Tourists vs. Missionaries

I wrote about this incident in a book a few years ago. Thought about it again while on the golf course yesterday with my son and his girlfriend. Several years ago a few of us couples from the Highland Church were on a mission trip to Mexico. On the bus ride home, my dear friend Bryan Gibbs (who was a missionary in Brazil for nine years), talked about what joy we experienced as a group in sharing Christ in Mexico. And how different it would be if we had gone to Mexico as a bunch of tourists. He said, “Jim, I think that being a tour guide would be one of the worst jobs. You’d spend all your time trying to make a bunch of selfish people happy.”

What prompted this memory yesterday was how this week I’ve tended to be like those selfish tourists --- getting so irritable about the smallest things. Earlier in the morning I became annoyed with Susan because she took a long time checking her e-mail – and so we couldn’t go on our morning walk. Then in the afternoon a few of us were planning to play 18 holes on this beautiful golf course --- in 70 degrees weather! But I was irritated because of a delay which caused us to arrive at the course too late to hit some practice balls. Isn’t life tough!!

We were on the fourth hole, I believe, when it hit me – I was so much more patient and joyful when we were on that Brazil mission trip a few weeks ago than I am this week while on vacation. Here I am griping about not going on a walk near the ocean or things not quite working out the way I wanted it as we teed off on this beautiful golf course. Self-centeredness really skews our perspective on life.

It made me think about how we experience a meltdown of the soul when we’re focused on ourselves. And how our selfishness inevitably hurts others. This must be why the Lord Jesus said that if we were going to come after him we must pick up our cross, deny ourselves and follow Him. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus says we’re to pick up our cross DAILY.

I love how Phillipians 2 in The Message describes what Jesus did for us and how to do likewise. A few excerpts:

If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ…Don’t push your way to the front…Put yourself aside and help others get ahead. Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death – and the worst kind of death at that: a crucifixion. Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything…”

O, how I need that daily death to self – because if I don’t regularly offer my body as a living sacrifice to Jesus, inevitably my selfish nature takes over! And look out world when I am the center of my universe – just ask my family!

Bill Nash, a recovering alcoholic, has been such a spiritual mentor to me. He taught me so much about following Christ, using the 12 steps and acknowledging Christ as our higher power. As I began working those steps a few years ago, God made it clear to me that this problem of self was my addiction – and that I needed to allow the Holy Spirit to fill me each day so that Jesus will run my life… and not me.

I love how Bill summarizes the 12 steps: “I can’t. God can. I think I’ll let Him.”

Sounds like a great way to approach each day. Especially when you’re on vacation.

Jim