What is your culture?

This was the topic of my NURS 250 (Health Promotion) class period for today. To be honest, I have three classes talking about culture right now and I'm so sick of it I feel like I'll scream if I hear another lecture about it. And for the record, I absolutely hate this class at the moment. My instructor is very opinionated, in-your-face, and unbelievably liberal and feminist. The majority of what she says goes directly against everything I believe and have been taught all my life. However, this class is also the one that has made me stop and think the most. It makes me question my motives, and truly dig deep and define the foundation on which I stand. So while it's frustrating to no end at times, I definitely won't say that it's a waste of time.

Anyway, getting back to my original train of thought… the question she kept drumming into our heads was "What is your culture?" It's really interesting how most of my generation has no idea how to answer that. By asking that, are you asking: am I German, Norwegian, Native American, Chinese? Am I a Southerner, in the campus culture, in the medical world? What is culture? My instructor is partly Native American, and she grew up in that culture. She married a man who is Polish and grew up in a very close-nit Polish community. She integrated herself into that culture. But what is my culture? Well, to answer that, first I must know what exactly culture means. For the purpose of this post, I'll use my textbook's definition: "Culture is a dynamic adaptation, a learned way of life that includes interrelated attitudes, morals, beliefs, values, ideals, knowledge, symbols, artifacts, customs, traditions, and norms of a particular group that guide behavior, make life meaningful, and are transmitted intergenerationally." Wow, that's a mouthful. :)

Today in class my instructor asked "If you were in another country and someone asked you what your culture was, how many of you would say first and foremost that you're an American?" And pretty much everyone in the room raised their hand. I didn't. Sure, being American is important to me and to who I am, but it is by no means the first and foremost culture influencing my life.

So what is my culture? I am first and foremost a Christian. To borrow words from some great men and women of God, I am a part of the Jesus Culture. Christianity is who I am. It is the center of my life, and it encompasses every aspect of my life. I didn't grow up as an American first; from the time I first surrendered my life to my Savior, I grew up as a Christian above anything else. And even before that, it was still my family's way of life. The Jesus Culture is the best way I can describe it—so thank you to those who have officially started calling it such. Christianity is a culture. It was the basis for how I was raised. My parents' entire lives centered on bringing glory to their Savior, and instilling in their children what it meant to be part of the Kingdom of God. Yes, I am still an American. I still have many other cultures that have influenced me in many, many ways. But they don't define me. The Jesus Culture is who I am. The Cross is my heritage, and heaven is my future.

When will we truly understand that Christianity is a way of life? Will we ever realize that it's our fault that the world views Christianity as merely a religion instead of a lifestyle? If we would only grab hold of this concept and live in such a way that the whole world takes notice. I am not simply German, English, a nurse, a Midwesterner, a college student, an American. I am a Christian. Jesus defines who I am.