By Grace Through Faith

A couple of weeks ago, I went to an art gallery in Osu. The place was three stories and had all kinds of different pieces of art. Paintings, statues, beads, fabrics, etc. After I had made my way through all the floors, I went back to the bottom floor again. I was walking through some of the paintings that I saw when I first walked in, and a lady asked me about one of the paintings in particular. She said that something about the piece really stood out to her and asked, “What do you think of it?”

Now, I am no art master, nor do I really know much about art haha. But I thought it was so interesting that she asked me about this specific painting. It had probably about 200 women painted on it, working in a market, selling and carrying different items, in all kinds of colors. My response to the woman was, “I think it really captures the fact that we are all uniquely created and different, even though we are all similar in some ways too. All these people are women, and they are sellers, but they are painted in different colors, holding different objects, painted with different strokes. Not one of them is exactly the same as the one.”

Thinking back on it, I was really in awe of that moment. Out of all the paintings in the place, this was the one that He wanted me to pay attention to. And He wanted me to learn that it stood out to someone else too.

I think with media and technology these days, we are able to share our voices a lot more than we used to be able to do. It’s a great thing in a lot of ways honestly. People can help others, learn from others, teach others, and listen to others online very well now. However, I think we also live in a world where we tend to generalize people, places, and things very often. Sometimes without even realizing it.

I have learned from some of the locals that Ghanaians tend to treat Americans very differently than their own people. At restaurants or in a car, the person working will want to serve you better than a local. Part of the reason because they want to impress you and part of the reason because they might want something from you.

Ghanaian men also treat American women completely differently than Ghanaian women. Some are actually genuine, but some are just looking for whatever you can give them.

However, this isn’t just a Ghanaian thing. Even back home in America, we generalize people or things. We tend to have an implied mindset when talking or reading about someone who belongs to a political party, ethnic group, religious affiliation, nationality, socioeconomic status, etc. And that mindset can shift the ways we treat those individuals too.

Maybe by already going into the conversation with a negative view of what the person is going to say because you don’t agree with their political opinion. Or treating those with a higher socioeconomic status than you with way more respect than the person serving you at a restaurant.

But at the end of the day, we are all different in so many ways. However, we are all created in the image of God, created by God, and created to love others. And loving others can also be to go into conversations without a judgmental view of someone else because they are different from you.

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” – Ephesians 2:10

God is still working on each of us. He is still painting the picture for us, and He is still designing His masterpiece. God views us as His sons and daughters. He wants us to be able to see that we each are important to Him, and He wants us to live in peace with one another as well.

We will fall short in life. We will have our highs and our lows. And we won’t always get along with everyone. But, we need to try and treat the people in our hometowns the same way we would treat those who are foreign to us. And vice versa.

We need to stop every once and a while and realize that our lives may not be where we want them to be at the moment, but it’s not nothing. By focusing on what we each do have, we can learn to appreciate God’s grace and goodness much more than comparing what we have to someone else. Or how their life looks to mine.

We are all unworthy of the grace that God gives us, but He still loves us unconditionally. And if the Creator of the world thinks that this person should be on Earth, we should still treat them with dignity and respect, no matter their status, fame, or origin.

“If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” – Romans 12:18

With love,

Claire