I don’t know what I don’t know. If you’re human you probably don’t know what you don’t know either. The longer I live the more I appreciate different perspectives. As an Enneagram 8 type of guy, I often shoot for the stars and ask questions later. Although, my bent is aimed at finding significance in what I do that can be detrimental without others.
The same is true when it comes to the people that we are around day in and day out. More specifically, when it comes to diversity. Often times we miss out on perspectives, solutions, and paradigms because we surround ourselves with people like us. I can’t help but think how grieved the heart of God must be when it comes to the relationships that we have. I think it’s easier to hang around people who are like us, think like us, and act like us. The problem with this behavior is that we pass on this same mantra to the next generation. We teach the next generation that homogeneity is valuable and priority.
When we exclude diverse relationships from our lives we are living within the scope of a blindspot. Blindspots are dangerous because it cripples and stifles our judgment. The fact of the matter is that I need different people in my life to help me grow and to challenge limiting beliefs that are inconsistent with the heart of God.
What if we decided that we would be intentional about creating circles of diverse relationships? Simple ways to begin growing in this area are frequenting places in your city that you don’t normally attend. You could read a book from an author that is of a different ethnic group than you. The options to grow in managing our blindspots are endless.
