"Food" For Thought

So today was our last day of VBS in a village called Takam. On our very bumpy and rough drive there, I almost found myself in tears when I was thinking about the way these people live. I felt sorry for them and I was questioning as to why I grew up where I did and with the seemingly luxurious things my family had in comparison to the people here. And I sat there in confusion for a while trying to understand why it is this way. And, why I was feeling guilty for the way of life I have lived... but I think that I was able to come to some sort of conclusion as to why life is this way.

When we look back at America's history to one hundred, even maybe two hundred years ago, I cannot imagine that life was much different from the people that live here in these remote villages. The more I thought about it... It's really just a way of life here. It's not that these people are "lesser" people or "lesser off," because in their world, this is what they know and how they live. I am not trying to say that our worlds are the same, but we all live in a way that is natural in the environment we are in; and that's just what we know. And when I thought about it more, I thought about our concept of time verses God's concept of time. We only look at life from a linear point of view, but God looks at this world from an all-knowing and all-powerful point of view. He can see people from all times, all environments and all ways of life... All we can see is how life has changed and evolved and progressed and as people that are "ahead" in society; but what are we really ahead of? We may understand science more and technology and all that, but that doesn't make the people that live in these remote areas any less human.

All I can really say is that the Lord gave me some sense of peace in accepting the fact that my life is different from these people and I shouldn't feel sorry for them and the way they live, but I can be thankful that I can love them and encounter them and that the Lord loves them so much more than I could ever humanly offer. There is so much we can do to help these people to gain awareness to water-borne diseases and many other things that society has learned over time. There is so much we can help with, but we don't have to change these people. They are beautiful and they do what they can in this life that they know, and maybe over time... they will come to learn more about farming, and science, and technology like we know... but until then, we should not look at these people as less off or ourselves as better off for that matter.



My mind is still trying to process my thoughts... but please, feel free to add your thoughts.