In the Old Testament, Yahweh set out to make his name known to the entire world by establishing a people group he would call his own. This required structure and direction from Yahweh, which makes up a large portion of the Old Testament scriptures. Primarily in the Pentateuch, Yahweh’s people are given instructions on how to live as Yahweh’s people. Much of what was given to the Israelites concerned hygiene, health, and safety in order to preserve a people (Harris, 2011), but the primary focus was to lay a foundation of values that an eternal kingdom would be built on. One such value Yahweh established among his people was collectivism, or interdependence, upon him as their God and each other as a community of believers.
Collectivism is an “emphasis on the collective rather than individual action or identity”, (Merriam-Webster, 2004) and leads to interdependence, or being mutually dependent on one another. (Merriam-Webster, 2004) This desire by Yahweh to have a people interdependent is later echoed by Jesus in when he calls his followers to love God and love their neighbor, (Mt. 22:37-40) and illustrated by Jesus through the parable of the good Samaritan. (Lk. 10:25-37)
The value of collectivism, or interdependence, was lined out by Yahweh to set his people apart, reiterated by Jesus for those to profess to be his disciples, but unfortunately, the Western societies who profess to be Christ’s followers foundationally, hold more tightly to independent values. This is one of the key differences between the West and Asian culture, with Asians “holding a more interdependent self-concept.” (Markus, 1991) The Asian culture, steeped in paganism and cultic religions, are better practitioners of interdependence, which is a foundational value of God. Maybe it is time the modern Western disciples of Jesus return to the foundational values of Yahweh.
References
Ashman, O., Shiomura, K., & Levy, B. R. (2006). INFLUENCE OF CULTURE AND AGE ON CONTROL BELIEFS: THE MISSING LINK OF INTERDEPENDENCE. The International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 62(2), 143–157.
Crossway Bibles. (2007). ESV: study Bible: English standard version (ESV text ed.). Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Bibles.
Harris, R. A. (2011). The Book of Leviticus Interpreted as Jewish Community. Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations, 6(1).
Hazel R. Markus, S. K. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98(2), 224–253.
Merriam-Webster. (2004). The Merriam-Webster Dictionary (Revised edition.). Springfield, Mass: Merriam-Webster Mass Market.
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