Disclaimer: I wrote this blog during our last week in Africa. I was looking back at our time on this continent and also looking forward to what we might encounter on our next continent.
I have recently learned that there is this thing called “verbal processing.” Some people also refer to it as “talking someone to death.” If you are not a verbal processor you will probably refer to it as the latter. Words. Some people use them to convey facts and figures, others use them to help sort through their emotions and thoughts. I usually use this blog to convey facts, stories, and already processed thoughts. But this past week we painted a church and telling you a story about it would be as interesting as . . . well . . . as watching paint dry.
So . . . here are some of my uncomplete thoughts that I have been thinking about lately. My warning is that I am still processing them. I, by no means, mean to deliver them as hard facts, things I 100% believe, or things I am an expert on. Far from it. I am just struggling through these thoughts, but I thought I would share them with you as I work through them. So here goes nothing *deep breath*
I have grown up with a knowledge of how missions is supposed to work. It is summed up neatly in a nice little picture. “Give a man to fish and you feed him for a day, but teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”Perfect. Precise. . . . Problematic.
Going into the World Race I felt myself grabbing hold to this thought. Many of my squadmates had different ministries they were looking forward to – working with orphanages, those with handicaps, girls in the sex trade, or nutritional centers in the slums. There was not one thing that drew me toward this year of missions. I wanted to bless our hosts and those we came in contact with and I wanted to leave behind skills or something that would last. I wanted to teach a man how to fish.
Problematic.
I have been learning that cultural differences and religious beliefs may make this simple sentence something a little more complex. Well, not even a “little” more like a “lottle” – (it is like a little, but a lot). As I let my dream of “teaching” slip out of my hands I feel like God is placing in them a better plan.
As I delve into these new cultures and into the lives and beliefs of others I realized something . . . I thought I could teach a man to fish, but I barely even know how to function in their world. I have had to relearn how to take a shower and how to wash dishes. I have had people tell me that I cannot help with laundry, because I do not know how. They try to teach me, with kind words and a few giggles they teach me to scrub, lather, and rinse. I do a terrible job. It would have gone better if I had not even have tried to “help.”
How can I teach a man to feed himself if I first have to be taught how to struggle through basic chores?
I have been in Africa for about three months now. And as I look around me I see life that is done so differently. Grocery shopping is hectic. We tried to make tacos once and had to get pretty creative. Our “kitchen” was out doors. There was no counter space, no stove, and no measuring cups. Everything we knew about cooking had to be forgotten.
Culture differences. How can I teach a man to fish when I show up and do not even understand how to work their fishing pole? I have watched fisherman on the Nile paddling their hollowed out canoes and casting fishing lines with no poles, no bobbers, and I do not even know what they used as bait. There is a lot more that they can teach me about fishing then I can teach them.
Yes, yes. I know the “fishing” part is just an analogy. I know that the phrase is more about leaving behind useful skills and lasting changes instead of just giving someone a handout. There I go again, another phrase stuck in my head about missions “Not a handout, but a hand-up.”
But as I looked around for a skill that I could teach someone I felt lost. As I search for a lasting impact I can help to create I start to panic. I have plenty of skills that are useful. Useful in western culture. But when I have a third world house, a church where there are frequent blackouts, and a lifestyle that is nothing similar to my own . . . what do I teach?
I could teach a man to wash his hands. I could bestow upon some people the gift of hygiene, limiting sickness, and a healthier life because of it. But what happens when they cannot afford soap? When water is so scarce they do not want to use it for something so trivial? To teach a man just to wash his hands I know have to change the economy, the government, and the plumbing. I cannot do all of that. Especially when you face a corrupt government, a deathly ill economy, and a complete lack of plumbing (seriously, western toilets are such a luxury).
So I am useless. Does the great commission not apply to me then? Does Jesus only want those with superior skill sets and knowledge to head out into the world and teach?
As I was painting a metal window – which after spending a whole morning painting the metal frames, windows, and grids with this special read paint, we learned that we were not actually supposed to be “painting” the whole thing. We were only supposed to be applying it to the rusty spots. No one had told us or taught us, because obviously this is what you do with red-oxide paint and metal windows. Why did not we already know this? After countless house projects and mission trips, someone had to teach me how to paint metal. I sighed, as I realized that better painting practices were something I thought that I could help to teach them – but anyway, as Amanda and I were painting this metal window we were having a discussion.
We were discussing our next country, India, and some of the new challenges it might bring. We talked about books we had read and ideas we have had. In short it boiled down to this – there is very little we can do. With Hinduism and a caste system ingrained in the culture of the Indian people there was a limit on our influence. We could help the “untouchables” while we were there, but unless we convince a society, a country of billions of people, that God loves everyone and you should too, there is only so much impact that we will have.
