Summary: Attitudes Our attitudes are revealed by the little things we do for people: the little gestures that cost us almost nothing. They are revealed in our interest in the people, our entering into their joys and sorrows. They are revealed above all in our love for them. It is not our skill in the language or our competence in our work that is going to win their heart: it is our attitude, especially our attitude of love, that is going to influence them. On the other hand, it is our bad attitudes that are going to repel them: our inconsiderateness, our condescension, our criticalness, our indifference. Such attitudes will neutralize months of ministry. “The single most important area of your life and ministry will be in the realm of attitudes.” 1. We are guests Have the attitude that we are a guest in their country. Guests are reserved, grateful, and discreet. Guests are dependent on their host for many things. Guests honor, not denigrate, their host. Too often missionaries have acted as if they were school masters and the nationals were children. 2. Respect Love is not enough, we must learn to respect them. It is not difficult to respect them if we look for their many good points. They usually have high standards of morality and social standards. They are courteous, they respect their elders, value family, are loyal to their community. Their endurance, hospitality, and friendliness put Americans to shame They have high aspirations for their future just as we do. Another way to develop respect for them is putting ourselves in their place. Why do they do the things that they do? Could we do things better? Often not. Why do the nationals react the way they do? Can you imagine what the loss of a buffalo or goat could mean to a very poor farmer? 3. Build trust. Is what I am doing, thinking, or saying building trust or is it undermining trust? Learn to accept others. It is not long before the nationals begin to realize that they are not welcome in the missionary’s home. Just remember they are not inferior or less valid-- just different. “It is not difficult for others to discern whether or not the missionaries accept them as persons. Their attitudes and actions soon give them away.” 4. Empathy is a crucial attitude that will allow the missionary to truly enter into the lives and feelings of the people as an equal and as a friend. 5. The only way to achieve this love and respect is to pray for it. It is not something that I can do but what He does in me. I need the Holy Spirit to love through me. 6. Be careful not to have the attitude of paternalism and superiority. First, it is a manifestation of pride. Second, it lowers the person towards whom it is directed. Third, it prevents that person from developing. We must remember that we are but unworthy servants and that all we have is of God. That we are merely beggars showing other beggars where to find bread then the paternalism issue will largely disappear. The thing that the missionary must remember is that he is a representative of Christ, not an advocate of his home culture. “It is very easy for Western missionaries to adopt an attitude that communicates the feeling that the way we do things here at home is the right and proper way to do so, whatever it maybe.” The other error is to refuse to see anything wrong with the host culture and we treat them like spoiled children. We must speak the truth in love. We need to show them a natural respect based on mutual understanding. No pampering, no patronizing, the nationals are our equal just treat them naturally. E. Some do’s and don’ts 1. Do not treat their church any differently than you would a church in the United States. Their church is just as good, and many times much more spiritual than a church in the US... 2. Don’t treat national pastors any differently than you would a pastor in the United States 3.
