May was Asian and Pacific Islander month. I love the fact that there are whole months dedicated to appreciating different groups! Black history month, Hispanic heritage month, Asian and Pacific Islander month, and more! However, I feel like we miss the point sometimes. Those months are to spread awareness and to understand different groups better. Do we take the time to do that, though?
Do you know any more about Asian history or culture? What about Pacific Islander history or culture? Maybe you know a lot, or perhaps you know nothing. My point, though, isn’t directly about history or culture. My desire in this post is for you to look at how you are living your life. Are you considerate of others and their feelings? Are you aware of other cultures and honor them as much as your own? Do you have a diverse friend group, or do all your friends look like you?
Personally, I don’t think any one considers these questions enough. Take a moment and consider them.
Not asking these hard questions has been ok for far too long, but I dare you to do better! I will be discussing each of these questions in further detail so that you can take steps to become more aware of the world around you. For this post, I encourage my Christian friends to go through each question and consider the next steps they can take. As Christians, we have a responsibility to love people no matter their race, ability, or anything about them. We are called to fill the gap. But if you are not a Christian, it doesn’t matter! This post is about becoming a better human.
(If you don’t have a lot of time, scroll to the question you need to work on the most.)
1.Are you considerate of others and their feelings?
I think this is a straightforward question; however, I find that many people struggle with it. The first thing I would suggest if you aren’t sure if this is calling you out is, check your words. Are your words kind? No one can be kind 100% of the time. However, if 99% of them aren’t, then you might need to check yourself. How about your patience? Are you the first person to become angry? If someone doesn’t share your political views, are you the first one to call them stupid?
As humans, we face plenty of challenges regularly. No one needs to be extra put down. Life takes care of that all on its own. Action: This week, try to make sure that everything that comes out of your mouth is kind. Even if you have to correct someone’s actions, you can do it graciously and with kindness.
2.Are you aware of other cultures and honor them as much as your own?
Knowing about other cultures and honoring them is something many people disagree about. While it is fantastic to honor and appreciate your culture, it is rewarding to learn about others. I am not saying you disregard your culture or country, but instead, you add to your knowledge—ignorance isn’t bliss. Ignorance leads to misconceptions and miscommunications.
Think about some of the misconceptions that people may have about you. If someone heard a rumor you were rude and believed it, you would be irritated, right? What if that person had never even met you! Yet choose to hold to the belief you were awful. You would think that was absurd, right? I would. Yet, so many people have the exact same perception of whole people groups!! Dont be the person who believes the rumors; most of the time, they have no truth. Action: Watch something that exposes you to other countries or cultures. Netflix has some wack shows about AAPI but some good ones too. For example, the show Asian street food and Latin American street food are fantastic! You could easily watch all of them in a week, haha! Maybe take a class about another country, culture, or group next semester. Almost every degree requires you to take some culture/sociology class.
3.Do you have a diverse friend group, or do all your friends look like you?
This can be a hard question to ask but an important one nonetheless. It is essential to ask this question because if you are the most intelligent person in the room, you will never grow. You will never grow if everyone you are around thinks the same way you do. I dont know about you, but I want to grow. Growing is hard and uncomfortable but so worth it. I have learned so much from having a diverse friend group. I have friends of different races, socioeconomic statuses, political parties, and walks of life. We can have hard conversations that challenge us to do better. We help each other see the world more fully.
Action: Be picky about your core people but not about others. My core people who hear about my joys and sorrows are Christians. They are loyal and compassionate people. However, they are of different races and from other places. Try to make some friends who have a different education than you, who are of a different race, who grew up somewhere different. Your core people won’t change overnight, but making new friends wouldn’t hurt. Putting yourself in situations to make these new friends may be uncomfortable initially; however, it will be worth it! While you remain open to new friends who don’t think like you, be sensitive to others. If Republicans hear you saying, “all republicans are trash,” they won’t be your friend or vice versa. This goes for assumptions about race or status as well.
Before I wrap this up, I need to say one more thing because this is a reflection on AAPI month. Over the last several years, especially in the last year, I have seen the discrimination towards Asians, and Pacific Islanders grow astronomically. This has broken my heart time and time again. In my high school, there were many Asian students. Some of them were international students. The international students weren’t treated very well by other students. Many students made fun of them due to how they spoke. I would always try to stand up for them, but I honestly felt ashamed of how these “Christian” teenagers acted. My family ended up hosting two girls who have now become like my sisters. Then a couple of years later, Covid happened. Covid quickly became a way to discriminate against ALL Asian people. People would start fights only because a person wore a mask on a college campus. That wasn’t the worst part to me. The worst part is that no one even seemed to care! Christian or non-Christian, if it didn’t affect them, they did not care. DO BETTER. Christian or non-Christian be against the hate. Stand up for justice and fight for change.
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
MICAH 6:8