Every Tongue and Every Nation

I actually wrote this post late last year. I had forgotten about it until recently. I honestly wanted to write something simple about my love for cultural customs other countries have. But in view of the racism and prejudice that is being amplified in our time, I came back and was blown away by what my heart had been feeling way before all this.

It’s not just black and white. Color isn’t all there is. There are more than 6 thousand languages in the world, 650 ethnic groups, 195 countries in our planet. Each one of them are completely different and unique. Many of which are experiencing hatred and injustice based on their background in some form or another.

Last year, I took some time to just read about different customs certain countries had, purely out of fascination and love for culture so that I could write about it. This is what I wrote:

• Turkish customs – when greeting someone, they kiss the hand and touch it to their forehead

• Korean customs – they have a deep respect for their elders and for each other

• Japanese customs – honor is more than a word but a way of life for them

• Hispanic customs – family is more important than anything and it always comes first

• Polynesian customs – share their history through chanting and dance, used also in ceremonies and before battle

• Indian customs – arranged marriages are still common for them but they have very low divorce rates

• Nigerian customs – when greeting an elder, youths are expected to drop to their knees, women kneel, and men typically lie prostrate

There are honestly so, so, so many other cultures which I love who have similar customs or traditions to each other.

Yes, I know everyone that knows me knows I love cultures. I love to learn different things from around the world. Something I do occasionally is study a different country. Their language, traditions, religion, and government. I don’t think though, that people truly understand the depth of why I study some so deeply. There is a vast pool of wisdom you can learn from a simple gesture a people group embrace.

Those who refuse to learn (not to embrace necessarily but to understand) limit themselves to ignorance and indifference. I believe that is a major root to the problem of racism in our world. How can people understand one another while refusing to try to understand each other? We may do so superficially out of being polite but that is not enough. I have literally had conversations with people who say they wouldn’t want to go to another country to visit simply because they are different, or their food is weird or whatever other excuse they offer.

I am seeing how the heart of a missionary is so precious because they are willing to give up everything they have to live with and embrace a people group that is so completely different from them, and they do it so naturally and beautifully.

Jesus willingly died an unjust death so that we may have life and life eternal. Jesus said in John 15:18, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.”