WHY YOU SHOULD NOT BE A MISSIONARY?
A
missionary is a job of dignity and honour. They are emissaries of God in a
territory. They are Apostles of God. They carry the burden of the Gospel. They
carry the message of the gospel. They combine the ministry of an evangelist and
also that of a pastor in a locality. At times they establish new churches in
the area where there is none and presides over it. They have a relationship
with their flock and in some fields they know all their members by names. The hosting
community usually accord them honour as a representative of God in that domain
who have left their comfort for the sake of ministering to their needs. The
privileges, benefits, honour can make someone desire to be a missionary. Before
you decide to be one there are reasons
why you should not choose to be a Missionary .
Certain people
came to Jesus, they loved his ministry, the way he moved around with accorded
respect, dignity, honour , entourage. They wanted to be part of his team. Jesus
looked at them and told them reasons why they should not? Let’s look at it in the scripture
Luk 9:57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to
him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
Luk 9:58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the
air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
Jesus told him
that he did not have a home of his own. As wild as foxes are, they have homes
even birds of the air have nests. Jesus
had no place to call a home. Your home
is your comfort, where you sleep and refreshes your body. It is your privacy.
It is where you retreat to after a long and hectic day.
You should not be a missionary because a missionary does not
have a home of his own . He has left his comfort zone to a place that may not
provide the comfort he was enjoying where he was coming from. He is a sojourner there, whatever house he rents
or build there will be left someday. He operates a open door, he does not have
a full privacy, a member can come in at any time for help or assistance. He
cannot switch off his phone. His phone must always be on. If he finds himself
in a place without potable water supply, he will drink from the stream the
community is drinking from, if the community does not have stable power supply,
he will adjust to the system. Jesus told the man the consequences of his
decision to follow him. If you will be deprived of your comfort, will you still
be a Missionary. The man didn’t respond to Jesus question probably he thought
Jesus was living in a beautiful mansion with the comforts of that time.
The another reason why you may not be a missionary is found
in Jesus response to another man who he beckoned on to follow him
Luk 9:59 He said to another man, “Follow me.” But the man
replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
Luk 9:60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own
dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
Jesus wanted the man to follow him. He saw a missionary in
him but he gave an excuse. He wanted to attend the burial, dined and wined with
his relatives. He would also benefit from
the shared inheritance of his father. He considered all these before telling
Jesus that he had to bury his father first. Paul said in 1Ti 5:6 that:
But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she
lives.
Jesus said let the dead bury their own dead. Anyone who
lives in pleasure is worldly and he is dead. Jesus told him that he is not of this world,
let the people of the world celebrate and share inheritance but as for you
proclaim the kingdom of God. Do not be a
missionary if you are not ready to prioritize your mission above pleasures.
Demas abandoned Paul, he ran away from the mission field. Of which Paul wrote:
2Ti 4:10 for Demas, because he loved this world, has
deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and
Titus to Dalmatia. As a missionary
there will be social gatherings you will be invited to, but you may not be able
to honour the invitation because you are engaged with the work of the LORD on
the field.
Another reason why
you should not be missionary is found in Jesus response to a man that wanted to
follow him .
Luk 9:61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but
first let me go back and say good-by to my family.”
Luk 9:62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the
plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
Another man wanted to follow Jesus but
he insisted on seeing his family first. He was emotionally attached to his family
members. You cannot be a missionary if you are emotionally attached to your
loved ones and cannot do away with them.
Do not be a missionary if you cannot excuse yourself from your extended family at
times. A missionary at times may not see his extended family for years. Not that he did
not want to see them. Who will he leave the flock for? Not that he is not emotionally
attached to his friends, family and relatives. He prioritizes his mission above
family ties.
Finally do not be a missionary if you cannot endure
suffering. Suffering is part of missionary work. Sufferings are not limited to
not having food to eat or money to buy things you want. Sufferings is when you
are willing to sacrifice your life for others. Paul had this to say:
2Co 4:8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed;
perplexed, but not in despair;
2Co 4:9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not
destroyed.
2Co 4:10 We always carry around in our body the death of
Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
Paul was sharing his personal experience on the mission
field. He was able to do great exploits for Christ because he was willing to sacrifice
his life for the gospel. He did not hold his life back but pour himself into
the mission. The outcome was great missionary exploits. Do not be a missionary
if you are not ready to suffer for the sake of the gospel. The missionary must
be ready to bear the marks otherwise known as scars for Christ. Paul wrote:
Gal 6:17 Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on
my body the marks of Jesus.
Paul gloried in his sufferings because that identified him
as an Apostle.
Some so called
missionaries have runaway from their duty posts when the reality of what it
takes to be a missionary dawn on them.
Mark run away at a point when the journey was tough, thank God for
Barnabas who picked him up, encouraged him and later be of help to Paul in the ministry. With all these, if you
are still willing to be a missionary, You are indeed a missionary and the work
of the ministry shall prosper in your hands.
©️ Abolanle Oladipupo
21st September,2022
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