managing life

In my recent travels, I met a man who told me all about his efforts to serve among refugees. He is making visits to different churches, teaching, preaching, baptising  -the field is white with harvest.  At the same time, he explained how he has to work a full week in order to support his family and ministry. He shared that it is not easy to find enough time for ministry to refugees much less to manage the rest of his life.

I know he is not alone, and I could hear the pain in his tone as he shared how hard he has to work in order to make ends meet.  I could hear his longing to be freed up for full-time ministry. I could hear a protest against how things are ordered in this world. How come some are paid for their Christian service, but he has to work hard in order to do his. Where is the justice in this?

I felt like my friend was grabbing for some way to understand and explain how he fits into the economy and order of God’s kingdom. I am not sure we can understand this. He described his ministry as one of “doing” compared to those who only plan and talk.  I wonder if these questions and concerns about the order of things existed even before he became a Christian. I believe that they can lead to conflict and bitterness as easily now, after he has become a Christian, as they could have at an earlier time in his life.

So what can I do to help him? It would be easy to receive his comments as a judgment on anyone who is outside of his world. How can I help him to understand and accept others who may be serving in a different way? Difficult.

I think part of the problem lies in what he is comparing. As long as he sees others outside of his circle in some way as a threat, then it’s easy to take issue with them. I think it would help to replace this view of himself and others with a view of God.  Is there something I can give him to increase his view of God?   -a book, a gift, a place, a reminder, a salary?

I don’t mean to say this will take the problem away. However I think that the more he increases his view of God then the better he will be able to manage life.