Overcoming Multiethnic Tension
by Neil RendallWe are a people in the process of change. But change, any change, threatens most of us. This is part of the tension we feel as we look at the world and nation in which we live. When the changes involve people groups of different ethnic origins, the tensions and fears can be even more intense and more confusing.
How can we work through some of those tensions? Here is an exercise that can be adapted to either small or large-group settings, along with some suggestions for learning to move more easily across ethnic differences.
1. As individuals, take a minute to respond personally to the following question:
Whom did your family, relatives, neighborhood, community teach you to reject? look down on? laugh at? not associate with? feel superior to? fear or hate? feel inferior to? be jealous of?
2. Now take five minutes together in very small groups of two or three to share your thoughts with each other (adjust timing so that everyone can verbalize their responses).
3. In the larger group, let a spokesperson from each smaller group share a few observations about what was said.
4. Move on by asking some of the following questions and getting a response from the group. (Some appropriate responses and thoughts are in brackets.)
a. Who made these people you talked about? [God did.]
b. Does God love them? [Yes.]
c. Do you love them? [Responses will vary, depending on the size and intimacy of the group.]
d. Where do these deep-seated feelings come from? [They are culturally imprinted upon us as we grow up.]
e. How can we change those feelings? [They are so indelibly imprinted on us that we may never be able to remove them. We may see some movement, but we may only be able to ask God to continually forgive us and help us.]
5. Summarize by pointing out that most of us find our security in being with people who are like us - socially, culturally, racially. Differences make most of us uneasy and nervous. Coming to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior does not automatically change the way we look at the people around us. To be conformed to the image of Jesus in this area of our lives will be very painful and very difficult. Will you pay the price?
How to Grow
Racism is essentially our denial that God has made all people in his image. Our reluctance to move from our comfort zones only hinders our ability to understand one another and to discover that image of God in each other. Here are some steps to take, many of which are especially important for those in the majority culture:
• Desire Jesus to change the attitudes of your heart. Express that desire in prayer.
• Listen to people who are ethnically different from you. Read their books. See their films and plays. Hear their music. Consider their perspective on history, politics, economics, culture, language and the future. Try to understand their world.
• Face the history of our nation in the area of race.
• Face your personal history in racial relationships
• Become friends with some people who are ethnically different from you.
• Go and be a minority in their world. Become part of their world. Join a black gospel choir if you're not black. (most welcome people of any ethnic heritage). If you're African-American or white, spend time with the Asian or Latino clubs on campus. Visit (and maybe join!) a multiracial church or one in which yours is the minority culture.
• If you're from a suburban or rural setting, get involved with the needs of real people in urban communities. Take part in an InterVarsity® urban project or work with an agency like Habitat for Humanity.
• Search the Scriptures for God's heart for racial reconciliation. Study with others to build biblical foundations into your life.
• Be open to having your world view changed.
• Be willing to be hurt, to fail and to get up again.
Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this article for educational purposes provided this permission notice, and the copyright notice below are preserved on all copies. Not to be reprinted in any other publication without permission. © 1997 InterVarsity Christian Fellowship of the USA. All rights reserved. This article first appeared in the Spring/Summer 1997 issue of Student Leadership Journal®.
Unless otherwise noted, all materials on the urbana.org web site are Copyright InterVarsity Christian Fellowship / USA. All rights reserved.
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