In Matthew 22:37-39, Jesus speaks of two commandments, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind; and thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself” (King James Bible, 2020). Verse thirty-nine demonstrates the importance
of loving our neighbors and should be a guide to us in showing encouragement, compassion, and
empowerment to others through our words and actions. We can be polite, courteous, and
understanding to others. In John 13:34, Jesus tells us to “love one another; as I have loved you,
that ye also love one another” (King James Bible, 2020). Treating others how we would want to
be treated is another way we focus on encouragement, compassion, and empowerment in helping
and loving our neighbors. Our work is an important way for us to show love toward our neighbor
through both interactions with our co-workers and sociably through our employer’s contributions
to society. Working is not meant for our own personal gains or for us to profit, but instead, it is
for the good of others and the thriving society (Chatraw & Prior, 2019). Respecting ourselves,
our work, and others is a step toward growing closer to the Lord
Hook and colleagues support the change from a multicultural competence framework to a
multicultural humility framework because of the lack of a strong and analytically supported
foundation specifically involving culturally diverse clients in the multicultural competence
framework (2017). The concept of multicultural competencies is introduced as therapy that
addresses cultural diversity by utilizing previous knowledge and strictly defined cultural norms.
This concept/framework can require a therapist to make wide-ranging all-encompassing
generalizations about cultural groups and they are frequently based on a small number of the
fortunate in the mentioned groups while excluding the lower social classes (Hook et al., 2017).
On the other hand, multicultural humility focuses on the interactions of the client and therapist to
build a better understanding of the individual cultural identity of the client. In this framework,
therapists are encouraged to be critical of themselves while concentrating on power imbalances
and being self-aware and open-minded (Hook et al., 2017). The concept of multicultural
orientation means the development of a cultural lens by which therapists are able to understand
their interactions with clients. Hook and his colleagues advocate for cultural humility to be the
basis for a multicultural orientation framework (2017). It is the opinion of the authors that this
type of framework would better equip therapists in accepting and understanding multicultural
issues like diverse identities, disparities, and imbalances of power (Hook et al., 2017). This
framework could help a therapist who addresses a client’s identity, which is different from past
clients they are used to, with the same awareness and open-mindedness as he has with previous
clients. The multicultural orientation framework can be critical in dealing with cultural biases
because a therapist may have biases based on stereotypes or generalizations. Biases whether
implicit or explicit can cause friction in the relationship between client and therapist. By
implementing a multicultural orientation based on cultural humility, the authors believe
therapists can recognize and resolve their biases through self-reflection (Hook et al., 2017).
While it is almost impossible for a person to know everything there is to know about
every culture or cultural group, having the recognition to know their lack of knowledge and
understanding along with the willingness to learn more about their “neighbors” is a good
example of love for one’s neighbor. Continuing to generalize and stereotype cultural groups we
may not understand is promoting ignorance both in society and in the therapeutic setting. By
practicing understanding of beliefs values and experiences of others without contempt or
judgment, we are showing love for our neighbors.
Chatraw, J., & Prior, K. S. (2019). Cultural engagement: A crash course in contemporary issues.
Zondervan Academic.
Hook, J. N., Davis, D., Owen, J., & DeBlaere, C. (2017). Cultural humility: Engaging diverse
identities in therapy. American Psychological Association.
King James Bible. (2020). King James Bible Online. https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org
