Lose Yourself: What is Your Identity?
Posted by C. Holland on Jun 09, 2010Of all the lessons that foreign missions ministry has taught me (and continues to do so), the top of the list has to be that we are shaped by our location and culture more than we realise. Most anyone who has lived in a foreign country for a decent stretch of time would probably recognise how true this is.
When you meet a fellow Christian from another country, there are some great similarities and kinship that’s experienced through our Family in Christ. It’s difficult to describe to others, but there is an understanding of what it’s like to press on with life as a Christian in this fallen world. They know what you’ve seen, and usually understand how fellow Christians experience life.
Then there’s the point that you realise that their Christian experience has differed than yours. Their “favourite songs” are ones you’ve never heard, or methodology in worship services is, well, just different. Nothing wrong or sacrilegious, but jarringly different to your exposure.
Who and what you are surrounded by is bound to influence your perception and choices. Even when I’ve worked with missionaries who are firmly resolved to not lose one bit of their “American” accent, actions or attitude, over time even they begin to start using phrases here that wouldn’t ever be used “back home”. They don’t notice it, and can become alarmed when informed of this, yet for all their determination to resist, the phrase or action creeps back in. Bear in mind that these are things that are completely inoffensive both here and to Americans, nor would they be anything wrong in God’s view at all. They hear it used over and over again, or perhaps people here understand them better when they say that phrase. It just happens, even if they purposely try to stop.
The anger and fear that I’ve witnessed when a missionary realises that they’ve changed is striking. It appears to them as if they’ve lost a part of their identity, a part of what defines them, and, to put it bluntly, the change freaks them out. I know that we personally act and speak differently since being in the field, and not a few of our friends and family have politely (sometimes sternly) reminded us that we’re “still American” or should “act/talk more American”. All this has done is reinforce in me that first and foremost, my identity is in Christ and my citizenship is in Heaven.
As Christians, Christ and His ways, His laws, His thoughts are to be our starting point. This knowledge I’ve always believed, but now in the situation of changing cultures this wisdom is moving from my head to my heart. The more we’re around someone or something, the more we become like them. We humans can’t help it. I believe it’s why the potter/clay analogy is used; we are impressionable beings, able to take shape according to the influence of another.
Once Jesus is established as our example, all other identities are up to where He places us. Those identities may alter according to our circumstances, but it doesn’t negate our place in Christ. Whether I act more or less “American” doesn’t diminish the fact of where I was born or lived most of my life. It doesn’t mean any ill will towards my American family or friends, either. It just means that I live somewhere else now that differently shapes my experience of life.
You’ve probably already guessed that I would invoke Paul’s entreaty to “become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.” (1 Corinthians 9:22-23). But it’s the phrase that summarises Chapter 9 in my Bible that says it all: Paul Surrenders His Rights. If I need to change language, actions or appearance (within God’s law and direction in the Bible) to reach people in another culture for Christ, so be it. I only need to be concerned with God’s direction in my life, and nothing more.
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I jest. Good one!
June 10th, 2010 at 9:36 am
I am intrigued by your comment on American missionaries who are determined not to lose any of their American-ness when they are living as missionaries in a foreign country. It sounds like you are in a rather unique missionary situation though, being in a country linguistically and culturally similar to the USA.
However, for American (and other) missionaries going to Asia, Africa, and other places, it is expected that you aim to change your ways of doing things, and ways of speaking to fit in as best as possible with the people that they are trying to reach. In many missions circles, trying to preserve your ways of doing things on the mission field is perceived as imperialistic, paternalistic, or some other negative adjective.
As a missionary in Thailand, I try to do things “the Thai way” to a fairly high degree although not everything that I do will be Thai because… well, I am not Thai. Try as I may, I am just me, shaped by where I was born and grown up.
Becoming a missionary involves giving up many of one’s rights that have been assumed in the home country. They are rights that we think we have but really they are culturally conditioned, rather than God-ordained. Mabel Williamson has a written an excellent book on this subject. You can read it at http://www.scribd.com/doc/2401457/Have-We-No-RightsA-frank-discussion-of-the-rights-of-missionaries-by-Williamson-Mabel
June 10th, 2010 at 12:59 pm
“All this has done is reinforce in me that first and foremost, my identity is in Christ and my citizenship is in Heaven”
Amen!! While I may hold a USA Passport, who I am in not determined by the geopolitical nation in which I was born. I am a citizen of the Kingdom of God and all my allegiance is to Him alone.
On a more theological note, allow yourself to die to your culture and be reborn into another one so that God’s glory will be made known. I know this is hard – shoot, I have struggled with it myself as I live/minister in a community that, while still in the USA, is different culturally than where I was raised. To have to do this overseas…well, may the Lord guide you and strengthen you!
All glory to the Lord of Lords!
Josh´s last blog ..Who’s Afraid of Postmodernism? By James K.A. Smith
June 10th, 2010 at 6:32 pm
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June 11th, 2010 at 6:57 am
@Karl: “unique missionary situation though, being in a country linguistically and culturally similar to the USA.” Yes, and it’s the similarity that is the problem. It appears that most of the missionaries who chafed at the change (and ended up leaving) had the mistaken impression that this is “America East” or “The 51st State”: first-world standard of living, Anglo-ish looks of the people, English spoken. While I’m sure that Americans going to the 10/40 window have levels of assimilation to deal with, the change would be immediately obvious in comparison to their American lifestyle. Here it’s more insidious, quite subtle, and if I hear one more American pastor tell me “We want to do a short term trip to [your field] because it’s just like America so my people don’t need to change how they act or learn about the culture,” I’ll have to scream.
Thanks for the link to the book. I skimmed it and it looks great, going on the reading list today.
@Josh: Thanks, sometimes it’s more difficult than others. It’s opened my eyes to assimilating wherever God places you, even if it’s in your own hometown. I’ve had people say to me that they didn’t think they could handle the changes in living in a foreign country; I think (for me) it would be harder to live in some parts of the States as those areas seem foreign to me! They would be so culturally different from my West Coast roots, yet for the sake of Christ I would do my best to assimilate if that’s what He called me to do.