This evening while brushing my teeth and analyzing the world's political conflicts, I found myself wondering...are there missionaries who enter a country where they LIKE the political climate? Does anyone think to him/herself, "This country is so beautiful, and peaceful, and the culture is ideal, and its people are wonderful too, except for the fact that they don't know Jesus, so I'll go serve there"? Isn't there always something we want to fix?
And a follow-up question to that: is it WRONG to want to fix something? Missions and social justice often go hand-in-hand, and Christ certainly calls our attention to the needy. And when we see social problems, we want to fix them, but we also want to find someone to blame. So we blame the regime. Isn't that how it goes?
I can't decide if that is a fallacy or not, to blame suffering on the government. Does it matter where the corruption lies, as long as it is there, in hearts?
Sometimes it seems like life won't get better without a revolution. But I want to teach a different message. I want to spread the hope of living well; of finding joy even when your wait for certain change goes on and on.
Doesn't waiting for change hold us back sometimes? How do we fight that? How do we help others fight it?
Great questions! And I think you got to the heart of the matter of corruption. Thanks for this thought provoking post!
ReplyDeleteWell, I hope someone will weigh in! Thanks for stopping by!
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm a missionary of sorts here in the States, and I suppose we are the same here...except we know enough here to realize on some level the complexity of the various problems. At least for me that makes it a lot harder to know WHO to blame.
ReplyDeleteI think probably the "invasion" is felt on different levels. You are certainly a missionary, and an advocate. And your voice and push for change might not be accepted by certain audiences. That is what I'm facing here, too. I jump around between different parts of the cycle, trying to nip the problem in the bud. Volunteer at baby homes? Reach out to orphanage graduates? Reunite birth families? Get the church involved? Push for funding? It makes my head spin!
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