How bold is too bold? Is there such a thing in the mission field?
I thought about this a lot during my time in Laos. One of the goals I’ve been working towards this year has been boldness, and the freedom to step into opportunities God’s given me without reservations. As soon as we got to Laos, though, we had to stop and figure out how to walk to the line between boldness and recklessness.
When you’re in a closed, communist country, this can be a tricky line to define.
We were urged as we entered Laos to be extremely cautious in our communications and public displays. Although this is a very friendly, welcoming country, there are a lot of events in the not-so-distant past where Christians have been persecuted and arrested for sharing their faith here. We had to be aware of two things: 1) that we were cautious in communicating with possible contacts so that our presence didn’t attract attention to them and possibly cause them to be investigated and 2) that we weren’t blatant about sharing our faith in public and bringing undue interest to ourselves, so that we could continue to work effectively here without being questioned.
I’ll be honest, that first week was pretty uncomfortable. I’ve never had to hide my faith before, and it’s not a good feeling. It was hard for all of us to have to question what was smart to say in public, and what was safe to say in e-mails or blogs. There was a lot of uncertainty, and a lot of discomfort because none of us liked being secretive about what we believe. Every time someone asked us what we were doing in Laos, and we said we were humanitarian workers, I think we all choked on the words a little bit.
That led us to this question: Should we be walking cautiously, or boldly? And is there a way to do both?
During that time I was reading a book that was speaking to me a lot about our mission. It’s a Beth Moore book called To Live is Christ, and it’s an in-depth examination of the life and ministry of the Apostle Paul. It struck me that I was reading about Paul’s trials and triumphs in the mission field, and the opposition that he faced, while I was trying to figure out how to serve Christ in a country where I wasn’t allowed to do so. What is great about the timing of this is that Paul is known for his boldness. He served the Lord fearlessly in a multitude of scary situations, and never backed down when threatened for his faith.
Or did he?
Beth Moore brings up an interesting point when she references Acts 14, which places Paul and Barnabas at Iconium: “So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who bore witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. But the people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles. When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat them and to stone them, they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country, and there they continued to preach the gospel” (Acts 14:3-7).
Moore brings up a good point. At first glance, we might expect our fearless apostle to stand his ground and remain in the city despite the danger. She asks, “Shouldn’t they have stayed and trusted God to guard them from attack since they were doing His will and preaching His message?” She digs a little deeper into their reasoning, though, and continues on to say, “I don’t believe they were reacting out of pure fear. They were responding out of pure wisdom, and quickly! Proverbs 22:3 says that ‘a prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.”’ No one could doubt that Paul was a fierce and bold servant of the Lord, but the fact that he was happy to suffer for his faith didn’t mean he threw himself carelessly into those situations.
Moore compares the actions of Paul and Barnabas to those of Christ, who also on certain occasions slipped away from crowds that were ready to harm Him. Her main point is this: Paul and Barnabas, like us, served a God who absolutely had the power to save them by divine means. What they had to recognize is that God gave them the discernment and wisdom to know when it was time to go, and the physical abilities to remove themselves from danger. Paul and Barnabas didn’t recklessly charge into a dangerous situation and then wait for God to snap His fingers and lift them out of it. They recognized that sometimes He had already given them the means to protect themselves.
Another part that stood out to me is the last part of Acts 14:7, which says that after they fled the city for safer ground they “continued to preach the gospel.” Paul and Barnabas could have stayed in Iconium and let themselves be stoned to death. There are certainly plenty of other instances in scripture where they suffered abuse and arrest because of what they believed. They could have made a stand against the angry crowds in Iconium, but then they wouldn’t have been able to travel to other cities and continue to preach the gospel. They showed wisdom in choosing to move on and make a greater impact elsewhere.
I believe that we were able to live boldly while in Laos, but it looked a little different. We weren’t walking up to strangers here and asking if we could pray with them. We weren’t telling everyone who asked that we were missionaries. We weren’t holding Vacation Bible Schools and inviting people from the local neighborhoods. Sometimes it was hard not to feel like we should be doing those things, but we had to learn that boldness is more than being obvious. Boldness this month looked more like continuing to pray over our meals while in public, and having heartfelt worship sessions on our balcony. It looked like not sharing our faith with someone we met until they brought it up first, to make sure we weren’t putting their efforts here in jeopardy. It looked like smiling a lot and asking the names of hotel maids and baristas and the lady who did our laundry, just to show them a little love and appreciation. It looked like praying to Jesus next to a giant Buddah statue, and quietly looking for ways to serve those already doing God’s work here.
Our month in Laos was definitely an exercise in boldness and wisdom walking hand-in-hand. It has given me a vast appreciation and respect for Christians around the world who have to be secretive about their faith. We’ve only had a tiny glimpse of the persecuted church here, but it’s been difficult for us because we’re so used to the blessings of freedom.
