A few months ago I was standing at the back of a packed auditorium at a concert. I was watching the performer when my eyes began to sweep the room and catch the people attending instead. It was a Christian artist and the song happened to be one that prompted a worship atmosphere so some hands were raised and some were not, some people were singing along and others weren't. I'm guessing there were people there who are pre-tribulation and others that are post-tribulation and still others who are mid-tribulation. There were probably people there who take communion every week and some who only take it once a month. I am positive there were people there who love John MacArthur and others who love Joel Osteen. And I know for a fact there were people there who read the King James Version of the Bible and believed anyone who didn't may be in danger of the fires of hell. While other people in the room, say like myself, like to look at a portion of scripture in 4 different versions of the Bible. There were people in the room who speak in tongues and others who don't. I guess you could say it was a diverse group of people.
Recently, at my home church, we were looking at a chapter in 2 Kings. The person leading the chapter discussion had shared her thoughts on the chapter and what kind of things stood out to her. My notes and observations of the same chapter yielded completely different thoughts! And I smiled because that's diversity. Just like the concert I attended where diversity was so well represented in the room so it made an appearance again in a smaller setting.
Diversity is a reality of life. We cannot escape it. If we were not a diverse people we would be like a clone cult. And those never work out very well. (Remember Jim Jones and the Kool-Aid? David Koresh and Waco?) Diversity is something that people scream for from the tops of their soapboxes but in their personal lives they sneer at. We don't want diversity, we want conformity. Once we step down from our soapboxes for diversity we change our stance. Somehow we think diversity in universal ways is attainable without accepting diversity in personal ways. We disparage people for their different beliefs about politics, religion, parenting, education, or whatever else would fall into that category. We vilify people for holding a different opinion than our own. Here's a profound truth: until you embrace diversity in your personal life you will be a weak and ineffective voice for it in the world.
Here's another profound truth about diversity, brought to you compliments of life experience, mine namely: In all the areas where we do not entertain diversity in our personal lives we will be challenged on. In all the areas where we stubbornly cling to hateful, inconsistent, and hypocritical beliefs born of legalism we will be challenged on. Don't believe me? Look at Jesus. He consistently challenged the Pharisees on their false, hypocritical, inconsistent, and at times hateful, beliefs and traditions. And they responded as so many still do today. They disparaged him, they vilified him, and then they tried to kill him. We may not go so far as to physically harm someone who doesn't agree with us but we do kill them with our words. We use our words as a weapon to cut down anyone who dares to show a different side than the one we have.
What if you are wrong about that belief you cling to? I know. I know you think it's not possible that you could be wrong, misinformed, mistaken, or deceived but what if you are? The answer lies in diversity. We must invite it into our lives, through people, to help us stay grounded and filtered. We must allow diversity, through people, to challenge us. Even if we end up not agreeing with them we need the reminder to stay open to other trains of thought, methods, beliefs, etc. Here's a great definition I came across from the University of Oregon: The concept of diversity encompasses acceptance and respect. It means understanding that each individual is unique, and recognizing our individual differences. These can be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies. It is the exploration of these differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing environment. It is about understanding each other and moving beyond simple tolerance to embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions of diversity contained within each individual.
What's an appropriate way to respond to diversity in our personal lives? Well, I can tell you what isn't appropriate! It is not appropriate to use coarse and vulgar language to prove your point. It is not appropriate to attack someones character for having a differing opinion. It is unacceptable to cut off relationship* with someone just because they think black tea is best and you think green tea is the only tea to drink. (Do you see how I kept that example light and out of controversial territory? *wink*) What is appropriate is keeping an open mind and heart, allowing the other person to share their view with you, embracing the challenge a different train of thought brings, giving yourself permission to be wrong or to change your mind, allowing for the possibility that both perspectives are true and there may be more than one way to do something.
Diversity allows for opposing or opposite views to co-exist. We don't have to have "everything" in common but diversity is the one thing we do, or should, have in common and we should celebrate it every day.*
*For culture's attempts at defining diversity click here and scroll down to read the variety of definitions.
*Sometimes we have to cut off relationship with someone for a variety of reasons but that's not what this blog is about. That's a whole other can of worms to open!
*That's a loose quote from an unknown source. *Sometimes we have to cut off relationship with someone for a variety of reasons but that's not what this blog is about. That's a whole other can of worms to open!
Before writing this post I wrote one on Tolerance. Click here to read those thoughts!
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