Christians, Diversity is Not a Bad Word

A favorite memory was the night I heard Victoria tell me her story of growing up in Soviet Ukraine. 

Victoria was a wonderful co-worker at Haven of Peace Academy. So when she sat across from me at a staff dinner at an outdoor restaurant, in the dimming evening light, I asked her to tell me about her childhood under Communism.

What was it like growing up in the Soviet Union? I asked. And I sat spellbound as she talked about a carefree childhood where the children could roam freely, because there was very little crime. However, she said, there were also times when neighbors would disappear in the night, never to be seen or heard from again. 

She talked about her Christian grandmother, who secretly told her about God and gave her a cross pendant to wear under her school uniform. One day a teacher found it, and forced the seven-year-old Victoria to stand in front of the entire school and stomp on that cross.

Her family always had the basics but not much more, but that’s how everyone lived. All the stores carried exactly the same clothes, so there wasn’t much to buy anyway. And the United States and President Regan? They were the terrifying enemy. They would hold drills at school in case of an American attack. 

I chuckled at the irony. We grew up afraid of the Soviet Union! I exclaimed. We were terrified of our Russian enemies! How extraordinary to sit across the table from each other, our childhoods separated by the Iron Curtain.

Another day, I again sat captivated as I heard another fellow co-worker share her story.

This friend, Vilai, was from Laos. She was a toddler when Communists took over her country, and her father’s life was in danger. Her entire family escaped into Thailand in the middle of the night, with nothing but the clothes on their backs. They ended up in a refugee camp in Thailand, where Vilai lived until she was nine years old. Finally, her family was granted asylum in Denmark and she is now a Danish citizen. Now, her husband digs wells in Tanzania and she is a teacher at HOPAC. She’s taught two of my children. Our daughters are good friends. 

Yes, go ahead and be jealous. I have the most fascinating friends ever. 

I could go on. I have a friend who told me what it was like to grow up white during South African aparteid. A Tanzanian friend told me about how her mother was a witchdoctor and put death curses on my friend’s children, who then died. Finally this friend came to Christ and had a third child, who then lived. 

I’ve worked alongside a Ugandan teacher who grew up as a sponsored Compassion child. I have a Tanzanian friend who described in detail what it was like to grow up in a poor village. Once on a long walk though the rainforest, another friend, a white Zimbabwean, told me the story of growing up in Zimbabwe as Mugabe came to power.

Living in an international community for so long was extraordinary. The conversations I had, the perspectives I heard, the stories I was brought into were better than any book or movie. And that’s not even getting into the unusual music instruments I’ve seen played, the dances I’ve enjoyed, and the incredible food I’ve been served. 

Recently I read an online article about the value of diversity in our churches. A commenter wrote, “I don’t see why diversity is important at all, especially in light of the fact that it is used as a weapon to sneak in left wing ideology….Diversity and 50 cents is still just 50 cents. Really, what does diversity get you? Nothing follows from having diversity in anything, so why give it importance?”

I read this comment, and I thought about Victoria, and Vilai, and the multitude of other multi-ethnic people in my life, and I found myself feeling sad for the person who wrote it.

True, the term “diversity” can be used in an unhealthy way, claiming that embracing it means there is no objective truth or that we have no right to make value judgments. That’s not okay. But please, let’s not throw out the baby with the bathwater. We can reject postmodernism while still celebrating the glory of diversity.  

What does diversity get you? Why is it important? This is like asking why you should go visit the Grand Canyon when you could just look at pictures of it. It’s like collecting delicious recipes but being content with Jack in the Box. Sometimes we are satisfied with mediocrity just because we don’t realize what we are missing.

The question should be Why wouldn’t you want diversity? Living in an international community has indescribably enriched my life. Hearing the stories of those from diverse backgrounds has broadened my perspective, opened my eyes to new ways of looking at the world. These friends have given me more understanding, more compassion, more wisdom. They have challenged and stretched my faith, forcing me to cut away the chaff and focus my vision on the treasure that is Christ alone. 

Perhaps an even more important reason why Christians should pursue diversity is because it is a living representation of the gospel. We are a divided world; we always have been. Do we forget how remarkably radical it was when Paul said, In Christ, there is neither Jew nor Gentile? These groups hated each other, wouldn’t have anything to do with each other, wouldn’t even eat off of the same dishes. Our natural inclination is to separate ourselves into groups that look and think just like us. It feels comfortable and validating. But that is not the gospel. 

Trust me, I understand the challenge of pushing through language, cultural, and religious barriers to develop diverse relationships. And of course, living in community with a diverse population has revealed my own ethnocentrism and cultural baggage. It is not always easy. But I cannot say this more emphatically: Building relationships with those who are ethnically diverse is unquestionably worth the work, the awkwardness, the inconvenience. Doing life in a multi-ethnic church community is an amazing privilege. In most cities in America, the nations have come right to our doorstep. What an incredible opportunity! 

There’s a reason why we get a thrill when we read Revelation’s description of heaven, where representatives from every nation, tribe, people, and language are standing before the throne of God. Because it’s the way it is supposed to be, isn’t it? How glorious that we have the chance to bring a little of heaven to earth, even now. 

*Thank you to Victoria and Vilai for giving me permission to share their stories.