Personal Culture

As a former teacher, I'm well aware of the term "Multi-cultural"; a term that indicates that all classroom activites, and by extention, all of life, needs to include an appreciative form of all cultures. And while this is a lovely concept, it's ridiculous.

All cultures?

What is culture?

Broadly defined, according to http://dictionary.reference.com, culture is:

–noun
1.the quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in arts, letters, manners, scholarly pursuits, etc.
2.that which is excellent in the arts, manners, etc.
3.a particular form or stage of civilization, as that of a certain nation or period: Greek culture.
4.development or improvement of the mind by education or training.
5.the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group: the youth culture; the drug culture.
6.Anthropology. the sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings and transmitted from one generation to another.
7.Biology.
a.the cultivation of microorganisms, as bacteria, or of tissues, for scientific study, medicinal use, etc.
b.the product or growth resulting from such cultivation.
8.the act or practice of cultivating the soil; tillage.
9.the raising of plants or animals, esp. with a view to their improvement.
10.the product or growth resulting from such cultivation.
–verb (used with object)
11.to subject to culture; cultivate.
12.Biology.
a.to grow (microorganisms, tissues, etc.) in or on a controlled or defined medium.
b.to introduce (living material) into a culture medium.

It's numbers 1, 5, & 6 on which I want to focus this entry. Culture is where we come from, what we've learned and how that's shaped us. Culture is quality of living, history,ethinicity,and Anthropology.

But it's also personal. The culture of family is the most pivitol slice of culture that effects our society today. My family of origin's culture from the late 1970's through the 1990's is not the same as my family's culture: what I'm doing with my children and the standards by which I am raising them. Our personal culture is what we choose to do in our spare time, how our environment affects or infects us, what we give back to the people in our life.

Personal culture is fluid. It changes and matures as we do. The moments that define us also define our personal culture, our essence as human beings; our foundations and beliefs.

Culture awareness has been thrown in my life because of the training for Foster Care. As a Foster Care parent, I need to be sensitive to the cultural backgrounds of the children that come into my home. There is a level of respect that I can establish: just because other families don't do things like I do, that doesn't mean that the children are loved any less. That's key!

My personal culture includes Jesus. It's established on His foundation, that we must all love each other dispite of our differences and because of our differences. In that light, there is no personal culture that is better than another - unless there is no God in that person's life. Then what defines that culture? Worldly cultures? Political correctness? Materialism?

And there's the caution flag! If your personal culture isn't centered on Jesus, isn't first tied with God's ribbon, then what is the foundation of your life? When people look at you, see how you live, what will they know about you to be true?

With Jesus, it's always love and peace.