Japanese salaryman come Christian?
Today I read a whole book: 'The Blue-Eyed Salaryman: From World Traveler to lifer at Mitsubishi' by Niall Murtagh. Someone in mum's walking group (with a son living in Japan) had lent it to her, she had passed in onto me(who had been living out there), and finally I've sat down to read it...and loved it.
It's reminded me of my time so far in Japan, made me laugh out loud at the author's humour over the many obscure rules in his company and ways he found to break some of them, and try and imagine how the gospel would force or not force a Japanese salaryman to change were it to take root in his life. At Redcliffe College I am learning how we shouldn't approach other cultures as 'less than' if not our own, as we often do when a culture is not Western and 'our' values. In a bid to think through how this culture matches with the gospel, I've started with listing some of the characteristics of Japanese salarymen as shown in the book, and then tried to think how Jesus might see these, from what I know of him in the Bible. Here goes:
Mistubishi salaryman life and Christian implications
* = Japanese-salaryman trait;
+ = my considered Christian response to it
*Ordered – start-time and end-time
+Orderly Christian life is OK, but need dependence on the Holy Spirit for direction of work
*Structured – working in teams
+Working in teams is how Jesus organised his disciples, and some after the resurrection had to report back to James and the council of elders at the sending church
*Obedient – to authority
+The Bible encourages respecting those in authority over us
*Protective – of one’s own
+Great! ‘Do good to all, especially to those who belong in the family of believers’, although sometimes these may clash with sole-company-loyalties in which case there may be trouble.
*Merciful – to those within the company who fall ill such as the mentally ill man
+Great – share in each other’s joys and sorrows, and help the weak.
*Ruthless –not being allowed time off work at the wrong time of year
+Jesus was sometimes ruthless too – saying don’t let your hand look back at the plough. But Christians need to have a different priority base – putting Jesus and the kingdom and their Christian witness first.
*Generous – bonuses and time away in Okinawa
+We see Jesus being generous with those who gathered around him – such as feeding the 5000, and retreating with some disciples. Other times he tells them not to sleep but to pray. I think these bonuses are ok though.
*Inflexible – have to think beyond the individual and so submit to company decisions
+Group culture often one of Acts and OT sometimes too. Servanthood – the widow who gives her all. Jesus as a servant of others.
*Flexible – start-date for the author (as a foreigner)
+Kind – working with people’s cultures.
*Way of doing things – like bowing and wearing the name badge
+Cultural facets. They’re fine, they're not interfering with the gospel.
*Discussion-based – lots of meetings for feedback, organised by an appointed leader
+Fine, as long as it leads to action. Jesus taught his followers about the kingdom, and discussed theology, and also went out and healed people. If the group time makes people feel included and active then that is great, as long as it also leads to changes and action.
*Age-conscious- promotion and pay sometimes based on age and length of time in the company rather that ability or drive.
+That’s OK; prob similar to OT and many non-western cultures. Be careful of this in multi-cultural teams though (eg Koreans and Westerners working together, as Westerns will likely not respect this whereas Koreans will.)
*Respect for late-workers
+Work is not the only thing – family is also important, as part of a holistic lifestyle. Company workers shouldn’t think of the culture as everything and as of pinnacle importance – their faith should be more so, and how they treat their family, their neighbour and themselves.
It's reminded me of my time so far in Japan, made me laugh out loud at the author's humour over the many obscure rules in his company and ways he found to break some of them, and try and imagine how the gospel would force or not force a Japanese salaryman to change were it to take root in his life. At Redcliffe College I am learning how we shouldn't approach other cultures as 'less than' if not our own, as we often do when a culture is not Western and 'our' values. In a bid to think through how this culture matches with the gospel, I've started with listing some of the characteristics of Japanese salarymen as shown in the book, and then tried to think how Jesus might see these, from what I know of him in the Bible. Here goes:
Mistubishi salaryman life and Christian implications
* = Japanese-salaryman trait;
+ = my considered Christian response to it
*Ordered – start-time and end-time
+Orderly Christian life is OK, but need dependence on the Holy Spirit for direction of work
*Structured – working in teams
+Working in teams is how Jesus organised his disciples, and some after the resurrection had to report back to James and the council of elders at the sending church
*Obedient – to authority
+The Bible encourages respecting those in authority over us
*Protective – of one’s own
+Great! ‘Do good to all, especially to those who belong in the family of believers’, although sometimes these may clash with sole-company-loyalties in which case there may be trouble.
*Merciful – to those within the company who fall ill such as the mentally ill man
+Great – share in each other’s joys and sorrows, and help the weak.
*Ruthless –not being allowed time off work at the wrong time of year
+Jesus was sometimes ruthless too – saying don’t let your hand look back at the plough. But Christians need to have a different priority base – putting Jesus and the kingdom and their Christian witness first.
*Generous – bonuses and time away in Okinawa
+We see Jesus being generous with those who gathered around him – such as feeding the 5000, and retreating with some disciples. Other times he tells them not to sleep but to pray. I think these bonuses are ok though.
*Inflexible – have to think beyond the individual and so submit to company decisions
+Group culture often one of Acts and OT sometimes too. Servanthood – the widow who gives her all. Jesus as a servant of others.
*Flexible – start-date for the author (as a foreigner)
+Kind – working with people’s cultures.
*Way of doing things – like bowing and wearing the name badge
+Cultural facets. They’re fine, they're not interfering with the gospel.
*Discussion-based – lots of meetings for feedback, organised by an appointed leader
+Fine, as long as it leads to action. Jesus taught his followers about the kingdom, and discussed theology, and also went out and healed people. If the group time makes people feel included and active then that is great, as long as it also leads to changes and action.
*Age-conscious- promotion and pay sometimes based on age and length of time in the company rather that ability or drive.
+That’s OK; prob similar to OT and many non-western cultures. Be careful of this in multi-cultural teams though (eg Koreans and Westerners working together, as Westerns will likely not respect this whereas Koreans will.)
*Respect for late-workers
+Work is not the only thing – family is also important, as part of a holistic lifestyle. Company workers shouldn’t think of the culture as everything and as of pinnacle importance – their faith should be more so, and how they treat their family, their neighbour and themselves.
posted by Henrietta at
3:06 am
|
1 Comments
