When Claire and I told people about our calling and decision to move to Zambia for a year in order to learn from and minister with Zambian Christians, the majority of men and women, whether married or single, young or old, male or female, responded by saying, “I could never do that…” After a month of the same response, I tired and started pushing the conversation, “Why not?”
People continually named their respective justifications for not living internationally if Jesus asked them to do such. “I couldn’t be that far from my family.” “I couldn’t do that to my kids.” “My wife would never go for that.” “I couldn’t live without such and such.” “I would never risk the lives of my family.”
To be quite honest, I had my own list of such reasons. Claire and I even wrote such a list out in an elaborate Pros-and-Cons table. Some of our reasons for not accepting the job offer in Zambia included Claire’s counseling calling and licensing requirements; our very strong desire for children (which we already delayed and now would have to postpone for at least 2 more years); strong connections with our families; other exciting job offers; two cars, a dog, two cats, and a house full of stuff; the necessary financial constraints and the loss of Claire’s income and the ways that would impact our future family finances; the inconveniences to hobbies; the lack of amenities; aging grandparents; the strain on existing friendships; …
READ THE REST OF “SO WHY NOT?” HERE.
This blog post like all posts labeled BLOG on this website, first appeared on the Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church blog, Glory Be: A Tale of Two Zambian Trained Missionaries. There, you can find scores of other original blog posts by Andrew Ruth.
The original introduction is reproduced above, but to read the entire post in its original format, please visit “So Why Not?”
Andrew David Ruth 