The World is not America.
Not economically.
Not politically.
Not socially.
Not culturally.
If you are blessed enough to grow up here in America, you have seen, tasted, and lived the life of some of the richest people that have ever walked the face of the earth.
Your hot shower is unheard of.
Your clean water piped right into your home is unthinkable.
Your personal car is a rarity.
Your glorification of individualism is not shared.
Your materialism does not consume most of the world.
Your easy access to education is not standard.
We live in a global village. Isolation and ignorance is no longer an option for rich America. But with great opportunity and wealth comes great responsibility. That is the burden that every American must carry. It is the burden that I carry back with me from my time in Rwanda.
By being American, you must train and teach yourself to constantly learn that the comforts of your life are not a global reality. And you must come to grips with the fact that you have the ability to be an instrument of change in a world that continually widens the gap of the rich and poor.
But you must also understand that you are not some sort of Savior. Just because you find yourself on the top of the ladder does not mean that everything American must now trickle down into the lives of the least of these. Why? Because the world is not America.
Each culture has it's own beauty. Each culture also has it's own darkness. I saw beauty and darkness in Rwanda. And I taste beauty and darkness here in America. What if we were to taste the beauty that every culture had to offer? What if we allowed ourselves to learn from the darkness that every culture has lived in?
What, then, would this world look like? It would not look like America.
It would look like the Kingdom of God. Man living up to his created potential. God as his number one. And love for every neighbor of all cultures and skin colors.
The reason our team walked away from Rwanda longing to stay was because Africa seems to embrace the very cultural values that we in the West have lost.
They value relationships more than time. A question like "how are you?" leads to a 30 minute conversation. But we hate that question in America because "how are you?" only means "Hello."
They value life more than possessions. That is why a picture of poverty can show the face of such joy in a child. His life is not based on what he has.
They value togetherness and family. They are a walking culture. They see each other on the streets everyday. They spend time with each other. Kids walk each other to school hand in hand. Even men walk holding hands. Not because of their sexual orientation but because of their friendship.
The World is not America.
The lingering questions is, "What values does America contribute to the world? What beauty do we possess? But we must also be aware of our own darkness. What must the world take from Americans and what must they leave behind?
Can you help me answer that question? Just click on "comments" below.
(The title of this post was inspired by Bishop John Rucyahana's words to our group on the Rwanda trip...you can see his speech if you go to the blog post titled "Bishop of Rwanda Personal Visit")
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