Be a Part of Something Bigger Than Yourself
Thoughts and reflections from our recent trip with Feed the Children to Romania.
What is Christianity really about? I have lived the life of doctrine; immersing myself in theology in the hopes my mind being full would mean my God would be more real. I have lived the life of legalism, watching my interest for anything spiritual dry up, wither away and die. I have lived the life of emotion, hoping that the next high would be enough to quiet my questions and still my fears. I have lived the life of a spiritual libertine - willing to look past my own sins and those of others in an ambiguous application of the Christian concept of love. I have denied my faith completely - investing myself entirely in me. Each in their own way, these experiences have all had their own positive contribution to my life. I have lived and fed almost every good and evil thing a man can do only to find that I have never been so complete, never so at peace with myself, never so authentic a Christian than when I am helping an Eastern European elderly woman get a new pair of glasses.
My wife and I recently returned from a medical team trip with Feed the Children (FTC) to Romania. The team travels to a rural city, going out to a different village each day. At each clinic site, the team establishes a medical clinic, dental clinic, pharmacy and eye clinic. Poor villagers can see a doctor, get one year worth of medicine, have a tooth pulled should they so desire, and get a new pair of glasses if they need to. The work for me can be mind numbing, but it is strangely quieting; strangely nurturing to a soul so easily distracted by thoughts on myself, my own problems, and my own distractions.
One of the most beautiful parts of this team is its inter-denominational composition. I would love to at some point in the future challenge myself to be a part of an inter-faith organization with similar activities; however, for now this FTC team will have to suffice. For the better part of two weeks, people from divergent faiths come together in the interests of helping others in need. Petty things that divide Baptists from Lutherans, Episcopalians from Methodists, and Assembly of God from Catholics are set aside. Certainly some of us slip into discussions that dance with the potential to divide our continuity and singular purpose, but it is flooring to watch and listen to people come together regardless of their particular position on a less than critical doctrinal point. It is no greater testament to the power of selfless love than to see how a group of diverse believers comes together to take care of others. During these two weeks, love goes from being something we have to talk about in the hopes we can get it straight, to being something we naturally finds ourselves doing.
I believe the reason it is easier, during these trips, to set aside our petty differences is that we are united for one common reason - to serve others in need. The centrality of Christian love goes from being an obtuse concept to being the purpose for our being together. This is in and of itself a challenge to people such as me who can easily slip into intellectualizations about Christianity: within the context of these trips the reality of Christian love profoundly diminishes the mere idea of what such love is to be. Living the Christian life adds more depth and resonance to my faith than the most enlightening preacher or teacher I have ever sat under.
In our world, we have perfected the art of the smile. We can widen it with the scalpel of a cosmetic surgeon. We can brighten it through creative chemistry. We can straighten it with the wire and brackets of an orthodontist. But while eyes may be the window to the soul, a smile can be the seat of sincerity. During the trips, I make an effort to smile more than I usually do - for a quite simple reason - never in my life have I seen a simple smile effect someone like it does in the Third World.
Life for these people is harsh. They know little comfort, little security, and are at the whims of things Americans can no longer appreciate. Where we can hide from the vagaries of such a seemingly simple thing like the weather, these people must work in the midst of rain, heat, and cold. To not work is to not have the hope of survival. As they learn to deal with these difficulties, they develop coping mechanisms. Individually, they withdraw from certain signs of affection and outward love. They see the world as harsh and as a result of this; their culture gravitates to a certain impersonal status. Where we are used to a degree of civility, culture and acceptable interchange, they have learned to be cautious, withdrawn and hard.
For these people, the act of a smile is almost as striking as the technology we march into the village with. We can disarm years of silence through the diagnosis of a doctor, or with a simple smile. How powerful it is to see a smile, a very simple and approachable manifestation of love for another, change the visage of another person. I hope my heart can be as sincere as to always smile from the depths of my being to another in need, and that I can also be the sort of person who can be touched by the gracious smile of another.
It may be that the parable of the widow’s mite needs to be retold to touch the hearts of Americans. For me, these medical trips make such a story come alive. In the United States, we entertain ourselves with nightly entertain-o-drama’s that take some typically obtuse situation that, when extrapolated against a population of 300 some million Americans, becomes an “epidemic” claiming the lives of 10,459 people “just like you.” We then try and trap the hapless culprit on film (as we all know, such programs need a villain) and initiate an educated discussion over what can be done to fix the problem. Almost always, fixing the problem relies on some new government regulation, policing action, or bureaucracy in order to ensure our complete safety.
We are willing, in short, to spend $1 in order to get a $0.05 improvement in our quality of life. Would we be so willing to do this if we were to know, to really have seen and felt through our own direct experience, what people in Third World countries live with? Coming back from each of my three trips, I have been profoundly reminded of the fact that while we will spend $1 to get a $0.05 improvement in our quality of life, they can spend $0.05 and get a $1 improvement in theirs. Our system of values, both the belief in the inherent value of the free market and the less-common desire to help those in need, are not mutually exclusive. Were more Americans willing to involve themselves in the genuine advancement of important programs in Third World countries we would find not only that our actions would greatly benefit their standard of living, but that we would also find much to take away (both economic and personal satisfaction) through such involvement.
