Primacy of the Relational
28th October 2005
Interesting conversation at work today with my boss. We talked about relationships and how traditionally, within Chinese culture, relationship and community took center stage. Confucian teachings highlighted the importance of the relational aspects of being human. Customs, traditions and rituals were created around community and the family as the center of the community.
However, unfortunately, like everything else the beauty of these customs, rituals and traditions became a legalistic noose around the entire culture. What was intended to accentuate relationships and what it means to be human, instead stifled an entire culture and created fear, bondage, mistrust and confusion. Both my boss and I experienced the negative effects while growing up in traditional cultural and familial settings.
Interestingly we also noticed that the same legalistic distortions in the Church, where strict authoritarianism had distorted the gospel of grace. We find that in the New Testament, there are many instructions given to support one another, to bear one another’s burdens, to pray for cone another, and to confess sins to one another. All of which are the practical implications of loving one another.
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