Diversity in the Church

In our western world where individuality is so strongly fought for, it is funny how the fight to keep true to ourselves is such a struggle. Even if laws allow for individuality, group mentalities and attitudes seem to override these laws far too often. As Christians, the moral laws laid out by Jesus should override any other external laws; but the acceptance of the individual is something that is positively spoken of within the Bible. I’ve heard many preach their own sermons on 1 Corinthians 12 about the diversity of the Body of Christ, yet still fail to live that out. This perhaps has somewhat to do with the fact that individuality,  perceived to go against a system of communal conformity, may appear selfish to some in that it does not give up the idea of self. You and I, under God, are above a system that generalizes and stereotypes. To not stand up and stand out is to not proudly stand for who God made us to be. If none of us stand up, we’re letting a man-made oppressive system define each of us rather than allowing God to define us.

Giving up our own selfish natures isn’t about giving up who we are individually. It’s about becoming who we were meant to be through Christ and making sure to use this to help others in ways that matter. Is internalizing a stereotype and communal standard, for the sake of connection and acceptance, an honest decision? Does that decision accomplish what we hoped? When you and I are not known for our real selves, our common ground where we can connect is that we have no “selves”. In such a setting, depth is not tolerated. The pressure of this intolerance can be so strong that it takes great amounts of courage to step out of it.

This way of connection through conformity may be an attempt to diminish conflict, because if individuality were to emerge, any selfishness in our natures would fight back at anything different from our individual selves. But masking individuality is a lie, rather than an act of peace. It is attempting to take the easy route by tossing out worthwhile depth instead of forcing ourselves to submit to the diversity intended by God to represent Himself. If there is something that you or I do not like about someone else, ignoring its existence by forbidding it is not an act of selflessness. It is an act of non-sacrificial denial.

Avoiding individuality does not protect us from selfishness. There will always be selfish people, even in a system where individuality is stifled. Where conformity is endorsed, those who by nature are closer to the standard, and thus find it easier to conform, get the most reward. Not everyone can conform equally, because if there is only one standard, and clearly we are all different in looks, personality, and natural gifts, it obviously follows that some people would have to go further and try harder in attempting to give themselves up to attain that standard. In this way, conformity is incredibly unfair. What one person might not appreciate could be a world of help to someone else. What may seem worthless to a majority could mean the world to a minority. If you or I find that, as individuals, we uniquely have something to offer these minorities, do we stifle it for the sake of conformity? Aren’t the minorities also part of the community?

We also might take into consideration the fact that Jesus was alone. Jesus was a minority in what He stood for, and in the end, the most votes put Him to death. Yet, as Christians, we acknowledge now that Jesus is the ultimate standard of morality. If there is something that is wrong, more votes in its favor will not make it right. We tend to quickly dismiss new, unique perspectives from individuals when it challenges our comfort zones. In a system where the most votes win, majorities are allowed to be selfish and the minorities are forced to either be selfless or courageously stand firm.

We also sometimes get stuck on what we think is right and feel we cannot accept the people who don’t follow our morals. When it comes to morality, diversity is difficult, but we have to remember that learning in life is a process. Sometimes there is a grey area in definition between enabling and lovingly letting someone live their own life. We come to our true selves through our own progressive story. There are times when we must take a stand for what we believe to be right. In instances where an abusive action is occurring, standing up for the victims is a must. However, in instances where personal choice isn’t obviously hurting others nor necessarily the people making those choices, though it is against our beliefs, perhaps making sure we are living our own individual stories, while allowing others to live their own individual stories (learn things through their own different experiences) is the way to go about living a love-filled life.

In some ways, the term selfless doesn’t seem right in that the word seems to imply that you and I must be without a self. What if instead of giving up on ourselves (who we are), we gave of ourselves? What if true selflessness is forcing ourselves to be shaped into our greatest potential by God’s help, and allowing our true selves to be used for others’ good? What if selflessness is giving up on competition and self-sustainment by accepting others’ offers to help us? What if stifling our true selves is not often the true way to be sacrificial, but instead it is either cowardly or poorly thought through in that we are buying into an idea that our true individual selves are not worth much to anyone? God created diversity to be a great and powerful thing which cannot exist without love, and love, because of its very greatness, requires our best of efforts.