wumcac

I'm a wumcac.  That's short for white, upper middle class, American Christian.  And I sure am learning more over the past few years about how my wumcac lenses have shaped the way I see and experience the world.  Because I am a part of the dominant culture, one of power and privilege, I have much ignorance and arrogance that I have not even been aware of throughout my lifetime.

I am increasingly more aware of that within me which is characteristic of my wumcac culture, especially as I spend time with people who are not wumcacs.  I have been experiencing the Spirit of God most when I make it a general rule to engage people who might seem"other" to me in the following posture..

1.  Confession.  As I meet with people whose life experience is different than mine, who might be a different race or struggling in a different socio-economic reality, it is best for me to enter with a prayerful posture of confession.  I confess my ignorance and arrogance.  I confess that I do not see people as Christ sees them.  I confess that I have rules of superiority and inferiority that are deeply embedded in my being.  I confess my judgmentalism and prejudice.  I confess my indifference to so many injustices around me.

2.  Listening.  One of the best things I can do is to listen well to people.  To hear from their life experience and their perspective.  To seek to better understand others.

3.  Receive.  Instead of being concerned first about what I can offer into the interaction, I believe God wants me to first be willing to receive.  Am I willing to receive people as gifts?  Am I willing to receive God's truth in the encounter?  Am I willing to be open to receiving from the other person?

4.  Participate in/join with.  The wumcac in me wants to believe I have all the right answers.  The wumcac in me wishes to control and fix.  The wumcac in me has pride and self-protective issues.  I have found that if I can sit together with others long enough, and we can authentically begin to forge relationship and trust to a place where we validate and value one another, God begins to take our collective giftedness and do a new thing.

I wish I could tell you that this posture is easy for me.  It's not.  This four-fold posture does not come naturally for me even when I'm with people whom I live and work with everyday and who are similar to me.  Oh my, yes...I have a long way to go as Jesus teaches me about living and loving.  This is a good reminder for me as to why Jesus tells me to abide in Him and stay connected to the Vine...for apart from Him I can do nothing.