What Is Your Attitude?

The other day, I saw a post on my Facebook page that deeply grieved me. It was a picture of a Forever Stamp celebrating the Islam holiday Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. I Googled the issue and these were the first five sites that I found, and look at the 'issue' from two different, and very divergent, perspectives. They are from Fact Check.org, Bare Naked Islam.com, The American Muslim.org, The Huffington Post, Creeping Sharia. Yes, I did read through those posts. And, to be honest, their perspectives did not surprise me at all. For those who don't know me, I have been deployed to Iraq three times, two of which I volunteered for. I first went to Iraq from 2003-04, when we went north into Iraq, while with the 82nd Airborne Division. The second time, I found out of an open slot with 867th Quatermaster Battalion, of the Nebraska National Guard. They needed an intelligence analyst, which is what my background was, and I was happy to volunteer. The third time was because I transferred from one unit to another. I transferred to the 192nd MP Detachment L&O (Law and Order) in 2009, knowing full well that they were going to deploy to Iraq in a few years. In fact, we deployed to both the Baghdad International Airport (BIAP) (most of the unit) and a few of us (including myself) were stationed at the International Zone (IZ). Especially during the third deployment, I interacted with many people of very diverse backgrounds, ethnicities, and cultures. And, I had a lot of fun! You see, I have had many rich experiences throughout my high school, college and seminary careers working with people from other countries and with other religious beliefs. Although I might not agree with their cultural and/or religious perspectives, I seek to understand them and to respect them. Because, just as my faith and cultural beliefs are extremely important to me, their beliefs are important to them. In at least trying to understand their perspectives, I find that I earn the right to be heard and respected. Let me share some of the examples that I have personally experienced... While I was in seminary, there were several students from different countries studying at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, including one from Pakistan and two from Africa. One of the things people will note about a lot of people from Africa is that they often do not use deodorant. Contrary to what many think, they do have hygiene standards and keep themselves clean. But, since they don't use deodorant like we do, they have an odor about them. In fact, at least with the two gentlemen that I knew at seminary, they have a distinct odor. In fact, I bet we all do, if we didn't use deodorant! I remember one evening in particular... I was cooking some food in the basement kitchen of the dorm that we lived in, when I heard someone enter the room behind me. I then noticed a smell other than I what I was cooking. After thinking a few seconds, I said, "Hello, Joshua..." (Not his real name.) I then turned around and, sure enough, it was him. And, he had a very surprised look on his face! When asked how I knew, I can't remember what I said. But, I didn't specify why I had recognized him. Although I did find their odor annoying at times, especially in close quarters, I learned to 'get over it.' I accepted it for what it was, a part of their culture. I'm sure they might have sometimes wondered why we smelled like we did! I worked with the Nebraska Department of Corrections, at Tecumseh State Correctional Institution (TSCI), from January 2006 until about July 2011, and again from March 2013 until present. Years ago, I started reading a book One Church, Many Tribes, and was very interested in learning more about the Native American perspective of faith, Christian or otherwise. I was working as the Gym Corporal at the time. Once or twice a week, a group of Native American Inmates would use one of the music rooms, located in the gym, to do their traditional drumming and chanting. I tried to strike up a conversation with several of them to learn more about what they were singing, what language they were singing in, etc. Most of them didn't care why I wanted to know, and didn't say much at all. However, one individual did. I'll call him "Backbear." (Again, not his real name.) At first he was very uneasy with talking with me. But, when I shared what little I knew of their culture and my desire to learn more, he started to open up. After about a month or so, Blackbear would often stand next to me before or after their Native American drumming and chanting, and we'd chat. Although he still felt uneasy at times being seen with me and talking about faith and culture (Blackbear was, I believe, a traditional Native American of the Lakota or Cheyenne tribe), but willing to endure it so that we could learn from each other. Many times, we just talked about current events, or life in prison, not just about our faith backgrounds. Soon after I started working at TSCI again, I applied for the new position of Religious Coordinator Assistant. And, because of my previous work experience there, and because my very rich experiences working with people of diverse backgrounds, I received the position. Although I have only worked that position about 3 weeks out of the last three months, I have thoroughly loved working it. Even during the hard and frustrating days, I loved what I was doing. One day, I was going to oversee the Muslims doing their weekly 'religious study.' The young man, an African American, who was going to be leading the lesson, came in. As I was doing my customary search of an Inmate coming into or going out of an area, I greeted him in Arabic with, "Salam." He looked at me with great surprise on his face for a few seconds, then said, "Oh, yeah.... You're the guard who actually cares about what others believe..." (Or, something like that.) We then proceeded to talk about Ramadan, which they were currently celebrating, and any issues that they may be having. It was a short but interesting conversation. Several other Inmates showed surprise when I shared with them what little I knew about their religious background (Ma'at, Thelama, etc.) and many have been willing to share what they believe, as well as listen to my perspective. While in Iraq, I really enjoyed learning from the many Muslims that I interacted with. Quite a few of them, including the Muslim translators that we had, often didn't call themselves Shia or Shite, only Muslim. They hated the sectarian violence that was going on and wanted all people to live in peace with each other. Yes, there are some that practice extreme Islam and teach hatred of others who don't believe exactly what they believe. Many other faiths, including some Buddhist and Hindu sects, do the same thing. In fact, there are some Christian churches that teach to devalue, even hate, anything that doesn't match their brand of theology. I do not know how God has used me through my interactions with people of other cultures and faiths. While taking various Gifts of the Spirit tests, two that always rank in the top five are evangelism and missions. Because of my many very positive experiences with people of other cultures and faiths, this is not surprising. These two Gifts work well together, being able to articulate my beliefs, and why I believe them (evangelism), and being comfortable among people of divergent faiths, cultures, traditions, etc. (missions). A Scripture passages concerning this is very meaningful to me. It reads:

6 Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. 8 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord. 9 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. 10 "For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, 11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. 12 "For you shall go out with joy, And be led out with peace; The mountains and the hills Shall break forth into singing before you, And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. 13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; And it shall be to the Lord for a name, For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off." (Isaiah 55:6-13, NKJV)

This tells me that, what ever I do in response to God's leading, God will honor that and bless it. Even if it is done very imperfectly, even with my foot shoved deeply into my mouth, God will still honor and bless it. Yes, there are those of different faiths that believe in, practice, and rigorously teach hatred of those who believe differently. But, that is not the case with all of the people who share that particular faith in general. Do we respond in kind to the hatred, or do we respond by teaching love and peace? I believe that Jesus' Sermon on the Mount is a very good indicator as to what God calls us to do. I will always protect myself and others from those who seek to do harm. However, if one is not currently actively seeking harm towards myself of someone else, then I would be a fool to respond in any other way than to share God's love. And, the most effective way that I have found to share God's love is to show respect towards and seek to understand what others believe. In showing that respect to them, over times, I have found many doors opened to me over time. Doors of opportunity where others are willing to hear what I say when I share what I believe. I rarely see much more than either a nod of respect or appreciation of knowing what we have in common. But, since God will honor and bless what I do in faith, when I get to Heaven, I'm sure God will greatly surprise me with what He did through me. How you view other people's beliefs and customs will greatly influence how they will view yours. Show respect to them and what they believe, then it is very likely that, at least eventually, they will respect what you believe. Show noting but contempt towards what others believe, guess what you'll receive back.... Do you really want to be part of the problem?