Straight Answers to Contemporary Concerns

Most people who become missionaries do so out of a sense of responsibility or oughtness. The motivation is much like the statement made by the apostle Paul, “For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!” 1 Cor. 9:16. The motivation also involves what Paul mentioned in 2 Cor. 5:14, “The love of Christ constrains [compels] us….” A.T. Robertson wrote concerning this verse, “Paul’s conception of Christ’s love for him holds him together to his task whatever men think or say.” Paul was referring specifically to the apostles as “us,” but the motivation can be the same today for all brethren in Christ. Jesus gave to His disciples what men have called “the Great Commission.” The Great Commission is set forth in the first three books of the New Testament,

Matt 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: {teach…: or, make disciples, or, Christians of all nations}
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
(KJV)

Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Luke 24:44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.
45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
48 And ye are witnesses of these things.

Why does one become a missionary to a foreign land? The reasons are manifold, but basically there is a love for souls, a desire to fulfill the Great Commission, and an understanding that the gospel of Jesus Christ (Romans 1:16) is not just for the people of one’s own nation who have the same socio-economic status, the same race, the same color, the same ethnic background, the same educational background, the same language, the same religion, or anything else that may be the same, or similar. There must be a love for souls. A person cannot be a good or effective missionary who always allows race, color, language, etc. to be a problem. If one is biased or racially prejudiced against a certain people, then his effectiveness as a missionary will be compromised or rendered ineffective.

Some will say, “Well, why don’t you just stay in the USA, but go to a different state to do mission work?” There is a place for stateside mission work. But, there is also a place for foreign mission work as is seen in the activities of the disciples in the New Testament, and specifically, in the book of Acts. Jesus came to save people from sin, Luke 19:10. Which people did He come to save? All who would hear and obey Him, John 3:16. It was love that constrained Him. His love and the effects of His sacrificial death on the cross were not limited to one nation or race of people, but is extended to all mankind.

2 Cor 5:14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
2 Cor 5:15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

The Great Commission of Christ was not a “limited commission” applying to only one generation in one location in the first century, but to all mankind until the end of time.

Many times when the missionary returns to his own homeland for the purposes of reporting on his work, to raise funds, or find some rest and reunion with his family, people will meet him and make interesting statements. Some will admire him for his “courage.” Some will admire him for leaving familiar surroundings and going to a nation where he has to learn a new culture and language. Others will think he is strange for leaving home and going abroad. Some cannot see why he should ever leave his home land. Many good and well-intentioned people will tell him how they admire and appreciate him for his sacrifice. He appreciates all of these things. But, deep in his heart he knows that unless many of these good people leave their homeland as he has done and become a part of another culture, and saturate themselves in that foreign culture, they will never really know what he is experiencing. They will never really know what effects all of this may have on him and his outlook on many things. They will never know the real sacrifices he and his family make daily. They will never know the pain and sometimes, suffering, he endures as he does his work in that foreign land. Good folks mean well, and they try to understand, but it is difficult to truly understand until one has experienced the matter personally.

Many people think that third world nations are very much like America, only with a little more poverty, a less-educated populace, and a backward culture. How shallow such thinking is! Many think that the problems confronted by people in a third world nation are very much like the problems Americans face, and that both peoples are facing the same things with the same intensity. Many Americans think that their problems are huge. Admittedly, some Americans do have big problems. But, when one compares and contrasts the situation in the USA with the problems faced by people in third world countries, there is no comparison. The people in the third world country face far more problems, bigger problems, bigger obstacles, and have less hope of overcoming them than those in America. And, it is so difficult to explain this to an American who has been brought up in at least a middle-class situation, and enjoys fairly good health, has at least a junior-high school education, and enjoys the freedoms afforded to him daily just because he grew up in America. Some folks just do not understand and will never understand unless they experience it first hand! They may try to understand; they may want to understand, but they do not.

Think how easy it is in the USA to run to the local Wal-Mart or K-Mart and buy just whatever we need when we need it. Think about how easy it is to do our repairs around the house because we have the tools with which to make the repairs. Think about how easy it is to jump in one’s car and head out on the highway and go wherever we wish to go at a moment’s notice, and ride on good safe highways and bridges in good, safe automobiles, and eat uncontaminated food and drink plenty of uncontaminated water. It is not the same in a third world nation! In some third world nations a person does not have the word for “door-handle” or “doorknob” or for “shoe laces.” Even though there are door knobs and shoe laces in those countries, many do not know the words for them. Does that astound you? It astounded me when I pointed to a door knob and asked a native girl, “What is the name of this?” She replied, “I don’t know.” I asked a native man the same question. His response was to shake his head–he did not know. Do you know why they did not know? They did not have doors on their houses–just an open doorway with a cloth hanging over it. I walked into a shoe store looking for shoe laces, and pointed to my shoe laces. I asked one of the employees, “What is the name of this?” She replied, “I do not know.” She worked in a shoe store! But, she did not know the word for “shoe laces.” Many people in third world nations do not even have shoes.

Are you aware that most people in third world nations do not have cars? Most walk. Many ride bicycles. Some ride small motorcycles. Do you know that in many third world nations you may have a piece of paper that says that you own a piece of land, but that the land can be taken away from you in a moment, and you have little or no recourse to be able to reclaim it? For an American property owner or landowner, such is preposterous! “We have rights!” Yet, it is a reality in many other nations that you may not be able to hold on to your land.

