I have really
embraced the way my German heritage plays out in my life. When I lived in
Germany previously, I started to see my values of order, cleanliness,
promptness, and country living expressed in their native context. It is easy
for me to operate under the belief that there is a “right” way to do everything
and that it is best to help others learn how to do things the “right” way. This
“right” way seemed to come rather naturally in Germany.
Then I moved
to Thailand. Here I have learned to run red lights, as it is actually the safer
course of
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| Thai Values Sign |
The Thai
values come less naturally to me. I don’t blend in here, for external and
internal reasons. However, I have seen the benefit of introducing some of these
Thai cultural values into my German, type-A life. There are times to value
order and there are times to value chaos. Sometimes it is OK to run a red light
and other times it is best to stop. Keeping the conversation going, rather than
running off to complete the next thing on my to-do list is sometimes the better
choice.
The values I
have discovered in Thailand have really brought some balance to my German
tendencies. I am trying to navigate when it is good to live as a German and
when it is good to live as a Thai. What I am really discovering is there are
traits to value and express in any culture, especially those values that reflect
God’s Kingdom culture. These are the values I should embody faithfully. There
may be times to act like a German and there may be times to act like a Thai,
but the best cultural values I could live out are the Kingdom culture ones.
Matthew
6:33, “But
seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be
given to you as well.”
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