I Love Natives

Well let's see how this one goes... I just read a comment from a friend of mine that she recently sat thorough a long meeting with those who do not share her worldview! That is quite interesting as yesterday and today I was in a course for my work in the group home. It was an Aboriginal Cultural Awareness course and now that I'm done it I've completed the course requirements for my job (until the upgrades are needed). It is kind of neat to take these courses aside from the length of them and the times you feel like sleeping. One of the things that makes them neat is that you are able to talk with people who share much the same kind of job as you from various different organizations across the city of Edmonton and surrounding areas.

Sometimes you met pretty nifty people sometimes you thank God your not working at other homes. It helps me to be thankful for the home I work in as although I don't make as much $$ as the other people I can remain decently sane after a twelve hour shift. On top of that is the blessing of working in a situation where Christianity and it's standards are out in the open and we seek to put into what we do the truths of Scripture. This makes for a much higher standard of expectation for both staff and "clients" (a.k.a. the boys), it also provides a clear direction on how we are to do things.

Let me get back to the course I just finished... I need to be careful here... let me first of all say I appreciate the course for the knowledge it gave me (and others) about the Native culture and history. What I didn't appreciate about the course is the that the teacher seemed to teach from a type of resentment and strong basis (not that she doesn't like white people but she was against much of what the government did/is doing). Actually she (and others) ended up getting very upset at me for some questions I asked... I ended up feeling like everyone thought I was racist (which I definitely didn't mean to portray). Others in the class (who didn't know me) didn't understand why these people were so frazzled... I suppose those insecurities/hidden wounds just happened to lead them to the wrong conclusion before I was even done asking a question. How many times does that happen to us?! We jump to conclusions and in actions or just in our minds we rip someone to pieces for something that don't even believe. Anyway aside from all this I learned to have a better appreciation for the Native culture.

I was saddened for the way in which these instructors seemed to talk however... Here is someone who is involved in child/youth care and to some extent has made something a little more from her life... What does she do? In subtle ways she teaches people that all the problems of her life, but more so the Aboriginal people in general, are the fault of others... The government did this... the people are not on a 100% organic diet (took some blame for the drinking problem), White people introduced all these new things into their culture... Please don't get me wrong I'm sure many of these things have some truth to them and they likely have much to do with the beginnings of many problems among the native people...

I love native people (as I do anyone)! That is why I point out to you a lesson I learnt both though experience and through Scripture... If you don't own up to your own problems you will seriously hinder your ability to progress in life in a meaningful way! That is, we need to point at ourselves as the problem not someone or something else. There is a whole lot more people then just some Natives who need to learn that lesson (i.e. Freud). Scripture/God honors not the prefect but the humble... those who admit their need (not their problem), people who take responsibility for their problems and sins. In fact, as I have recently learned, one of the Seven Teaching of the Native culture is just that, "Humility" along with "Honesty" and "Truth". You want the truth... listen to Eze. 18:20, "The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him."

We are responsible for the lives we live! On Judgement day there is no such thing as the blame game... The scapegoat was for those who recognized their need for it, not for people to avoid understanding their need for it. So too with Christ's death on the cross, it's was done for those who would recognize their need for the salvation brought through Christ, not for people to be washed of their responsibility. Here stands the honest truth and the need for Humility which is honored among the native people, along with many others.

Herein the hope, Eze. 18:21-23...
"But if a wicked man turns away from all the sins he has committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die. None of the offenses he has committed will be remembered against him. Because of the righteous things he has done, he will live. Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?"

and John 6:28-29...

"Then [the disciples] asked [Jesus], 'What must we do to do the works God requires?' Jesus answered, 'The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.'"

P.s. In case you where wondering this is not what the teacher got frazzled about