Cultural Conundrums

In the 1800s, many missionaries considered it right and proper to bring not only the Gospel to other nations, but also their own traditions and culture, seeking to implement those exact same aspects in other cultures. Therefore, if an English missionary went to China, he would try to make the church and the believers look and act like a church from England. This placed additional barriers up that are not in the Bible and caused many to reject Christ because they didn’t want to become “English”.

 When Hudson Taylor was in China, he chose a different approach. He said that he would become Chinese in every way that was not sinful. This affected the way he dressed, the way he cut his hair, what he chose to eat, and many other aspects of his life. This created quite a stir among the other missionaries working in China, and even some friction, but God richly blessed the work he was doing and allowed Hudson Taylor to go places that no one else had been able to reach. God used Hudson to start the China Inland Mission and see 20,000 Chinese come to faith as a result of the work He was doing.

 I want to become Slovak in all things not sinful. Our God is a very creative God, and I believe He created different cultures so that His glory and majesty can be displayed in a million different ways.  

In addition to spending a lot of time learning the Slovak language, I have also been spending time observing. I’ve observed that the connection to the historical culture is much stronger here than anything I experienced growing up in America. The kids here spend time learning about the folk culture, and they learn and perform folk dances and songs. They spend time regularly in the same mountains that their ancestors did. They learn about making pottery and other hand crafts in the same way it was done for hundreds or a thousand years. It becomes woven into how they think about themselves and about Slovakia.

 Because of this, there is a strong affinity for the historical culture, even the parts that violate the principles in God’s Word. For instance, much Slovak folk music has worldly messages in the lyrics that don’t honor God. In this instance, there is a conflict between what God’s Word teaches and the culture. So just like we ask for the Holy Spirit’s help to overcome any other sinful desire in our lives, many of the Slovaks must first learn that this music doesn’t honor God and then ask for the Holy Spirit’s help to overcome it. Please pray that God would be revealing sinful influences for what they are, and the believers would be responsive.

 Ultimately, we are not citizens of this world, but citizens of heaven. This means that as we grow in Christ, we will begin to look and act more and more like Christ. Our earthly culture will become diminished as our heavenly culture shines through. However, that does not mean that a Slovak Christian will look exactly like an American Christian. As God sanctifies us, our earthly culture becomes less pronounced and the sinful parts are removed, but it is still there. It is what will allow God to fill heaven with “a great multitude, which no man could number, all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues” (Revelation 7:9b).

 Please pray that He would give me wisdom regarding what parts of the Slovak culture are just different and what parts are sinful. Please also pray that He would give me wisdom in how to interact with those in the church here. There have been many good conversations that we have had, and it has caused me to think through things that I hadn’t considered before.

We are having a church retreat this week. The Carmichaels have flown in from America to teach a seminar on marriage. I’ll be helping to care for the kids and have all kinds of fun activities planned with them. I’ll also be helping with some of the meal prep.

After the church retreat, we’ll have one week to finish preparing for VBS. I’m in charge of preparing the meals and snacks (there are a couple other ladies that will be helping me). Please pray that God will use both the church retreat and VBS to touch lives and to grow His people.

We had some difficulty getting a hold of the person who could answer some questions about the additional documentation needed  for my visa. We were finally able to reach the right person this past week and have sent in copies of the necessary documents.. We are still waiting for some paperwork from the landlord to get there. Please pray that it would get straightened out without too much more back and forth.

Please also be praying for wisdom on how best to manage my time. There are so many things that I could do and they all seem like good ideas that would either allow me to connect with people in the community or that would be a help to the individuals in the church here, but if I want to do them well, I can’t do them all. Please pray that the Lord would make it clear what He wants me to do and what He doesn’t want me to do at this time.

In Christ,

Shae Zabel