- Jun 29, 2019
- 747
- 197
- 61
- Country
- United States
- Gender
- Male
- Faith
- Christian
- Marital Status
- Married
What is diversity? A dictionary defines it as “the condition of having or being composed of differing elements.” Notice the two words, “having” and “being.” “Having” infers that diversity was achieved, whereas “being” infers that the state of diversity was purposely made that way. The former is a natural state, and the latter is, in varying degrees, an engineered state. So, when a nation welcomes different people, diversity becomes a natural state, whereas when a jurisdiction or organization excludes certain people and they are commanded to include certain of those people who have been excluded by design, or they command themselves, that is diversity that was purposely made.
What does God say about diversity? At first glance, God wants all people to love Him. Those that love Him will gain access to His Kingdom, no matter what their backgrounds are. Galatians 3:28 says “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” So, as far as diversity in God’s Kingdom goes, that’s a no-brainer.
But is there anything in the Bible that says whoever achieves being diverse amongst themselves will be judged as committing an act of righteousness? Seems that there is nothing on-point in the Bible, but certain passages make the Bible at least come close to mandating diversity among people for their own sake, in additional to the mandated diversity for the sake of God. What are these passages? The Golden Rule, for one, to the extent you would include an outsider as you yourself would want to be included. Also, the second great commandment of Lord Jesus which is to love your neighbor as yourself, to the extent that you would want a neighbor to love you enough to include you with your neighbor’s group.
Some may point out that as far as divine diversity goes, there is no limit as to how many may be included in God’s Kingdom, but, contrary to God’s Kingdom, the resources on earth are limited. These include natural resources, and resources that are man-made. The resources that are mad-made include distinguished colleges and universities, and employers, who have just so much room.
But it seems that those who target certain colleges and universities, and employers for that matter, are missing some important variables. On variable concerns the purpose of diversity, and the other is the level at which a decision should be made regarding diversity. The Bible sees the purpose of diversity as being a function of need among people. One instance of need is between those who are rich and those who are poor. Proverbs 22:2 says, “The rich and the poor meet together; the Lord is the maker of them all.” This is not to say rich and poor strictly in terms of material things, it includes things that the Lord has endowed each of us with in terms of abilities. In that regard, Proverbs 22:2 infers that to the extent that an individual does not have something that someone else has, the two would meet together to achieve a common goal. To put it simply, an employer needs employees to run a business and a worker needs an employer to work for and receive an income. People need others with skills and availability that they themselves don’t have, to achieve an objective that fulfills what God commanded us to do in Genesis 1:28.
Look at a prestigious college or university. They are regarded as institutions of learning; their goal is to give their students the knowledge and skills needed to be productive members of society. For those institutions who want diversity among its students, this may include bringing in students from different backgrounds so that they, and the students that have been traditionally admitted, would also have knowledge of other people so there are no pitfalls and barriers in the way of functioning as members of a society toward the goal that God has commanded in Genesis 1:28 due to lack of knowledge of others and to not realizing the help that those others can bring to us and to themselves.
As to the other variable, that of the level in which diversity should be ascertained, consider that there are many colleges and universities, and many employers. In a society where we love our neighbor as we would ourselves, and we do unto others as we would have others do unto us, a person who is not admitted into one college or university usually can be admitted to another; a person who isn’t hired by one employer is usually hired by another employer. In that regard, on a collective basis, diversity is achieved as far as who goes where is concerned.
How should we look at ourselves in terms of diversity? It seems that under God, we should look up. Revelation 7:9-10 says, “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’" Seems that’s a pretty diverse group, no?
What does God say about diversity? At first glance, God wants all people to love Him. Those that love Him will gain access to His Kingdom, no matter what their backgrounds are. Galatians 3:28 says “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” So, as far as diversity in God’s Kingdom goes, that’s a no-brainer.
But is there anything in the Bible that says whoever achieves being diverse amongst themselves will be judged as committing an act of righteousness? Seems that there is nothing on-point in the Bible, but certain passages make the Bible at least come close to mandating diversity among people for their own sake, in additional to the mandated diversity for the sake of God. What are these passages? The Golden Rule, for one, to the extent you would include an outsider as you yourself would want to be included. Also, the second great commandment of Lord Jesus which is to love your neighbor as yourself, to the extent that you would want a neighbor to love you enough to include you with your neighbor’s group.
Some may point out that as far as divine diversity goes, there is no limit as to how many may be included in God’s Kingdom, but, contrary to God’s Kingdom, the resources on earth are limited. These include natural resources, and resources that are man-made. The resources that are mad-made include distinguished colleges and universities, and employers, who have just so much room.
But it seems that those who target certain colleges and universities, and employers for that matter, are missing some important variables. On variable concerns the purpose of diversity, and the other is the level at which a decision should be made regarding diversity. The Bible sees the purpose of diversity as being a function of need among people. One instance of need is between those who are rich and those who are poor. Proverbs 22:2 says, “The rich and the poor meet together; the Lord is the maker of them all.” This is not to say rich and poor strictly in terms of material things, it includes things that the Lord has endowed each of us with in terms of abilities. In that regard, Proverbs 22:2 infers that to the extent that an individual does not have something that someone else has, the two would meet together to achieve a common goal. To put it simply, an employer needs employees to run a business and a worker needs an employer to work for and receive an income. People need others with skills and availability that they themselves don’t have, to achieve an objective that fulfills what God commanded us to do in Genesis 1:28.
Look at a prestigious college or university. They are regarded as institutions of learning; their goal is to give their students the knowledge and skills needed to be productive members of society. For those institutions who want diversity among its students, this may include bringing in students from different backgrounds so that they, and the students that have been traditionally admitted, would also have knowledge of other people so there are no pitfalls and barriers in the way of functioning as members of a society toward the goal that God has commanded in Genesis 1:28 due to lack of knowledge of others and to not realizing the help that those others can bring to us and to themselves.
As to the other variable, that of the level in which diversity should be ascertained, consider that there are many colleges and universities, and many employers. In a society where we love our neighbor as we would ourselves, and we do unto others as we would have others do unto us, a person who is not admitted into one college or university usually can be admitted to another; a person who isn’t hired by one employer is usually hired by another employer. In that regard, on a collective basis, diversity is achieved as far as who goes where is concerned.
How should we look at ourselves in terms of diversity? It seems that under God, we should look up. Revelation 7:9-10 says, “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’" Seems that’s a pretty diverse group, no?
