Inductive Bible Study February 23

IBS Tuesday February 23

1 Corinthians 9:22

I have become all things to all men that I might by all means save some.

You have to put yourself on the same level as the people you are trying to help. What I have learned after going on four mission trips to Mexico in the past four years is that you can’t try to go to the poor as rich. You have to go to them as one of them. Growing up in a very materialistic culture I saw poverty as a form of laziness. I criticized poor people. I thought that if you weren’t rich you were doing something wrong. When I went to Tecate, Mexico, in spring break of 2012 with my youth group to build houses, something switched in my heart though. I saw that I could never reach these wonderful people if I was trying to take my culture to them. I had to simply show them the love of Jesus and what He did in my life on their level.

Last October I was in Hermosillo, Mexico, on a mission trip. I talked to a man who used to live in the United States but moved to Hermosillo. He used to be a real estate broker and lived most his life as any American who liked to spend the majority of his money acquiring material things. After living in Mexico for a few years, he told me how those things just don’t matter as much down there. People are more concerned about relationships, quality time, and the simple things of life than they are about being successful in business, acquiring things, and going on vacations. He said that when missionaries come to Hermosillo, they often come with the wrong mindset. They just need to come to develop relationships, not just give money and build churches, although that too is necessary. As much as I love America, I must put myself on the other culture’s level if I want to truly reach them and let God do the rest.

What I learned through this is that you must be adaptable when going to another culture, whether it’s on a mission trip or traveling for any other reason. You are accepted and respected when you meet them on the same level. 1 Corinthians 9:19 says, “For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all that I might win the more.” We are to put ourselves at the mercy of the culture we are in so that we will win their acceptance. 1 Corinthians 8:9 keeps me in check, “But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak.”

Application: As I am in Guatemala right now, I have realized how much my mindset hinders me from reaching Latin Americans. The next time the subject of politics, materialism, or business comes up, I am going to ask God to give me the proper mindset towards those things. I pray God would help me surrender my mindset to the way He chooses to form it today.