Itsara

Recently, Sean and Prang were planning on visiting the States now that they’re married. It turned out to be very difficult (and expensive) for Prang to get a tourist visa, and in the end she was turned down.

This is a fairly common story for people from non-Western countries. It is hard, if not impossible, for them to visit the States let alone immigrate there – especially since 9/11. On the other hand, it is easy for Americans to visit, and even live and work, in most other countries. In much of the world we are well liked, and even the most middle class of us is a rich man when we leave our borders.

On top of that, our nation is one of the few founded on, and continuing in (more or less), a tradition of Christianity. All of this makes citizens of the United States uniquely suited to take the gospel into all the world.

And yet… well, I was going to say “we’re not”, but that’s not entirely true. Lots of Americans are taking advantage of what God has gifted our country with, and they’re going out there to fulfill Jesus’ commission to us. Lots of others are fulfilling the local (“Jerusalem”) and national (“Judea and Samaria”) parts of that commission, as God has called them. But lots more aren’t. What’s worse, lots more don’t even consider missions to be all that important (like me, in a past life).

When we visited the States this last time, I was struck by the things we Americans do care about. Things that we invest significant amounts of time and energy in. Things like how our sports teams are doing this season, knowing which celebrities just divorced each other, what kind of car we’re driving, what’s good to watch on TV. Or even things that seem important but from a global or eternal perspective are pretty meaningless, like where our taxes are going, how much gas costs, how healthy we are, how safe our lives are, which party is in control of the government…

These aren’t uniquely American issues. I think humans in general are inherently selfish (we care about us) and short-sighted (we care about this life). It’s freaking hard to consider others better than ourselves, and to remember that this life, and everything in it, is temporary in the truest sense.

Oh yeah, I was talking about missions. So although those aren’t uniquely American issues, I think the US might be a special target of the enemy’s because of its blessings. I think we have a very special level of narcissism, fed by our love for media and entertainment. Even out here on the other side of the world, I can see its effects and I often succumb to its temptations. It’s not bad to relax once in a while; it’s necessary, but it’s not why we’re here. And I think if the American Church could figure that out, it could be a seriously powerful force for God’s kingdom in a very dark world.

I guess in order for this post to make some kind of difference I should add: “It starts with us.” Love God, love people. That’s all that matters.