“There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female. “– Galatians 3:28 (NIV)
The poet, Maya Angelou, once said, “We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry.” These powerful words speak about the importance of differences. And while we know that diversity is something to celebrate, it is not easy. Because we are wired for familiarity, diversity requires effort. The pursuit of this quality forces us to work harder, it challenges our assumptions, and it makes us question ourselves.
Understanding all this, I learned a lot at a recent workshop our church helped to sponsor.The workshop was entitled, “Gray Area Thinking.” The presenter was Ellie Klug, who transitioned from a heterosexual Christian white male to a Buddhist transgender female. In her words, she moved from one of “us” to one of “them.” She now better understands
what discrimination and “otherness” feel like.
One of the large takeaways for me was the truth that while most of us have good hearts and we want to do the right thing, we don’t always know what the right thing is, or we are
afraid to take risks as we interact with persons who are “different” than us. To move to a better place in our understanding of others, Ellie presented three hallmarks of gray area
thinking. These hallmarks are a toolset to exercise our empathetic hearts and move away from a black and white mindset of “good vs. bad,” “gay vs. straight,” or “rich vs. poor.”
The first hallmark is an “awareness of human vulnerability (or suffering).” At a basic level we need to have a day-to-day awareness of the presence of those who might be different
than us and we need a sensitivity to the struggles these individuals might have. This is a starting point.
A second hallmark is “risk taking to soften or lessen another’s vulnerability (or suffering).” If we see a stranger sobbing on a park bench, we take Ɵme to help a fellow human being.
We offer dignity to that person. We make an effort to make a difference.
A third hallmark is “to act with compassion and kindness.” We go the extra mile to assist this person. It means we move outside our comfort zone. Consider the story of the Good
Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37. The unlikely Samaritan goes out of his way to assist the person in need. A general way to put all this together is to focus on ARC (Awareness, Risk-taking, Compassion).
I hope each of us keeps working to do the right thing. I know I have work to do on my end. We conƟnue on the journey!
Blessings, Pastor Scott