Poking around in the culture.....

This morning i had a very interesting conversation with a man from our village.....

He brought his little girl of about 4 for me to see.  She had swollen eyes......i wondered what could possible have affected the child in this strange manner and asked a few questions while thinking.....allergies, insect sting??

They also live in a world filled by fear - being cursed is quite a normal day to day affair!  In any case, i asked him what he thought this was and he said...."I am a poligamist".....goodness, i thought, where was THIS going?  He continued on by saying he hasn't been to his "other" house in a while and that the child is actually malnourished.  (Interestingly enough, he is the village kind-of-healthcare/literacy worker and he comes to me??)

We talked a bit about food and so on and he left with a few vitamines and advice, which he already knew about, but it got me thinking.....

How do we use our culture to make excuses for our way of living or of doing?  "I am a poligamist" was his way of saying he had an excuse.....and me, what do i use as cultural excuses?  The first one that comes to mind is that i really, Really do not like wearing a skirt!!  So i could, in this culture where women Always were skirts, demand that in MY culture it is totally fine to wear a jean and then go out and do so!  But that is just a very superficial and silly example and there are definitely other deeper ones.......maybe just a good reminder that God is above all cultures and He wants me to seek His kingdom first and not my own or my own culture's idea of what is good and what is not......gets you thinking, i suppose of .......Motives??

Well, in any case, food for thought!!
bella