A great deal of confusion exists about what diversity is. Webster Dictionary defines diversity as the condition of having distinct or unlike elements. In our interaction with people at work, at home, at church, at the grocery store, the post office, at school, etc. This means the variety among people related to such factors as age, culture, education, employment status, family status, financial status, function, gender, national origin, physical appearance, race, regional or provincial origin, sexual orientation, and thinking style. Though these differences are undeniable, individual acceptance to these differences varies. Others have understood the differences and learned to incorporate their understanding into the way they interact with others. Others though have completely devalued or ignored these differences.Valuing diversity means acknowledging that other people, other races, other voices, and other cultures have as much integrity and as much claim on the world as we do. It is the recognition that there are other ways of seeing the world, solving problems, and working together. Managing diversity means promoting inclusion, creating an environment where all differences are valued, and in which each individual can develop to her or his full potential. From a business perspective, managing diversity is valuable because it means an organization gets the most from its employees. From a Christian perspective, effectively managing diversity is valuable because it means valuing each other’s skills, gifts, knowledge, status, etc. to serve, honor, and glorify God’s kingdom.
There is one fragment of Agur’s thought in Proverbs 30 that can help us understand diversity. The following verses 24-28 are: “Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise: Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer; coneys are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in the crags; locust have no king, yet they advance together in ranks; a lizard can be caught with the hand, yet it is found in kings’ palaces.
There is one fragment of Agur’s thought in Proverbs 30 that can help us understand diversity. The following verses 24-28 are: “Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise: Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer; coneys are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in the crags; locust have no king, yet they advance together in ranks; a lizard can be caught with the hand, yet it is found in kings’ palaces.
The rhema I received from these verses is a revelation that valuing others represents our understanding and acceptance of the little things. We could learn from the small but yet extremely wise creatures. As believers, we are not immune to giving negative criticisms or render unwanted stares at others, but as we grow spiritually and truly understand our salvation, and ultimately develop a more honest-to-goodness-relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ, we will eventually rid off these unpleasant traits.
We can learn from the ants. The ants have little strength, yet it stores up its food in the summer. There are a lot of one-dimensional people in the world who believed that they are better than the rest of us. If we think little of ourselves, it is easier to think big with the rest of the “little people”. Harmony spread all through a group of people, thinking big together and working big as one. We can work together as ants, helping one another carrying the load as to store food in the summer for the abundance during the winter freeze.
We can learn from the coneys. Coneys are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in a steep rugged mass of rock projecting upward or outward. Coneys are rock badges and they blend well among the rocks. They are impossible to see as long as they remain among the rocks. To judge a person who shows his or her own vulnerabilities as of less worth or not a valuable contributor to the group is a seemingly a non-Christian way. If a coney decides to go off the prairie, venturing away from the rock, then it is vulnerable. The reason, why the coney does not venture out at all! If one has the wisdom of a coney, he or she will know where the security is – in God himself. Individuals who are coneys should not be viewed as a non-active member of the group. In the business world, others are more comfortable working alone and unsupervised than being with a group. The coney is smart enough to realize its own vulnerabilities and weaknesses.
We can learn from the locusts. Agur says, “The locusts have no king, yet they advance together in ranks.” What the locust cannot do alone, it can do in community with others. Diversity is being with one in a community. “There-is-no-better-than-me” attitude is the best practice for a harmonious group or organization. As Christians, we cannot be Christians alone. We must be in a community with other Christians. If we do not know where we derive our power, we do not understand that other Christians need us and we need other Christians, or we are not going to make it. If we do not understand the concept of community, we do not have the good sense of a locust.
We can learn from the lizard. A lizard can be caught with the hand, yet is found in kings’ palaces. Rooted in that image is the image of grace, and grace is out of place. Everything the culture deems right, the Bible claims to be wrong. Because God uses the nobodies and the nothings, ultimately by His grace, they will be in kings' palaces and join fellowship with the king. How do your perceive the nobody and the nothing at your workplace or at church? Do you smile at that person? Do you say a word to that person? Do you respect his or her function at work? Do you consider that person a blessing or a curse?
Let us remember that a lizard can be caught with our hands, but yet it can be found in kings’ palaces. The lizard might be out of place, because of appearance, but we need to remember that people who are small and frail and not particularly attractive will one day be in king’s palaces.
We are diversity! There is no denying that we are weaved in a fabric with various colors, status, functions, thinking, etc. Let us learn from the small creatures mentioned in Proverbs 30:24-28. Let us find the goodness in each and every one of us. Enhance the strengths! Develop the weaknesses. Correct the mistakes. Let us be proactive in spreading acceptance, the way our Savior taught us, because the value of acceptance will result in understanding the true meaning of diversity.
