Cultural Research
Make the Most of Every Opportunity: Two Cultural Perspectives
Same verse, two ways of living it
One of the best things about serving in a different country and in a multicultural team is the way it opens your eyes to different perspectives.
One good example was how to interpret Ephesians 5:15–16.
Be very careful, then, how you live — not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. (NIV)
While we could go on for a very long time about how cultures would interpret wise living, that won’t be the focus here. The focus would be about making the most of every opportunity.
What does that mean and how might two people from different cultural backgrounds view it? What practical implications will it have.
Two opposite cultures
I had some team mates that were as opposite as they could be in personality, temperament and cultural perspectives. One of them was very task orientated, viewed the world in right versus wrong, and time was very linear. The other person came from a more relational culture, where there wasn’t a best way of doing something but just different ways, and time was fluid and cyclical.
So how did that impact their understanding of the verse?
Doing vs. Being
The teammate from a task-orientated culture saw life through the lens of doing. They interpreted this verse to mean that you had to make opportunities. They filled their schedule to the brim. On their daily plan, there wasn’t 5 minutes that wasn’t occupied.
Whatever they were doing also had to be purposeful. There had to be significance behind interactions—bible studies, meeting and praying with others, exercise, language practice.
This meant that every minute was an opportunity to do something. They had a plan. They knew how to were going to make the most of the day they had.
There was also a right or best way to use their time. They had to choose the most effective and productive thing to do. Otherwise, they were not making the most of every opportunity.
The teammate from the more relational culture saw life through the lens of being. This meant the opposite. You did not fill up your schedule, lest you missed an opportunity to respond to someone’s needs. Flexibility and availability was the priority. Otherwise, when opportunities came your way, you’d miss them because you were too busy.
They were ready to drop everything. If something came up, they could be there without much difficulty.
If things didn’t go to plan, it wasn’t a problem… because there was no plan!
Being effective and productive was not the priority. Instead, the relationships were the priority. By showing that availability, it showed that the person was the priority, not the activity. It didn’t matter what was happening, or whether the conversation was particularly deep and meaningful.
What mattered was simply being there.
Which is the right approach?
I think both are right, and Jesus exhibited both types of behaviour. Jesus was very driven in fulfilling God’s plan. He knew where he was heading. He knew what he was about.
However, so many things in the gospels were things that happened on the way. There would be interruptions that resulted in healings, miracles, demons being cast out. People would come and get Jesus and he would be momentarily diverted from where he was heading.
The blessings of multicultural working
I think this is the greatest blessing of multicultural working. It opens your eyes to other ways of perceiving things.
Sometimes, people think that adapting to other cultures means that you have to lose a bit of your own culture. But this is a really pessimistic and negative outlook.
I love to see it in terms of growth and addition.
Now I’ve lived in Asia and worked with people from across the globe, I am now British plus. I have gained bits of other cultures—perspectives, values, priorities, even preferences—that I can now choose from.
This gives me a flexibility and adaptability that I would never have had if I hadn’t had these experienced.
Yes, there will be times that my British culture is a perfectly acceptable way of doing things. But I can choose to do it in a bit of a French, Indian, Korean, American, German, Filipino or other way from working alongside and learning about these cultures.
So, when you make the most of every opportunity you have two choices. You can either prioritise effectiveness and productivity. Or you can prioritise the person. But the best thing is, you can choose differently dependent on the situation.
You just have to decide which approach the situation calls for: doing or being. And that is living wisely.
Justin Marsh is a missionary who has served in Asia for over six years. He is the country leader of a team of missionaries and has just completed an MA that looks at missional practice. Whilst his team works within a range of contexts across the country, Justin’s focus is the Muslim minority groups. He is the owner of the publication THE CO-MISSION.
