I’ve been wrestling with this question way before I even left for the world race. A westernized view of missionary work looks like going to an underdeveloped country and living in a hut with locals to bring the gospel (which is definitely a form of missions!!) But, for a while I confused being a missionary with having to be poor. We use Matthew 10 as a guide when Jesus sends out the disciples saying “Don’t even carry a travelers bag with a change of clothes and sandals or even a walking stick.” Therefore to be a missionary it sounds like you gotta give up everything you own or do for yourself to serve the greater good.
Okay here’s the tea. I am not a natural “server.” I took a spiritual gifting test and scored a whopping 10 percent on service. TEN PERCENT AND I AM A MISSIONARY WHOSE LIFE IS SUPPOSED TO BE DEDICATED TO SERVICE. Service doesn’t come naturally to me. However, I have found a lot of joy in serving these past few months. I am definitely more excited to have a good conversation with someone than to chop down a tree with a machete and then drag it twenty yards to make a giant pile lol. However, I think I put what serving looks like in a box. It looks like visiting orphanages or nursing homes. It looks like being last in line. That’s serving but it’s also bigger than that. My spiritual gift is rallying people. My gift is literally to get people together and excited. I don’t always know the plan, or even want to do the plan but you better believe I’ll get people there to accomplish the task with a happy heart (and I’ll most likely blast music and make the task more fun 😉 It’s been cool to realize that rallying is necessary to accomplish tasks that look impossible when theres only a few hearts invested…and I have that unique gift to get people pumped!!
Okay so I redefined my contribution to ministry. But how can it be ministry if I am only interacting with Americans in Costa Rica? Or living in a nice hostel with AC and wifi in Panama City? Or taking a week off in Spain in between my ministry countries? How am I allowed to ask people to financially support me if I look like I’m on vacation? These are my constant thoughts as I hesitate to post my pretty latte on instagram or upload all of my beach pictures to facebook. My squamates face the comments “Thats nice, but where are the locals?” Or “Looks fancy…are you sure you’re on a missions trip?” No one is intentionally trying to be hurtful but I do believe we get missionary work confused with living in a poverty mindset.
The truth is Jesus wasn’t poor. He became “poor” in contrast to what He had in heaven. He was financially supported His entire ministry (mostly by women yassss.) He was never homeless or poorly dressed. He literally turned water into wine and had the ability at his fingertips to feed five thousand. He was grateful to over-provide for His friends and family because that is what Jesus wants for every single one of us..an overflow. I have felt this to my core all through Central America. An overflow of joy to be with my entire squad in Nicaragua. An overflow of blessing to be supported by strong powerful women on the beaches of Costa Rica. An overflow of love from college students in Panama City. God loves to bless us even in the little things like answering our prayers for pancakes or giving us air conditioning to have a good nights sleep.
I interpret Matthew 10 as Jesus asking the disciples to trust that He will provide for them. The disciples were supposed to trust that the service they were providing and the gospel they were sharing was worth a bed and a meal. It’s even more of a miracle when we have nothing and the Lord decides to over provide for us and it is self righteous to not accept that blessing because we think we need to present ourselves as “less-than.” WE LITERALLY HAVE THE ONE WHO MAKES MONEY APPEAR IN FISH MOUTHS ON OUR SIDE (Matthew 17:24.) How can we ever idolize poverty when we have a God who rejoices in abundantly blessing us?
It truly does come down to what I own isn’t mine. So when I hear the little whisper to buy someones coffee or donate to another missionary I’m gonna listen because it’s not my money. When someone else decides to listen to their little voice and bless me, Imma take it! True financial freedom comes when we stop limiting the amount God is allowed to give us before we think it becomes self indulgent. True service is saying yes to what the Lord has for the day whether that be sharing the gospel with a bartender at a resort pool or painting a 18 foot wall grey for seven hours. He is a God of answering pancake prayers, free pizza, Costa Rican mansions, raising over $19,000, gold & myrrh from wise men, sinking boats with a net full of fish, feeding five thousand with leftovers AND paying the full price for eternal life with the bonus of a relationship with Him here on this earth …kinda God. 🙂
(Some references & ideas are from Kris Vallotton’s “Poverty, Riches and Wealth” and I would 10/10 recommend reading!)
