Profound Faith
When confronted with something new I tend to make comparisons. That is, I compare this new phenomenon with what I have experienced in the past or what I already “know.” I compare it to my current worldview to see if it fits. I cannot know the world except through the lens of what I already know. So when I went to Guatemala I couldn’t help but compare their culture with my own, their ideal with my ideals, their habits with my habits, their faith with my faith. It is the bane of every society that we think our way of doing things or our culture is superior to others. We think that if only they would see how we see or do what we do, they would be fine. It is an arrogant and misinformed bias that keeps us from learning from each other.
Although I cannot escape the need to compare or view someone else through my biased lenses of “truth,” I tried hard during my recent trip to look for things the Guatemalan people could teach me. I learned much, but the one that struck me hardest was in the area of “faith.” I’ve attended seminary and taught in seminaries. I’ve served churches for 20 years as a minister. I have experienced difficult stretches of life that have brought me to my knees with nothing left to do but trust God. If there is a scale of faith from simple to profound, surely, I think to myself, I have made significant strides toward the profound faith. I trek off to Guatemala, then, to share my faith wisdom with those who live in backward places, those who don’t have the Biblical knowledge I have, those whose faith must be far simpler than my own.
What I found, however, were people of faith far superior to my own. What do I know of constant disease and pain? What do I know of hard labor to make a few dollars a day? What do I know of suffering and heartache? What do I know of growing my own food on steep mountain slopes so my family won’t starve? When I compare my life to these courageous people I find that my wealth and ease are offensive. The believers I met in the rural mountains of Guatemala know more about faith than I because they live it everyday. They trust God for the food on their table, for the safety of their families, for the weather that controls their harvest. My faith is simple. Theirs is profound.
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