Amanda shared a story that she had read in a book. A country was having a problem feeding it’s people. There was not enough food and what was there was too expensive. When someone looked deeper into this country’s food shortage they realized that they were producing ample amounts of food, but a large rat population had been eating a lot of it. When the people were urged to kill the rats, they refused. A belief in reincarnation and that a rat may possibly be one of their ancestors led these people to value the life of the rats more than the lives of their neighbors.
Religious beliefs. How do I teach a man to fish, if he believes that killing a fish is wrong? How will he eat unless his neighbor decides that people are made in God’s image and are more important than a rodent? How do I teach a skill when a belief system does not value that skill?
Again am I useless? Does God only call those who can turn cultures, societies, and religious beliefs on their head to be fishers of men? What role then can I play?
At training camp one of our speakers encouraged us not to give handouts. He said that from his experiences he has seen that most physical problems are not merely physical. They really come from spiritual problems, from spiritual depravity. If everyone’s spiritual problems would be solved our world would be so much better. Being poor is not always about the poverty. You can throw money at the problem, but it will not go away if a corrupt system surrounds it. Hunger. You can teach hundreds of men to fish, but if they do not value the idea of sharing than those who cannot afford a boat and a fishing line then others will still go hungry.
So how can I solve the spiritual problem?
I can’t.
I am useless.
I am a small child trying to fix a problem much bigger than myself.
But . . . the great commission still applies to me. Jesus still calls me to also be a fisher of men. I may not be the most qualified . . . but I am beginning to believe that none of us are qualified.
One of our Squad Coaches, Eileen, shared a story with us at our debrief in Rwanda. In her story her husband Rich was working on building a fence. Their small son wanted desperately to help. With a God given amount of patient Rich allowed him to “help”, slowing down the fence building in the process. Eileen remembers watching as Rich leaned over their son, wrapped his big hands around the small trembling ones, and guided the drill where it should go. Their son was convinced he was doing it! He was thrilled at what his Father was allowing him to do! He was making a change. He was making a difference. He was building something.
That is what we are doing with the world. We are the small child and our God does not really need our help, but He takes delight in allowing us to be guided by Him. He enjoys seeing our joy in experiencing this world and in doing His work. He wants to work with us, even though He could really do a better job without us.
I do not want to just give a man a fish. I have learned that I cannot teach a man to fish . . . so what am I left with? One thing I am learning this month is that our God is a relational God. He wants more than to give us blessings and punishments. He wants more than us to just live our lives being busy for Him.
God, truly, deeply, wants us to be with Him.
Our God is a triune God. He lives in community with Himself. That is a part of His nature, to live in relationship. He made us in His image. In the book of Revelation we are told that He will take great joy in the day where we can finally be fully with Him.
Our team likes to quote the Little Caesar’s TV commercial. “There are no rules!” one of us will shout “There is one rule!” another will respond. (This month the one rule is that you cannot pee in the pool.) We place a lot of rules on ourselves. We love 1-2-3 self-help books. We love to do, to be in control, and to fix things. We do this because we are trying to serve God. The religious leaders in Jesus’ day had over 300 rules in place to help them “serve” God. They liked to shout “There are all of these rules!” and Jesus replied, “There are only two rules!”
“But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. ‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?’ And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.’”
Matthew 22:34 – 40
The book of Luke shows that at least one person was listening. In these verses, right before the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus is the one who asks the question. . . .
“And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, ‘Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the Law? How do you read it?’ And he answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God will all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and will all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.’ And he said to him, ‘You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.’”
Luke 10:25-28
Love God, love people. Be with God, be with people.
I can be with people. As I sit outside of a hamburger stand in Kenya I can be with the young boy named Ishma’ll. There was little else that I can do. He seemed to be mute and deaf. All I know is when I tried talking to him and asking him for his name he wrote Ishma’ll on my hand. On a sheet of paper he wrote the word “deaf”. He tried to sign to us. We are pretty sure that he wanted some money to buy some shoes.
I could not give him anything. I could not teach him anything. But I could sit and wait for my hamburger and instead of shooing him away I could borrow his pen and his piece of paper and write down our names. Draw some pictures, and try to communicate with him in some small way. He seemed content to sit and “converse”. He only asked for money once, otherwise he sat, pointed, wrote, and drew.
Then our food was ready and we had to head back home. Ishma’ll walked away. I know that I did not change anything in his life. I could beat myself up about how useless I am. I could be frustrated at my limitations. I could throw up my hands and go home, because spending “just one month” in a country is not long enough to do anything.
But I am with God. God is working with me. I could be with Ishma’ll for a short time. I am starting to believe that that matters. I am starting to believe that that matters to God. It maybe mattered to Ishma’ll. I will never know.
Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a life time. . . maybe. Build a relationship with a man . . . and only God knows what will happen.
It is not as catchy, I know. It also does not give me any definite result. Feeding a man for a lifetime is such a delicious promise. But I feel like we get no such promise from this world. Our only promise from this world is that we have a very short amount of time. Time to be with each other.
