Using My Gifts?

I just read an article entitled To Serve Is to Suffer, written by Ajith Fernando (author of The Call to Joy and Pain).  He’s talking about different perspectives on servanthood, suffering, and time – differences that often show up in the interaction between cultures.

I thought the first part of the article was especially interesting, so I thought I’d share it with you.  What do you think?

I write this shortly after returning from a week of teaching pastors in the deep south of Sri Lanka.  These pastors’ experience shows that when people pioneer in unreached areas, they usually wait 10 to 15 years before seeing significant fruit and reduced hostility.  In the early years, they are assaulted and accused falsely; stones are thrown onto their roofs; their children are given a hard time at school: and they see few genuine conversions.  Many pioneers give up after a few years.  But those who persevere bear much eternal fruit.  I am humbled and ashamed of the way I complain about problems that are minute compared to theirs.

When I return from ministry in the West, my feelings are very different.  I have been able to "use my gifts" and spend most of my time doing things I like.  But when I resume being a leader in Sri Lanka’s less-efficient culture, frustration hits me.  The transition from being a speaker in the West to being a leader in Sri Lanka is difficult.  As a leader, I am the bond-servant (doulos) of the people I lead (2 Cor. 4:5).  This means that my schedule is shaped more by their needs than by mine.

The contrast in that last paragraph is a sharp one.  What do you think?

You can read the rest of the article – To Serve Is to Suffer.