E.L. Sherene Joseph cringed at her husband’s words. He’d given voice to something she felt but couldn’t imagine speaking aloud. With just one sentence, Joseph’s husband had confirmed that he felt it, too.
“We have turned into the kind of Indians we have always hated.”
Joseph and her husband are both ethnically Indian. She grew up in the Middle East among fellow Indian immigrants, while her husband was born and raised in India. They’ve both lived in the United States for about twenty years. And when they say they’ve become the types of Indians they’ve always hated, this is what they mean: in an effort to strengthen their Christian friendships, they’ve found themselves becoming increasingly Americanized and less connected to their Indian heritage.
“Something has changed in recent years, though,” Joseph wrote for CT recently. “I have felt God prompting me to cultivate closer relationships with my Hindu Indian friends. I still receive invitations to Diwali and Holi celebrations, and lately I’ve begun to accept these offers.”
Joseph writes that while she is not willing to worship Indian deities or adopt a syncretistic faith, she recognizes that her Indian heritage is a gift—one that empowers her to build meaningful relationships with people who share her culture. She is setting out to, as Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians, be “all things to all people” for the sake of the gospel.
As we consider our communities, may we take care to cultivate relationships that honor our heritage and that of others. In doing so, may we find opportunities to share, celebrate, and rejoice in the gospel that has the power to redeem people of every tribe, nation, and tongue.