What will it take to change the world? Better minds than mine have spent good time in trying to answer this question. Were we to take seriously the challenge of evangelism we would find this question is in front of our very eyes. God makes us all as individuals - it is part of the glorious beauty of His creative power. But being individuals means we have to find those people, those situations, and those personalities where our Christian faith and our Created mindset do not clash with those of another person. If we were able to view evangelism as a challenge to find our true center, out true selves, and then to reach out to those people we naturally get along with, I am confident we would find the world much easier to change than it now is.
For too many of us, programs and evangelism techniques mask our need to reach out to those who are right in front of our faces. All we need to do is to be genuine, to be authentically who God made us to be (failures and all), and we will find that God’s purpose for our life will become increasingly clear. While I love these trips for their impact on my life, I also leave each with the sense that I have had an indelible impact on the life of my interpreter at the very least. My first interpreter was so touched by her interaction with poor people in villages around her town that she is now in medical school. The old adage “each one, reach one” never makes more sense than on these trips.
This was the 100th team trip for the husband and wife who started the FTC Medical Team. Now in their 60’s, this couple built the team while Dr. B. ran his pediatric service. At the night of the group banquet, he showed a slide presentation of the various teams he has led. I ended the evening proud to have been a part of this great man’s life in whatever small way my wife and I have been; however, I was also profoundly challenged as to what my life is building to. Dr. B. has built an organization that travels the globe helping people who are in dire need of medical help. May we all, with the gifts we have each been given, do with our lives what Dr. B. and his wife have done with theirs. God will expect no less.
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3 Responses to “Be a Part of Something Bigger Than Yourself”
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“If anyone can show me, and prove to me, that I am wrong in thought or deed, I will gladly change. I seek the truth, which never yet hurt anybody. It is only persistence in self-delusion and ignorance which does harm.”
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August 2nd, 2004 at 10:12 am
My God is a god of love, as is yours. My spirit soars when I can give love with humility; as a stranger without any hope of gain or profit. It seems you and your wife enjoyed the same.
Isaiah 58 is worth your quiet contemplation. Your willingness to be a servant and a giver should be encouraged by the hope of this endstate:
8Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. 9Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, “Here I am.’
Thank you for your good example, brother.
18I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and his incomparably great power for us who believe.
Ephesians 1:18-19
August 7th, 2004 at 9:41 am
Ben,
Another beautifully written article- such insights! Question- could you expand on your paragragh about ministering to people with whom you didn’t clash personality-wise? Doesn’t God put people in our lives to teach us things - even if it’s not the way we would choose? Or people we would choose either? It is so good to see God working your life. Love you, son.
Mom
August 8th, 2004 at 10:33 am
I think two questions are folded within your thought. The first is how do we set aside the personality conflicts related to having to serve in groups if we are to accomplish meaningful social change. The second is how to view difficult people through a lens of God teaching us a more important, over-arching lesson.
Were I a more mature Christian I would no doubt have better insight on both of these issues. I mentally know that the answer to your first question is being able to separate the people you serve with from the people you are serving. Do I live by such a precept? Unfortunately not! As to the second question, I think we must also rein in our thinking to incorporate the idea that what originally inspired us to serve, and the difficulty we are encountering in dealing with the people we serve with, have to be separated.
Now, having said both, I think another point needs to be drawn out which is “fit”. The idea of fit is important and is, too many times, passed over by Christians. Paul uses one of the most beautiful metaphors of spiritual development and partnership when he talks about the body of Christ. To the extent that our process of self-awareness has allowed us to see realistically our gifts and weaknesses, we need to keep such in mind when seeking out activities.
As an example of self-awareness and fit relative to outreach, I think my struggles with certain evangelicals is a good example: God gives to some people the gift of faith. I am not one of these people. I struggle deeply with the life of faith and with people who do not think about their beliefs. I take sharp issue with faith, belief, opinion and knowledge. I understand faith is always necessary as absolute proof of the absolutely unkwowable is not possible. However, to have belief without knowledge is to me to run the risk of prejudice. When I have weighed both sides of an issue, I can have an educated belief. As long as I am clear on what it is that I can not prove (i.e. those things I must have faith on), I can use education to be selective in what I say I truly “believe.” This is critically important to me when talking about matters of spirituality. I believe, frankly, that such a process of testing faith is not common to most religious people, leading me to profound difficulties with my fit and function within the body of Christ. What I have come to realize more than ever is that these difficulties are precisely when I am closest to being the person God wants me to be. When I am being honest about my difficulties I am being honest about who He made me to be. That means my service will ultimately be to people who struggle with a life of faith and can be ministered to by someone who has walked the path of doubt on their own.
Many times, I find Christians who can be properly characterized as being “effusive” as fitting my characterization of faith and opinion over love and educated belief. These people have a view of God, prayer, His guidance and the relevancy of spirituality in a fundamentally different light than do I. Rather than seek to ostracize myself from these people, I am coming to realize that my mindset and gifts, if properly attuned to a heart of service, will find their out outlet. They have their place and I have mine. We may not appreciate each others’ worldview, but we need to appreciate that each others’ differing worldview allows each of us to minister to different people.