Do you know that of all the nations in southeast Asia, only one southeast Asian nation has clean water that one can drink from the tap?  Singapore.  In all other nations one must purchase bottled water that has been purified, or one has to do his own purifying. No where else is the water clean and safe enough to drink from the tap. Water is precious!  Income is so low that the annual wage in some nations is less than the equivalent of US$500-1,000. In such nations many people deal daily with the danger of malaria, dengue fever, dysentery, bird flu, typhoid, polio, and other diseases. Due to poor health conditions such people face the danger of their children being stillborn, or dying soon after birth. Some face a higher risk of having children born with birth defects or delivering Siamese (conjoined) twins.

Some face intense religious oppression and prejudice that many in the world know nothing about due to news blackouts. Such nations declare religious freedom, but they do not have it. We have witnessed news footage on local television of soldiers and local policemen standing and watching while people of one religion burn the church buildings of those who do not follow the majority religion in that nation. There is no recourse for justice!

What if every time you wanted to do almost anything–anything–that involved a government service, postal service, local police, drivers license bureau, immigration, etc, everyone has his hand extended to receive a payoff? You cannot pick up your package at the Post Office unless you pay a “fee” or “special tax” to the official. The idea is, “Pay me extra for the package that has already had the legitimate postage paid for it, or I may not give you the package!” You cannot pick up your new drivers’ license unless you respond with extra money to the official who hands your license to you. When he asks, “Do you have something special for me?” the meaning is, “Pay me extra or I may not give you the license that you just paid the legitimate fee to obtain!” This is a daily problem faced over and over by millions of people.

Many Americans would throw up (yes, I mean vomit) or weep at what they see on the streets of some cities in third world nations–people using the toilet in public, transvestites cruising the street intersections looking for money or lovers, beggars as young as two years old coming to your car at a stop light pleading for money, naked people covered in dirt and soot walking down the street without their right mind.

All cultures are not like the American culture or background. Many foreigners only dream about going to America, To them, America is heaven. Can you change your eating habits? Can you change the kinds of food that you eat daily? Can you do without the foods to which you are accustomed and begin eating a regular diet of foods that you did not grow up eating?

What about language? It has been our experience that most Americans who move to a foreign land do not wish to learn the language of that foreign land if it is not English. Many Americans who move to foreign nations often stay close together and continue speaking English with one another. Many of them never learn the language of the nation to which they have moved. To the local people that may appear to be a form of arrogance. When one spends the time and energy to learn the language of the nation to which he has moved, new doors begin to open, new things are learned, opportunities are available, friendships begin to be formed with the indigenous people, and one’s credibility with the local people begins to be established.

In all of this, after a few years, things sometimes change in the mind of the missionary. He can become cynical about the people of his own homeland. He sees them enjoying so many blessings and so much wealth (for which many have worked hard), and he thinks of those with whom he lives and works daily in the third world nation who can barely survive from day to day. It affects one’s thinking. It makes one wonder if those “back home” who have so much materially have any clue as to how the rest of the population of the world really lives! It even may make him wonder if the people “back home” have any regard for him any more. Things change in one’s life when one has lived among the native people in a third world nation. One begins to wonder just how deep or how shallow the thinking of some is. So many people deal in trivialities and matters that are insignificant. Things of importance among Americans are not necessarily the things of importance in other parts of the world. A person from my homeland may ask me a question, and I may not respond in the fashion that he or she expected because my thinking is not what it used to be. Priorities change.

Missionaries need support. Of course, there is a need for financial support. But, there is a need for other kinds of support as well. What about encouragement from the people “back home”? Rather than always receiving a message stating something like, “Isn’t it about time that you moved back home?” why not send a message of encouragement that might motivate him to stay in the mission field and do more and better the mission he is trying to fulfill? Since before I moved to a third world nation there were people “back home” trying to discourage me from going into the foreign mission field. One missionary had not been overseas very long when he received a message from a good and well-intentioned person, “You have done your job; come home!” The person had no idea whether the missionary had done his job or not. Furthermore, when is the Lord’s work ever done? Jesus taught in Matthew 19:29, “And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.” I know He was referring to the commitment one must make to become a disciple of His. But, when one decides to become a missionary he also decides to make certain sacrifices concerning family, houses, and other material matters. Missionaries do what they do knowing that they are making a commitment and a sacrifice. It is a life that is chosen. The sacrifices are a “given.” Therefore, we should not complain. Do we need supporters back home? Yes. If some did not stay at home and send support, we would never have missionaries. Our purpose here is not to complain, but to explain in a small way to those who have no clue what may be involved in mission work, or the sacrifices made by missionaries, or what is faced in other nations.

So, when the missionary returns home to report on his work, or for some R & R, why not give him some much-needed time and be willing to listen to what he says about his work and the people with whom he lives and works daily? Someone one time said, “I just hate to listen to missionaries who talk about the people they work with; they mention so many names!” Well, guess what? We work with PEOPLE! People have souls! Local preachers in the USA work with people everyday. And, I suspect that most members of the church in the USA know the names almost every member of their local church. It’s all about people! What is that long list of people’s names doing on that PowerPoint announcement at your local church each time you attend? Oh, those are the “sick folks” in our congregation. It never has been NOT about people. The Lord’s work is about people. Let the missionary share his work with you. You be a sharer with him in his work by enthusiastically listening to what he says and looking at his pictures. That is the kind of support he needs. He needs to know that you care! Don’t bother him with trivialities.

For all of the education and progress one may find in America, there are certain pockets of complete ignorance (lack of knowledge). One of those pockets of ignorance for many is how other people in third world nations live, and an understanding of the work of missionaries in those nations. If you think you see yourself in this article and you really do not understand some of these things, then I would I ask something of you — when you go to bed each night, pray for wisdom and understanding, and pray for that missionary and his family (including his loved ones “back home”) and thank God for him or her, please!

God bless you, my good brethren! We love you!