Seth Barnes Nov 15, 2009 7:00 PM

You need a bigger worldview

We are way too parochial in America. We grow up speaking only English, thinking that ours is the only fishbowl to swim in, immersed in a culture w...

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We are way too parochial in America. We grow up speaking only English, thinking that ours is the only fishbowl to swim in, immersed in a culture where everything comes to us in nanoseconds. And we assume that everyone is the same way. We don't seem to understand the degree to which our worldview is culturally defined. We don't seem to have the questions to ask that will help us see that other perspectives even exist.

It's one reason that I say, *"Every young person needs to spend a year overseas."* The little ruts in which we live are way too narrow. How can we begin to embrace Jesus' final command to make disciples of all nations unless we can appreciate and embrace their cultures? Of course the World Race is perfect for expanding your worldview. There's nothing like experience and experiencing 11 different countries gives you all kinds of questions to begin asking.

Take something as simple as getting an icecream cone. Here in America you walk up to the counter, give them your order, and in seconds, you get handed what you want. But, how might that work in a place like Instanbul? The video below, posted yesterday by Birkleigh Foreman, a racer, is a priceless answer to the question and leads me to pose this follow-up question: What are some ways in which our worldview is too narrow?

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