Friday, December 30, 2011

Why Most Missionaries Fail Part 20

Jesus explained that God gives us responsibilities according to our abilities; not necessarily according to our Godliness. In a parable, Jesus told of one servant doubling the ten talents (referring to money) he had received, while another equally faithful servant doubled the five talents he had received. That's how God wants it to work out.

But Christians with limited ability can still read the Word of God, pray, fast, work, etc., and get blessed more than Christians with more ability. And then, both groups can be struck with jealousy and envy. