Cultural Differences

In missions school, we discussed some cultural differences that can confuse us. For a lot of these, there is nothing more or less Biblical about either stance, but we hold to some virtues over others and see the other side as “wrong.” I will discuss some here.

First is the time versus event confusion. Having lived in a few different parts of the country, people are more time oriented in some parts than in others. A metropolitan area in the United States is very time driven. Punctuality is important. Out in the country, it is a little more event driven. For example, church may start a little late so people have the chance to visit a little more. Apparently, in some cultures around the world, a few hours late is fine.

Another is the task versus relationship confusion. At my jobs, past and present, we valued interpersonal relationships to varying degrees, but finishing tasks was paramount. This is generally true in America. In a relationship-oriented culture, the task may not be as important as the time spent with other people. Imagine how this would go over in our businesses here in America!

Categorical versus holistic thinking is another one. We are often very categorical in the way we classify things endlessly, such as plants and animals, and even the Bible with systematic theology. Holistic thinking considers the whole greater than the parts, and there are exceptions to every rule.

These are just a few examples from our course. In each case, the trend in our culture is the opposite of what most tribal groups would adhere to. We must be ready to become accustomed to very different ways of looking at life.