How To Be The Means Of Grace To Others

James 2:15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to him, "Go in peace, be warmed and well-fed," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by works, is dead.

We decided early on that we would be as transparent as possible in the hopes that others might benefit in some small way by our various dilemmas and experiences. This latest decision has to do with hiring workers. If you have been exposed to mission life much at all then you know that this is a debatable issue. Many will accuse missionaries who hire housekeepers, or gardeners, or security guards of living in excessive, wasteful luxury. I've heard that it's true (though I've never seen it) that there are some missionaries who drive around in Mercedes, living the 'high life' in large compounds with full staffs of workers while native Christian neighbors living in the area shake their heads in shame for the excessive lifestyle of the Western missionary. I hope that this is the exception; not the rule.

Anyway, there was a day when I looked down my super-spiritual nose at missionaries who lived with any helpers at all as living in wasteful extravagance. I found it appalling! That was until I became a full-time missionary myself and was suddenly forced to deal with these issues personally. And then I realized, this issue is not so cut and dried. I've been humbled.

So we will share with you how the Lord is leading us. This is not a justification of what we have decided to; but simply an explanation. Here are three major arguments for why we will, by the grace of God, be hiring workers:

1. It is common among the Zambians themselves to have a housekeeper and a gardener / guard. Almost all of the families at Trinity Baptist Church employ people like this. These are not 'health and wealth' charismatics either. These are extremely reserved and cautious reformed baptists who hold to the Five Solas and the 1689 London Baptist Confession. And they are common folk earning average incomes.

2. It is a cultural expectation. The "rich" help the poor by providing jobs. As Westerners, we are perceived as definitely having the means to help. If we don't, we communicate to those around us that we are uncaring and unmerciful, which dishonors the name of Jesus. While we are not slaves to cultural expectations, we are slaves to the righteousness of Christ and we must, as the Holy Spirit leads us, put into practice James 2:15 and prove that our faith is accompanied by legitimate works of mercy to the poor and needy that can really benefit them long term.

3. It is a legitimate need. Our wives will tell you that they had no idea how much work it would take just to live here! Steph looked at me just yesterday and said, "Whew! It's a lot of work just living through the day!" I have watched her and helped her. It's an all-day job just to prepare three meals, let alone shop for groceries (not at Wal-Mart, but at about six different shops and markets in order to get the best prices), wash the laundry, hang the laundry on the line to dry, iron all the laundry (in order to kill any mango fly eggs that may have been laid on the laundry while it was hanging outside - these eggs hatch and the larvae burrow into your skin), sweep and mop the floors, clean the bathrooms, and, on top of all that, try to homeschool the kids! There is a legitimate need for some housekeeping help.

So, we are in a position to help two families by providing two jobs. One is a housekeeping job for a lady named Carol. She is Lozi and she's a single mom with two kids. She has three glowing references and seems very professional and trustworthy. The other is a gardener / security job for a man named Millson. He is Tonga and we think he is a true Believer. His life lately has been absolutely tragic. His sister died last year. His father died just two months ago. His only child was killed by a drunk driver last month. The security company, Buffalo Eyes, who employs him pays K190,000 per month which is $38 U.S.. After he pays for rent (K 75,000) and water (K 25,000) and buys maize meal (K50,000) he only has K 40,000 left over to buy other necessities. So that's $8 U.S. to try to buy other groceries or clothes for his sister's two children that are living with him now or anything else they might need. Can you imagine?

When his child died he had no money to pay for a coffin. He had to buy the cheapest wooden box he could find, dig the child's grave and bury him all on his own. No one came to the funeral from his charismatic church except the pastor. Finally, on top of all that, his mother recently had a stroke. When he told me these things I was absolutely humbled. WE HAVE NO PROBLEMS. So we have decided to hire Millson as our gardener / security guard so that he can quit his job with Buffalo Eyes. He's a good, honest, hard-worker who appears to genuinely love the Lord. Our pastor, Michael Bwembya agrees. We will start him at almost double what he makes now (a fair wage) and will take some of the pressure off him and his family. This is just one way in which we feel that we can live out James 2:15 to prove that our faith is genuine by being a practical means of grace to those in need.