Do you find joy in serving and preffering others? Do you adhere to the needs of others first or do you serve them conditionally? Have you found yourself blessing those around you or do you tend to give when the timing is right for you?
My mind was bewildered with questions like these after I got my stingy American bum handed to me after receiving a serious Kenyan hospitality lesson. I will confess, I thought I knew what it meant to put others first (especially after 8 months in WR style community). I thought I had at least a decent understanding of unconditional love but apparently these Africans know quite a good bit more than I do. After these first couple of weeks walking around on this continent I finally got a hard slap in the face that God had ready and waiting for me.
The smack came from something small that caused me to go from frustration to realization. It all started when mine and Dawn’s shampoo, bodywash and conditioner progressively started to dissappear without either of us using it. We were getting a little flustered when we saw that our minimal personal budget was being washed away onto other people’s hair and bodies, so we decided to call it out in front of everyone. Little did I know that my irk with everyone would make me feel like a real jerk.
Our contact could not believe that we were getting mad at our teammates for something that Kenyans would never even raise an eyebrow to. She told us how it was standard for Kenyans to have open hearts and homes at all times, no matter what the cost. Our entire team learned that Kenyans would never hesitate to offer the blessing of hospitality to anyone because it is part of their culture. No Kenyan would ever hold back shampoo just because they were worried about money. Kenyans know that God will bless them relentlessly and they know to never hesitate to pour out love. She recognized that Americans weren’t raised to give give give without hesitation but I knew I needed to learn.
This is a Christian nation with a prayer for a national anthem and I was being a greedy American! I was only interested in blessings if it meant I was comfortable and safe. I was willing to give if it meant I would remain comfortable. If it meant I could stand it, I would do it. After hearing how these Kenyans give without ceasing, I couldn’t help but take a good look at the now minimal comprehension I had of what it meant to be an unconditional servant.
Americans are raised to give when it doesn’t put us into any sort of personal jeopardy. I don’t want to return home like that and I want to encourage you to stop settling for minimal generosity. It’s high time we stepped out of being comfortable, even when we come from the land of hard work and comfortable play. I don’t want to even think about being stingy when I’m in a place where people can barely afford to eat. Do you give because it’s easy or should you be sacrificing your time and money just so you can go a couple of days outside of a comfortable life?
