As a Puerto Rican-American from the Bronx (NYC) who attended a
differently diverse university in an urban New Jersey community and joined
staff with a majority Caucasian organization, I can assure you that it is not
easy to become part of a community where you are a minority and still hold true
to your individuality and culture.
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When I moved to New Jersey for college, I witnessed a
shift in the cultural population and slightly felt the need to adjust. Stepping
into the classroom was noticeably and often uncomfortably different in its
ethnic demographic.
As a Deaf education major, I became well acquainted
with the feeling of being uncomfortable in a community of people who are all of
a different culture. (Most Deaf adults
asso ciate with their deafness before they do with their ethnicity. In their
world, you are either hearing or Deaf.)
Even later in life, as an interned with a national organization
where I worked with a majority
Suburban American team, I would occasionally feel uncomfortable and alone.
Sometimes I felt misunderstood and often pride led me to believe I deserved
special attention because "they needed to learn about my
differences".
Being
a minority, ethnically, spiritually, physically, mentally and emotionally is
never easy and rarely, if ever, comfortable. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t purposefully place ourselves in places
where we are the minority.
Look at Peter, a friend and disciple of Jesus Christ. Acts 10 and 11 record:
· Peter’s fear to enter into a different culture - Peter originally didn't want to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles. They were completely different than he was in culture, spirituality, ethnicity and more.· God's calling for him to stay uncomfortable - The Holy Spirit led Peter to bring the truth of the Gospel to the Gentiles. Later in chapter eleven, he is even able to be a bridge-builder between the circumcised Jews and the Gentiles.· The fruit of his obedience to the Holy Spirit – Despite Peter's obvious discomfort and fear, his obedience finally led him to the opportunity to be a bridge-builder between the Gentiles and God and into the whole body of Christ (The Church).It wasn't easy for Peter to be the only Jew amongst Gentiles, nor was it easy for him to be one of the few Jews within his community who believed Gentiles could know and experience the Holy Spirit. He probably often felt scared and alone like I did entering the deaf community and like I'm sure you have at some point as well. He may have even though it to be an impossible task (outside of God) to merge the two different cultures together. However, as believers, God calls us to be part of the impossible. He doesn’t just call us to Himself, but He calls us to community so that we may be a brighter example of what love looks like to this dark world.
