Africa 13. This hurts. Last night I was asked by a friend from church about my trip to Africa. She said, "so, tell me about your trip." A thought occurred to me that I had not been able to articulate before. It is a painful thought. This person is very cool, so I thought I could be honest with her.
She was fine with what popped out of my mouth. I wonder how everyone else will take this. What popped out of my mouth last night when asked about Africa was this, "Americans are arrogant. We just don't get it."
There, I said it. Having been to India some years prior, this friend was fine with what I said. I hope that you are.
We don't get it. We who live in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, we don't get it. We complain about things that most of the rest of the world laughs about. I wonder what God will really say to us when we stand before him.
I am thinking about the rest of my life and how I want to live. You can see, a trip like this will mess up your brain. I think of the John Lennon song, "and so it is Christmas, and what have you done?"
It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
5 comments:
Jeff, you've done a superb job of articulating the many ways your trip has impacted your mind, heart, and soul. The timing of your trip to Africa was so obviously God's timing, in that it came just before Christmas. God has not only used it to crystalize your thoughts about the real meaning of Christmas, but the simplicity in the lives of those you visited has called you and called others (through your sharing) to a greater awareness of what's really important in life. While you've been making us more aware of what's going on around us, the oppulent retail ads in the newspapers and the American pursuit of "the best, the latest, and the greatest" have actually kind of turned my stomach.
Put the things you've shared from your heart, your words, and your eyes, together with all the stories in the news about feeding the working poor, and it would be hard to miss the fact that God is calling all of us to things that truly matter.
I think that the fact that someone asked you such a question last night is indicative of the glib, insincere comments many people in our busy world make, in passing. I hope God gives you a sermon sometime on being sincere when we make comments to people. When I have conversations with people, I can tell whether they really care, in what they ask, or whether they are a lot about "me" instead of sensing the heart of others.
I think that every time Jesus asked someone how they were doing, he really cared.
I, for one, know that I am "getting it" or at least getting closer to it. I've never been to Africa or India, but like everyone else in this country, I have to rely on TV, books, movies or even blogs to get a glimpse of how people in other parts of the world live/suffer. And thanks to the Advent Conspiracy teachings, I've changed my way of thinking and giving this Christmas season. Most of my friends got bottles of water and a message--it's a start.
And speaking of Christmas songs, like the one you mentioned by John Lennon,(an awesome song)one of my favorites is My Grown Up Christmas List:
As children we believed
The grandest sight to see
Was something lovely
Wrapped beneath our tree
Well heaven only knows
That packages and bows
Can never heal
A hurting human soul
Thanks for your effort to help us understand and hopefully, make a change.
Well said, Jeff. We, as Americans, are very blessed and have been for so long that I fear we feel entitled to our way of life. To those who have much, much will be required. What does that really mean for us.....everyday? If we open our ears and our hearts, God will let us know how He wants to use us. Thanks for your daily blog, Jeff. It is one of the first things I read everyday.
Jeff,
I appreciate your honesty and your ability to put into words the experience you had in Africa. I have to say that I am really struggling this year with Christmas and I have never had this happen to me before. I know a lot of it has to do with my son being in Afghanistan which brings tears to my eyes and my knees weak everytime I say it out loud. I don't know how I can be so proud of him and yet so scared for him at the same time, but I can! I guess I was arrogantly looking to you to bring me the good word, to help me find Christmas this year and if I may be honest too, I am not finding it from you but you know what I am finding? A new Christmas, a new way of looking at the act of Christmas,going beyond the gifts and stress to searching for ways to just share God's love with family, friends and strangers. You have done that through pushing us to think outside the box. I just wanted to say thank you for not leading us to the old Christmas and pushing us to the REAL meaning of Christmas! Merry Christmas my friend!
I know exactly how you feel, Jeff. It has the exact same impact on me. Now, 5 years after going to Africa, I still feel the same way. Americans have no idea how fortunate they are unless they observe some of the sights in Africa. It is beyond poor. It is a level of living that is difficult to verbalize. You almost have to experience it in order to understand the life that these people live day in and day out.
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