Curious Worldview

World views are curious things. Everyone has one. It’s the lens looked through to interpret current events, history, and different countries. It even dictates your actions and thoughts. I honestly didn’t think about this until I began teaching Asian History in Thailand 20 years ago. The book began with the religions of India, China, and Southeast Asia and then moved onto government structure, family life, science, and even literature. “Why does it start with religion?” I wondered. I quickly found out that what they believed informed every other aspect of their life.

My Thai students were very polite to authorities and parents, most worked hard, and they knew how to respect their elders and king. Thai people were all smiles, quiet, and respectful yet the amount of deformed beggars on the sidewalks confused me. I asked my Thai students a question, “If Buddhism tells you in order to gain enlightenment you need The Eightfold Path of right view, resolve, speech, conduct, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and meditation why are there so many deformed beggars on the streets?” Their reply? “We ignore them because they obviously have vey bad karma.” Woa. World view matters.

In the past few weeks my family and I have been on trains, buses, and Ubers here in Japan. We’ve been to Fukuoka, Sasebo, Fuji, and Tokyo. We’ve eaten at many restaurants and cafés including a Robot Avatar café and dog café. We’ve visited temples, towers, palaces, and the busiest cross walk in the world. We can’t read the signs and the only Japanese we know are greetings, excuse me, and toilet. Yet we have been able to get help at each step because a person was willing to stop what they were doing and listen and speak into our phone google translate app. Why? Why are they so willing to help? What informs their worldview?

I’ve also observed cleanliness everywhere. There’s no trash or trash cans. They take their trash with them. Even on Mt. Fuji! The Japanese people don’t walk, eat, and toss their food trash. They go somewhere to eat and fellowship and throw their trash out there. They do order drinks from the million vending machines around, but they recycle the bottles in the bin next to the machine.  It seems their world view dictates to them politeness, respect, honor, and stewardship. Even now there are workers outside our apartment cutting grass. There are two holding up a screen to block the grass and dirt from blowing everywhere. Another has a grass blower collecting the cuttings and placing them on a tarp to wrap up and throw out. If anyone walks by, they stop what they are doing, bow, and greet us. What kind of world view is this?

I had to drop Barrett off at the airport 2 hours away yesterday and it was near a Costco, so I thought I’d check it out. Like any Costco there were more cars than parking, but I did manage to find a spot to back in to. (Just as an aside, when parking, the driver puts on his hazard lights in order to let people know he’s parking. No one cuts anyone off or honks. People just wait. Imagine that?) Next, I get in line to go in. No one cuts and there is an employee just before the door that hands you a cart. The Costco card is scanned and then I proceed into a land that is familiar but not. Most of the goods are Japanese (as far as food goes) so I didn’t get the taco seasoning I was looking for. As I was winding through the aisles, I suddenly became aware that there was an unknown stream to follow. All the buggies were going in the same direction in order. Except me. Not wanting to conform, I left my buggy in strategic areas and walked to get what I wanted so as to not interfere with the flow. Everything was orderly, in place, and immaculate. It just took a long time because no one rushed, pushed, or cut in. Again, how does everyone act in the same way all over this country?

The religion here is a mix of Buddhism, Shintoism, Animism, and ancestral worship. Christianity has little traction. People do the right thing because it’s honorable and right living will get you closer to their idea of heaven or Nirvana. They don’t cheat or fudge, everything must be in order and correct. Being shunned or shaming your family would be the ultimate wrongdoing. Here’s the odd part, there is very little joy. Everyone is busy doing their job and being polite which is amazing, but very little fun is seen. As we see advertisements for comedy shows and see Japanese acts on AGT something stands out. They are SUPER SILLY. It seems that silliness (not crass humor, course joking, or clever life spoofs) is how they let loose. Their lives are so full of the Eightfold Path of “right” that silliness is the safe way to laugh. Think about that though, silliness doesn’t shame other people, it doesn’t say hurtful or belittling things, it has no agenda except to make others laugh. Worldview even affects humor.

Barrett and I have talked about how this Godless society shows more godly traits than our own country built on a biblical worldview. They show the character the bible teaches: kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, patience, goodness, and thankfulness…yet with no joy or ultimate hope that they’ve done enough to reach Nirvana or enlightenment. Our country shows it’s sin nature on it’s sleeve! Flip those characteristics and you’ll see the negative traits displayed on trains, planes, Ubers, parking lots, and Costco. Money, fame, and power seem to be the motivators in America. How you get them doesn’t matter, all is fair to reach the goal. Humor is crass because it’s a way to make yourself look better than the other person. I’d love to say that Japanese/Asian culture is better to live in, but they see no need for a Savior when people are so focused on doing right. I’d also say American culture defines their “right” thing by what feels right rather than on any ancient thinking, book, or way. Americans strive for a feeling of joy at any cost. Japanese can live without joy because doing “right” matters more than individual happiness.

My worldview says the world was created right and Adam and Eve could do everything right. Until they didn’t. Now all I choose is tainted by the curse of that fruit. Even the right I do comes with wrong motivations. Usually, the motive is for my own glory and pride. No matter how hard I try I can’t fix the broken with good works or right thinking, there has to be something outside of myself to help me! Jesus. The perfect God/Man that lived the right and perfect life I could never live and then took the consequence of my sin, death on the cross, on himself. His resurrection three days later, proves that my debt was paid in full and I have the ultimate hope of heaven for eternity when I trust in Him alone for my salvation. This brings me JOY! Now I seek to do right things because of my gratefulness to Jesus, not to gain some unattainable enlightenment. Heaven will be the place where right living AND joy exist. Japan has shown me that right living brings a sense of needed order in society and America has shown me seeking and having joy is actually a good thing. But my worldview tells me that order matters: Joy comes first by trusting Christ alone for my salvation, then good works follow out of gratefulness, not duty or obligation.  Worldview, what a curious thing.