On July 20, 1969 I was between my freshman and sophomore years at the Naval Academy. I was at the Academy that evening, watching with millions of other Americans, as Neil Armstrong took, "one small step for man...". I recall being in a room with a bunch of other midshipmen over in the 4th wing of Bancroft Hall.
This was, without doubt, a shining moment in human exploration, and a shining moment for NASA and the USA. The space race had been won! The USA was proud, for that one moment.
A couple of weeks back we were transporting a UB student who had attended the weekly Navigators Bible study, way out in Block 8. Somehow it came out in the conversation that the imperialist USA thinks they own the world.
One of the great benefits of being in another culture is seeing your own culture through other eyes. In the biggest part of the world, the USA is disliked, though ironically US citizens, called "Americans" are fairly popular, more-so in some locales than others.
It caught Brenda and me totally off-guard, when the imperialistic nature of the USA was illustrated by the comment, "They even planted a US flag on the moon. The USA thinks they own the moon."
Wow, I had never thought of it that way.
Whereas I have traveled enough that I know that each culture sees the world, and sees life, a bit differently; I am often caught off guard.
That said, we all need to cultivate a sense of empathy for how every individual sees the world, and sees life, a bit differently. When we examine the Bible, that should be in mind. When we share Christ, or our testimony, we should keep that in mind. Everybody sees things a little different.
Handle with care, we are dealing with G^d's unique creation.
This was, without doubt, a shining moment in human exploration, and a shining moment for NASA and the USA. The space race had been won! The USA was proud, for that one moment.
A couple of weeks back we were transporting a UB student who had attended the weekly Navigators Bible study, way out in Block 8. Somehow it came out in the conversation that the imperialist USA thinks they own the world.
One of the great benefits of being in another culture is seeing your own culture through other eyes. In the biggest part of the world, the USA is disliked, though ironically US citizens, called "Americans" are fairly popular, more-so in some locales than others.
It caught Brenda and me totally off-guard, when the imperialistic nature of the USA was illustrated by the comment, "They even planted a US flag on the moon. The USA thinks they own the moon."
Wow, I had never thought of it that way.
Whereas I have traveled enough that I know that each culture sees the world, and sees life, a bit differently; I am often caught off guard.
That said, we all need to cultivate a sense of empathy for how every individual sees the world, and sees life, a bit differently. When we examine the Bible, that should be in mind. When we share Christ, or our testimony, we should keep that in mind. Everybody sees things a little different.
Handle with care, we are dealing with G^d's unique creation.
No comments:
Post a Comment