What do You Hate More?

A post from Tim...

Living in Haiti can present quite a few life changes, such as no-rules driving, breathing in massive amounts of exhaust, mispronouncing Creole words, and living with armies of bugs and little creatures. Because of the heat, we often have our windows and doors open at the guesthouse, which is a welcome sign for little critters.  Dealing with flies, ants, spiders, lizards, and other little guys can sometimes become frustrating, in wake of that I am an American that is used to enclosed housing spaces.  Living in Haiti can challenge an American’s addiction to comfort like not many other things. 

I praise God for not allowing me to bask in my comfort, but to instead rely upon Him as my joy, my safety, my satisfaction, whether I am in a comfy U.S. apartment/house, or living in a third-world nation (that said, our guesthouse here is absolutely amazing!!).  When we are stripped of even “some” of our basic comforts, this can turn into a gripe-session, instead of looking to God as sovereign and supreme.  I think it comes down to, do we really believe that God is who he says that he is in Christ Jesus?  Do we believe in who God says he is? 

Some years ago I was living in Atlanta, GA and volunteering with an urban ministry.  As I walked the city streets with my friend who lived in a dangerous neighborhood, he shared with me how he had killed a massive rat in his apartment.  My first response was, “what?!??!”, yet my friend appeared sad I asked him why? He began to explain that he realized that he hated the rat in his apartment more than he hated sin in his life.  This, as you can imagine, had a profound affect on my thinking.

Fast forward several years and I am living in Port-au-Prince in Haiti, along with many little perceived discomforts.  The particular lesson of hating the inconvenience instead of personal sin is especially applicable while living in a developing nation.  God has pinpointed that my heart has many idols, but I am most aware of them when my conveniences or comforts are taken away.  Therefore, I relish the bittersweet opportunity to face my idolatry and am learning to try to lean on Christ and trust him, even when a bizarre-looking lizard hops into the shower with me, or when a softball-sized furry spider scurries across the floor. 

These small and sometimes freaky annoyances have a way of teaching us that God is in control of our lives and is worthy of being trusted, whether we feel cozy and comfortable, or displaced and scared.