In the United States, when you want to talk about a commandment in the New Testament that is “cultural,” it’s easy to point to the commandment to greet one another with a kiss. [I think it’s misleading to say we don’t follow a command because it was cultural; there’s much more to it than that. But that’s for another post] In much of the world, however, that’s not the case. Many cultures in this world greet with a kiss, including the Argentine culture. The greeting has even evolved since I first went to Argentina. Used to, men didn’t normally greet one another with a kiss (though my father-in-law always greeted me that way). Now it’s common between men that are friends or between Christians.

I wouldn’t impose the holy kiss on people here in the States. When I hear most people from here try to analyze the hows and whens of greeting with a kiss in another culture, I realize how artificial and awkward it is for them. One thing that bothers me about my home culture, however, is the lack of greetings. Some Christians can walk into an assembly and walk out without saying hello or goodbye. Admittedly, I’m more sensitive to that after living in Latin America; I’m used to being in a place where you feel obliged to speak to everyone upon arriving and before leaving. It drives me nuts in our office that some of my coworkers can arrive and later disappear without as much of a word to anyone.

I feel that even while not practicing the kiss, we need to practice the affectionate greeting. Really greet each other, more than we would a stranger on the street. Hearty handshake, eye contact, stopping to see if the answer to “How are you?” tells the whole story or not. Even if the kiss isn’t there, the relationship should be.

Greet one another, even if you never learned to greet with a kiss.