The Racist Missionary

Jonah is an anomaly.

His book is unique among the prophets because it is entirely autobiographical. He did not desire the incredible ministry successes he experienced. God took the initiative to show His grace to the Assyrians by sending them a missionary. Jonah was not merely apathetic about this, he was antipathetic--he did not want that ethnic group to be converted. They were a different skin color, language group, and geography from him; and their culture was vastly different. He wasn't interested in their conversion.

And after ten years on the mission field, I can see that Jonah was not the only missionary to struggle with racist feelings.

What, a racist missionary? Isn't that an oxymoron? How could a racist be a missionary? Well, emotions of bitterness and cynicism towards the people on your field don't come all at once. Missionaries don't ever go to the field thinking that they could even become close to being racist! After all, they've given up everything because of their love for another people group, right? Nevertheless, negative emotions towards the very people you want to love can creep in over time after many adverse culture-shocking experiences. (Look at the results of "culture stress.")

Jonah is a good bad example of NOT loving the people to whom you are sent. Thus Jonah's story is a great starting-place in a biblical discussion of racism. Jonah was "very angry" when God showed mercy to the Ninevites. So God used an object lesson of a quick-growing, then quick-dying gourd, with some gentle questions, followed up with a gentle, insightful rebuke to show Jonah that his hatred towards the Ninevites was wrong.

And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd?

And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.

Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night:  And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?

~Jonah 4:9-11

Who are these persons that God is talking about? Who cannot tell the difference between their right and left hands? Isn't it the children? In other words, some litmus tests of whether you are racist or not are the following:

• if you are unable to show love towards people from another ethnicity
• if you wish for genocide including the children
• if you believe that a person from that race cannot be converted, or
• if you believe that all the people in that culture are only bad, thus even the children have no good potential.

I still remember a defining moment for Seth and me as new missionaries. We had just moved to a rural village in South Africa and were visiting neighbors in an attempt to meet them and learn their culture. We came across an old man who had been almost raised by Swiss Presbyterian missionaries who pioneered missions to the Tsonga people. They had sent him to school abroad, and his English was excellent.

Trying to answer his wife's questions as to why we were there, we began evangelizing, assuming that they knew basic ideas of salvation and the Gospel because of their background as staunch Presbyterians. Imagine our surprise when his wife inquired what we meant by "salvation." She queried, "You mean, baptism?" Startled, Seth began expounding the Gospel. Her husband cut us off with an eye-opening statement: "Oh, you'll never get them to understand details like that. These people will never get the details."

The Gospel? Details? Sadly this man was a living example of his own stereotype.

I remember another shocking scene in my first year here. Our landlord came over drunk one night to visit with us. I will never forget him pouring beer on the hood of our pick-up truck for his pet monkey to lap up, while saying, "This chimp is smarter than any of those * blacks."

After years of ministering to a pagan culture, missionaries can get very discouraged from witnessing repeated sinful behaviors. They can get bitter from attacks or disappointments by untrustworthy people. They can become cynical, wondering if fruit is real or how long it'll last this time. Harmful generalizations are made: "These people are all like that. They will never get better."

Missionaries to less civilized people groups eventually have to deal with the question, "Why are these people like that?" When a missionary hits that disillusioned stage of being so frustrated, it seems that two paths lie before him. He can explain the deficiencies he sees in another culture in one of two ways:

He could say that those people are like that because they are inherently inferior. They are simply unable to become an enlightened, Christian culture. He could become like our landlord, bitterly saying that the people have no more hope than animals. In other words, he could become a racist.

We have decided to take the second path, however, which explains stereotypical problems of another race with this answer: The Devil has blinded their culture for so many thousands of centuries and they have had so little common grace given to them, that they need a lot more time and work of the Holy Spirit to reflect Christianity in their culture. (2 Cor. 4:4) In other words, it is Satan we are fighting, not people.

Missionaries need to guard their hearts and thinking about pagan cultures. If you don't believe that cultural sins and deficiencies are strongholds of Satan, and that these are spiritual issues deserving of your empathy, you will become a racist missionary, constantly embittered and frustrated instead of responding with compassion. Because if the answer is not that the Devil has a stronghold in that culture, then the answer is that those people are just inferior, inherently, for centuries. And that is racist.

