Motive Check

Here is a great reminder to check our motives before we go on ANY God-given Mission...

Remember that:

1) You are Part of the Tide – There is often a temptation when we participate in short-term teams to view what God is doing in a given context only in terms of the contribution that we make while we are there.  But that's really short-sighted.  The truth is, God has been at work long before we show up (even if we're the first ones there!), and will be at work long after we leave.  In a situation like Nicaragua, we're also not the only ones at work.  Our friends at CFC, Verbo and a host of other ministries all send teams, regularly participate and sacrifice to advance the Kingdom when they are there.  The truth is, we're more like part of a Tide than a Tsunami.  A tsunami washes everything clean in a single wave of water.  A tide, however, changes the entire landscape of a shoreline gently, over time, washing wave upon wave upon the shore with a rhythmic consistency.  It's not that one wave doesn't matter, but it IS that it's more about that wave added to another and another and another that change things.  As a result, remember two things:

A) Be careful about your promises.  There is always a temptation, when we think we're the tsunami rather than the tide, to make tons of promises to the people we are there to help.  "We'll write every day!", "We'll be back next summer!", "We'll send you gifts in the mail".  Often, because of our passion and the way that our hearts are moved, we make such promises with good intentions and out of a sort of desperation that comes from wanting to feel that we are making a lasting relational connection that will say, "we won't forget you!  Please don't forget me!"  But the truth is, whenever we fail to follow through with such promises, we actually undermine what we do on the field, and build a system of distrust and short-term thinking among our brothers and sisters we are serving.  But if we remember that we are part of the Tide, that there will be other waves of men, women and children who will continue to bring Light and Hope and Healing, then, over time, the landscape of the lives we are serving will change, and we will have been thankful for our part in it.  But in order to be happy with that part, we need to be careful about our "Tsunami Promises" along the way.  

B) Be content with what you accomplish.  You can leave knowing that God will finish what you start.  I'm talking about more than buildings you build or projects you accomplish.  If you're part of the Tide, then you can be assured that waves that come after you will continue to love and move and advance the Kingdom, just as you wouldn't be doing what you'll be doing if waves hadn't gone before you.  As a result, regardless of what you "accomplish", be content with it.  Take joy in the moments God gives you to look into the face of a child or feel the embrace of a brother or sister who is glad that you are there.  Work hard, do your best, pour yourself out with all your intensity, but when it's time to go, take joy that your Wave gained some ground, and then leave the rest to God and His ability to bring other Waves behind you.

      A Lesson from the US Marines – While the official motto of the United States Marines is "Semper Fidelis" (i.e. "Always Faithful"), one of the most famous unofficial (or, some Marines would say, the "working motto") mottos is "Adapt, Improvise, Overcome".  When the Marines were first formed in the late 1700's, they were kind of a strange animal since they were neither technically "Army" nor "Navy", so the US government wasn't really sure how to equip them.  As a result, and even though the Marines were often the "first in, last out" to any battlefield, they almost always had to fight and train with the second-hand or surplus tools that the Army and Navy no longer wanted or could no longer use.  So what did they do?  Whine about not having the right tools or being put in positions where they would have to use less than optimal resources to accomplish severely daunting tasks?  Nope.  Not the Marines.  Instead, they built a reputation for themselves to adapt to their situations quickly, work with what they had available or find it from unlikely sources, and still accomplish their objectives (i.e. Adapt, Improvise, Overcome).  This maxim has served them well over the past 200+ years, and is one of the reasons why the Marines are such a fearsome fighting force on any battlefield.