It may seem like a strange question to ask…which tribes are you in? Normally, such a question would be more like which tribe are you from? In this case, however, I believe it is particularly pertinent. We just finished Thanksgiving celebrations and are heading into even more spiritual holidays during December that range from Jewish to Buddhist to Christian celebrations critical to the faiths and religions of these prominent and powerful nations.
And yet, with all the peaceful celebrations we still have Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and the media on fire with messages of dissension, hate, and division. Where is it all leading us? Or is it leading us at all? Everyone has prejudices, or we would not be functioning. It is a natural sensation and way of choice-making. Without biases, we would be as leaves floating on the wavy waters of the ocean, tossed and pitched about with seemingly no purpose or direction. Though some use the words negatively, prejudices are necessary for life itself. Imagine never in your life being able to decide because it would be doing the “dirty” prejudice thing! Where would that lead you? If someone came to you and said, “Take this gun and shoot that man over there”, and you were incapable of deciding, you may commit a horrendous crime. The point is, we are all guilty, as preposterous as it literally is, of being prejudice. Thank God!
So, think of the tribes that exist today that we prejudicially become part of. The noun for tribe is defined this way:
a social division in a traditional society consisting of families or communities linked by social, economic, religious, or blood ties, with a common culture and dialect, typically having a recognized leader.
(in ancient Rome) each of several political divisions, originally three, later thirty, ultimately thirty-five.
Derogatory:
a distinctive or close-knit group.
“she made a stand against the social codes of her English middle-class tribe” ·
synonyms:
group · crowd · gang · company · body · band · host · bevy ·
According to this widely-accepted definition of the word tribe, we need not trace our roots to Noah’s sons who left the ark after the flood to multiply around the world. They were Japheth, Shem or Ham and according to well-respected reports, all 53 populations fall into just 3 genetic groups. Perhaps those groups were descendants of Noah’s sons. That would mean that we all came off the same boat. And yet, sometimes we behave as if total strangers. Tribal dwellers if you will, and for many non-blood related reasons. Is it political pride that is the cause? Is it country pride that is the cause? Or is it the need to belong to “something” that drives us to be tribal? Are we so in need of belonging that we sometimes lose sight of right and wrong and focus narrowly on our immediate need?
I love the song that Mandisa, Kirk Franklin, and Toby Mac sing, entitled “We All Bleed the Same”. It is a song that encourages unity and fighting for instead of against each other regardless of color, religion, socio-economic status or country. And I don’t for a moment believe there is anything wrong with loving your origin, your country and particularly your faith or religion (provided it isn’t satanic or anti-love). I am a 4th of July baby, and man, even with all of our warts (caused by you and me as much as anything), I am crazy about the USA! As bad as our men’s soccer team is right now, I am red, white and blue come game day! And way deeper and beyond that, I am thankful and consider myself very blessed to live in this beautiful and wonderful place with hundreds of millions of other Americans.
As an American, I can be a member of a “tribe” which has nothing to do with my family of origin. I can be liberal, conservative, or middle of the road fiscally, constitutionally, religiously or politically. And I can desire to be, feel like and/or act like I am part of that particular gang or I can choose to think as we all came off the same boat. Think about this statement – that which was once considered “beyond” us can be moved to “within” us. And immediately, once “the beyond” has come “within,” it rises to “the above,” leaving the tribal mentality behind and thinking as if we all bleed the same. The beauty of being “in” a tribe and not “from or of” a tribe is that you can choose to leave the tribe or not follow the ways of that group. That freedom can make a big difference in how you approach and live your life.
When you think about it, to which tribes do you belong? Are you black, are you white, are you right, are you left? How do they affect your life and affect those that you daily meet? Are they healthy and edifying or suffocating and dangerous? Seems silly when you give it deep thought, but it is very real! What if we really were all descendants of Japheth, Shem, and Ham as some believe? Would that change how you think, act, and perceive and treat others? After all, as far as I can determine, we really do all bleed the same!