This is Our Quest

Being a missionary in Spain, I quickly adopted the folk hero Don Quixote. Yes, he’s the nut who fought a windmill—among other things—and believed only the best about everyone. The knight Quixote was a starry-eyed idealist who always wanted the good.

 . . . And so do we!

We may not get knocked off our horses by windmills or farmers, but we will joust with the enemy, just the same.

The enemy has many forms. (I’m not talking about the enemy of our souls, here. I’m talking about typical missionary enemies—those things that could easily defeat us.)

It might be the hardships of the field itself. I think of those of you in third world countries where electricity is iffy, water supply is iffy, the government and all its officials are corrupt, and you need patience every. single. day. Dust permeates every corner of your home—even an hour after you dust and mop. Or you might live in a large city where the only “yard” you have is the one you create on your balcony. You live in a concrete jungle where the neighbors are critical and the traffic is crazy. You have to travel just to see something natural and green. (Your kids have no idea where milk comes from!) You feel penned in and often get cabin fever. I think of those fields where the harvest isn’t even green yet, let alone ready—like Europe. You rejoice when anyone is interested in coming to church. Anyone! I think of the “hardships” of the abundant harvests. How in the world can you possibly disciple 263 new believers? (I made up the number.) How can you counsel and meet their needs with only two pastors and their wives?

The enemy might be your body. It’s daunting to hear of missionaries’ physical challenges. We’re all only flesh. Every woman in ministry sooner or later faces an injury, sickness, hormonal challenges, pain, or just plain exhausted tiredness.

The enemy might be mental. Between the ears is where the hardest spiritual battles are fought. Love that person who’s trying your patience. Yield to your husband when you aren’t feeling perky. Enjoy Sundays when only your family and five more people show up for services. Get excited about distributing gospel tracts when there hasn’t been one response in three years. Clean up after inconsiderate people trash the church or on purpose soil the bathrooms. Keep smiling and being sweet, knowing your labor is not in vain in the Lord (from 1 Corinthians 15:58). Look to Jesus and not at people.

The enemy might be clutter: house clutter, mental clutter, over-commitment, social media, disorganization . . . . There are many ways we clutter our lives.

The enemy may be criticism. (Now, there will always be critics. Most of them are only mindlessly commenting on something they don’t like. Not everyone will be pleased all the time. That’s only normal.) Sometimes, the criticism is actually cruel attacking. It may be aimed at your pastor, husband, or directly at you. It might come from another Christian, another pastor, or an outside source. If you read missionary biographies—I heartily recommend it—you’ll find you’re not alone. If you read the Psalms, you’ll see you’re not alone. If you study the Perfect Lord Himself, you’ll find that no one is immune to cruel, unjust criticism.

The enemy might be time. It keeps ticking away. Your day is too short. The week flies by. Dinner has to be made right after you cleaned up the lunch dishes. Guests are arriving in an hour, and there are still beds to make and the “last touches” to do. Homeschooling is behind schedule for the year. Your pregnancy has slowed you down. Where did May go, anyway?

The enemy might be your family or lack thereof. You harbor resentment against your mission calling because you haven’t seen your folks back home in years—except by pixelated Skype. You’re not happy because hubby’s occupied day and night. (When was the last time you had a date?) You’re up every two hours with the baby. The five-year-old hits and bites. Your teenager is tempted with the world, and you don’t have all the answers. If you didn’t have fifteen children, you’d have more time for ministry. You’re childless, and you long for a child to love. You’re single, and you’d like to have some company on your journey.

The enemy is you. The cartoon character Pogo famously said, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.” (In our case, it’s “she is us.”)

So what does Don Quixote do and . . . 

What do we do?

• Remember that ultimately, the fight is for the right. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses (1 Timothy 6:12).
• Keep your armor on. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil (Ephesians 6:11, also 12-18).
• Think about the good, not the bad. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things (Philippians 4:8).
• Rejoice that the battle is already won in Christ. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57). For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith (1 John 5:4).
• "Eat" regularly. Become a Berean Bible student. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so (Acts 17:11).
• Deny self daily. And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me (Luke 9:23).
• Have a thankful spirit. Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:20).
• Be joyful in the Lord. Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice (Philippians 4:4)

God bless you, fellow knights! ¡Adelante! (Onward!)