Treating each other with kindness and respect: A new culture

Photo by Shane Rounce on Unsplash

Click here to watch the three-minute video by Marinda Barnard. The following is a transcript.

Hello, I am Marinda from Cape Town, I am part of our lovely All Nations family. I want to encourage you and remind you of one of All Nations wonderful values, and that is to treat each other with kindness, graciously, and with respect. Sometimes we differ from one another, and sometimes even cultures, how we know and how we grew up fell in the way to love each other with respect and kindness.

I want to tell you a story, something that happened between missionaries, actually students – they were in training. They went on an outreach, and as they came back, some of the group was very upset. They were thinking, “You know what? If we become children of God, if we turn our lives to Jesus, we get a new culture, we get God’s culture.” As we came to this place where they did the outreach, some of the men refused to carry some of the stuff. They said, “No, no, no. It’s not part of our culture. In our culture, the women carry the stuff. They have to serve us that way.” Then the ladies said, “But don’t we get a new culture, if we turn to God?”

And that is something that I want to actually encourage you to think of today. So often, our way of thinking, how we grew up, is not part of God’s culture. And that stands in the way of God to serve the people that you work with. So today, I want to encourage you to love God with all your mind, lay down your culture, and open your heart for the Holy Spirit to give you His culture. Love God with all your emotions and your strength. And, love your neighbor as you love yourself.

Thank you for sharing this wonderful value, a value that we cherish in All Nations. And that is, above our own culture, to treat each other with respect, graciously and with kindness. Thank you. I am from Cape Town, and I love our All Nations family, all over the world. Thank you for serving God the best you can. Marinda.

1. How have you seen God’s culture overtake your own culture?

2. Are there areas in your culture where you need to prayerfully make space for this to happen?

About the author: Marinda Barnard is a part of the All Nations International Leadership Team (ILT). She is married to Gerhard Barnard, senior pastor of Logos Christian Church, a leading missional church in Cape Town, South Africa. She has been pastoring churches alongside Gerhard for more than 30 years. Marinda is also an artist. She loves children and focuses on raising leaders and teams to disciple children.

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