National or Ethnic Bondages

Ethnic bondages can result in negative cultural traits that are contrary to the fruit of the Spirit. Common beliefs of different nationalities or cultures are often stated and can be true for most of the people in that group. However, some of those beliefs can be untrue for some individuals within the culture. I have known many individuals who, if they were living in a different culture, would fit in very well, but in the culture, they are presently a part of and have been born into, they experience rejection on a regular basis.

Examples of Contrast

I witnessed an example of contrasting cultures while working on a mission base in Chile. The man in charge of construction was a missionary from Germany. At various times, his crew consisted of workers from Germany, the United States, Switzerland, and South America. A construction worker from Germany would expect to design and build a residential structure to last at least 100 years, possibly 200 years. A builder from the States might expect our houses to last about fifty years, while structures built in South America might look very temporary. The German belief in a time of decision to build would be “We are building this to last.”The belief of the builder from the States would sound like “We are building it to withstand the projected loads.”The builder from South America, however, would consider first the cost and then ask, “What is the cheapest material we can use to get by for now?” These are examples ofdifferent cultural views. Which is wrong? Which view is right?

See the Good

There are, of course, aspects of each culture that are beneficial and good, while some of the beliefs need the Lord’s intervention and a new perspective. In our experience while living in other countries, we could see qualities in each country that reflect God’s character. We could also see need for improvement in some areas, while other areas were simply the culture.

Example of Guilt

We ministered to a woman once who was having difficulty with guilt while living in the United States. As we helped her identify the source of her guilt, she remembered the national anthem from her native country. The anthem she sang in school every day had the citizens declare, “I will always be true; I will never leave; I commit my loyalty to my country.”She was experiencing guilt because she was now a citizen of the United States, and she felt she was breaking an oath to her country. After she broke the power of the vows in the anthem, she was free to enjoy her life in the United States.

Example of Shame

While working in Japan, we learned how their children, from the age of three, are driven to excel in school. College entrance exams are very difficult and competitive in Japan. Young adults who are not chosen for university bring shame on their families. Some of these students are shunned by their families or most certainly are made aware of how disappointing they are. As a result, many commit suicide if they don’t make the grade academically. Japan has the highest teen suicide rate in the world for this very reason.

Obviously, Jesus teaches us to accept others and to treat them as we would like to be treated ourselves. Before we judge too harshly, though, consider a contrast between Japan and the United States. Mathematicians conducted an experiment with seventh graders from Japan and the United States in 2007. The Japanese students were put in a room together, while the students from the United States were put in a separate room. The adults wrote a mathematical problem on the board that could not be solved. The students, however, were told to solve the problem and did not realize the problem had no solution. The seventh graders from the United States gave up trying to solve the problem after seven minutes on average. The Japanese students worked for an hour before the adults finally came in and told them to stop.

When the students from Japan came out of the room, their parents said to them, “Congratulations, you worked very hard.”The parents of the students from the United States told their children, “You’re so smart.”

Example of Attachment

In some European countries, such as Germany, Norway, Holland, and England, parents can seem closed off emotionally. These children may not experience outward expressions of affection, they may never hear parents express love to them, and they might never receive a hug or other sign of physical affection. Children raised in this type of environment might experience attachment problems as adults.

Common Knowledge

Personality traits from other cultures can be passed down through the generations and even the centuries after a family has lived in the United States. Some of those commonly known traits might be, “Germans are always right; the English are sophisticated; Americans are proud; the Dutch are hard-headed; Islanders are crisis-oriented.” Some of these traits you may see exhibited in every culture. Some of these traits can be passed on as bondage exclusive to certain families. Passing on certain traits from generation to generation can have the same effect as curses do—and operate the same way. As children, we hear older family members make declarations about a family trait, and we receive the declarations as truth and begin to act them out in our lives as adults.

“The Malone’s are tough; we can handle anything. The O’Malley’s don’t get mad, we get even. You are hard-headed, just like your grandpa.”

You don’t have to receives these negative traits or pass them on. You can break them in the same way a curse is broken.