Cultural and Religious Difference

"Sarai said to Abram: 'The LORD has kept me from bearing children. Have intercourse, then, with my maid; perhaps I shall have sons through her.'” Gen 6:2

In a culture and country that claims to honor monogamous relationships between spouses, Sarai's willingness, at first blush, to allow Abram, her husband, to marry and sleep with her maid startles us. How can a woman open herself to this kind of infidelity without losing herself in jealousy and envy? For Sarai, the opportunity to mother a child, even if it was born from a second wife was sufficient motivation, but then we begin to wonder who Sarai sees herself to be by offering her maid to anyone, even her husband.

Of course, there are cultural reasons underlying this story, but they nevertheless unnerve us. Is it possible that God could be involved in a situation that seems so abhorrent ? Did God accept, even support, polygamy for the sake of the nation? Commentators suggest that though God held up the divine ideal of monogamy, God allowed polygamy as a human exception. Custom also dictated that Sarai, Abram's first wife, had jurisdiction over any other wives Abram might take. The birth of heirs was clearly more important at the time of Abraham than avoiding polygamy.

All of this for the sake of wondering aloud about how to move forward both with regard to marriage and women's roles in the church. While few would debate that polygamy makes no sense in the 21st century, the bible stories of Abram, Lamech and David to name just three, give us pause. How can we conform to the ideal of God's law while still respecting the integrity of cultures? Further, how best can we integrate cultural differences between and among people so that the Good News is heard by all peoples?

Today, make no judgments about cultural differences.

How do you manage cultural differences in your life and ministry?