Art Lessons

Today's art lesson is entitled, "The Art of Minding Your Own Business." A lot of missionaries seem to have way too much time on their hands, yet they want as much of your time as they can get away with. I do not have to cook food from "scratch," we have a mostly dependable vehicle to get around in, there are plenty of places to shop for things, like the best pirated software and movies that money can buy, nice clothing if you are size 10 or under and are very short with small feet. However, seriously, all the real essentials are readily available, except for Dr. Pepper. It can't be found unless you end up in Phnom Penn, Cambodia, for the weekend.

But I digress. My team has hardly any time on our hands. We are very busy 6 days a week. Many weeks it's 7. On Saturday, we try to vegetate for the first part of the day. We veg because we are too tired to do much, most Saturday mornings. By 10:00 AM we are mostly up and ready to do something "else." Something besides working at a computer screen work. A great missionary once told me that everybody must have a hobby, a diversion from the everyday work, or they will burn out. I have learned the hard way how true this is. Which brings me back once again to the reason for this post. Don't call me early on Saturday morning with a great plan for my day on how I can spend it. I can figure out what to do by myself. And don't disguise this plan of yours by trying to make me think it was my idea in the first place. I'm not dumb. If you want me to do something for you that you can do for yourself, don't ask me to do it. I'm very busy. I have a team. Get your own team. I have a staff. I pay my staff. If you are too cheap to pay a staff, please stop trying to borrow mine to do your stuff. I am paying them to work for ME. This great missionary, as well as MANY others have told me that most of your problems on the field will not be lack of money, or health issues or danger, but most of your trouble will be with other missionaries. I found out that 150 years ago Adoniram Judson had this problem, so evidently it is nothing new. Now that I have learned from experience how true this is, I am making it a goal to do my very best to mind my own business, do my own work, and make everybody else do theirs, by not allowing them to have me do it for them.

I have several other 'Art" lessons that I am going to write about. Maybe this one will help some of you who are using others and some of you who are allowing yourself to be used. Boundaries are essential. Draw your line in the sand and stick to it. Fellowship with other missionaries, share burdens and prayer requests and help when help is really needed. But be careful and pay attention. Don't be an enabler for one who is lazy.