I just returned from Germany where I attended the world’s largest trade fair in the chemicals industry. Think about working for a supplier to the industry at a booth (or stand as they say over there). You never know who might show up next with a question.
Most people speak German, since most are from Germany. Many of the travelers may be used to traveling to Germany and speak the language. The second language everywhere that I went was English. Good thing for me since I don’t know enough German vocabulary to carry on a conversation. But I wondered how many other languages might some of the people need to speak. There were people from Eastern Europe, southern Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Coming from a rural Midwestern US village, I was fortunate to study international politics and cultures at the university. That, along with some travel and international business experience, has enabled me to deal with a diversity of cultures. Many of the people with whom I live when I’m home do not have that experience. I imagine that everywhere in the world you find people who believe that other people should be just like them.
That made me think of Paul. There are many things he wrote that those of us from areas where we are around people just like us all day just cannot really comprehend. He chose to go outside his normal group (Jews) and work with people from a variety of cultures. He showed how to be sensitive to people of different backgrounds while holding firm to his core belief.
Maybe that’s an attitude that we should be teaching more frequently. Maybe that’s an attitude that we all need to develop in ourselves. Maybe that would be one small movement toward making the world a better place to live.
Faith Venture 
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