Ambassadors in a Box?

This week I was thinking about boxes & prejudice. Why? Because living in a different country than one's native land means that one will probably be faced with prejudice at some time or another. Sometimes prejudice is good (as in when someone thinks well of you before they get know you) and sometimes it is bad...

I find that there are 2 types of prejudice here which I experience more often than desirable. The first kind is when I meet people for the first time and they find out my nationality. Often they have a negative impression of the country I came from and expect me to be lazy, messy, picky, cold/closed, and difficult to get along with. However, once they get to know me, they realize I'm a person with my own personality, culture, and habits - often similar to theirs. And my mother taught me well to be active, to pick up after myself, to help with the chores even when I'm a guest, to strive to get along with everyone, and God gave me an open/transparent personality.

The second type of prejudice is more difficult for me to deal with b/c it involves people I see on a regular basis. Some people tend to put me in a box and no matter what I do or say, they refuse to see me as anything other than a foreigner who will never fit in and doesn't really belong here. And that hurts. For one thing, wherever I go, I am myself... I can't help it. I've even tried being different to please people and failed miserably. For another, I always try to be culturally sensitive and blend in as best as I can while still being myself. What's interesting is that where I live now is more similar to my personal/family culture than where I lived before. In fact, I feel more at home here than where I lived before (of course I've never been considered "normal" anyway - haha). So, one would think that I'd not be subject to prejudice. Sadly, not so...

I find that some people have an opinion that never changes, no matter what the facts. Everything they see is colored by the label they've placed on other people. So, even when someone does something that doesn't fit their preconceived idea of what that "type" of person should do, they refuse to see it as what it is and color it to fit their stereotype of that person. It drives me nuts sometimes!

So, anyway, to make a long story short. My frustration is one issue to deal with (especially in not letting negative people affect me negatively). But the food for thought that occurred to me in all this was that my faith often brings prejudice or a label to people's minds. People watch me, evaluating what they see against what they think of their preconceived idea of my faith. Wherever I go, whatever I do, I am a type of ambassador, not only for my native country, but for God. Everything I do reflects on my Creator - for good or bad.

So, how often do people think less of God b/c of something stupid I've done or said? How often do people put God in a box b/c of me? How often do I focus on how other people perceive me (and end up focusing on myself) instead of focusing on learning and doing what pleases God (which in the end often creates harmony and peace around me)? And how often do I remember that everything I do and say forms an impression in other people's minds of the God I serve? Far too often in the busyness of living, I forget the essentials, get distracted, and forget to live in light of eternity every minute of every day. My desire is to live in such a way as to please my Creator and bring peace, tranquility, and true joy into the lives of the people I meet. May God enable me to do so!