family here in China. Our lives have been marked by this relationship and the effect is eternal. It is an experience of relationship that is not well understood by most living in the west and can lead to some misunderstanding. As Americans draw to themselves and I embrace those in a different culture, it invariably results in some tension.
Americans tend to stand alone, each trying to build their own little empire. They constantly seek more attention, power, things, wealth, comfort, pleasure, to name a few. Through the misuse of credit they have created an artificial image of wealth and power. My Chinese students see this and see us as wealthy, but they do not realize the debt most carry to present that image. We live in the present at the expense of the future and in the process transfer our wealth to those who hold our debt. Our fixation with bigger and newer; with more things and greater comfort blinds us, with what the world has to offer, so that we fail to see what is really important that comes from God. Unfortunately, the Chinese are beginning to find this same path of deception that we have been on that has led our country to the brink of disaster.
For the American Christian the focus is on what I can accomplish in my strength and then what I have to show for it? Even in our churches the focus is on projects, results, and efficiency at the expense of just hanging out with people and enjoying God. We are a “doing” people, not a “being” people. The Chinese are clearly a being people and are willing to spend enormous amounts of time just being together. Schedules become less important. It is very difficult for an American to wait on God, who seems to operate on more of a Chinese schedule than an American one. Better quality and more fruit may require time for unseen things to happen first. James tells us that patience and endurance is required to produce that which is perfect and complete (James 1:4). As an American, how are you increasing endurance and ability at being patient?
When I return to America I feel pressure from its culture to force me back into its mold. It is amazing how subtle this is, especially from family members. When I come to China I must lay aside my American views and simply spend time with people. In the process I have seen people come to salvation and have developed some very deep relationships that rival my own family relationships. This is probably my biggest source of tension. I have learned how to turn an ice cold response from those I meet here where I live to one of welcome when I now return. I totally love sacrificing my life to accomplish these kinds of relationships. Life is about God and his people; not about efficiency and performance. Life is about what God does in and through you; not what you accomplish for God in your strength. One is about faith in God and the other is about strength in self.
As I spend time here the sights, sounds, and smells become a mark of home for me and when I leave they tear apart of me out and I leave deeply wounded. The people I leave behind in China leave a need unmet in my life in the states. In a special way, I am part of a family here in China. Our lives have been marked by this relationship and the effect is eternal. It is an experience of relationship that is not well understood by most living in the west and can lead to some misunderstanding. As Americans draw to themselves and I embrace those in a different culture, it invariably results in some tension.
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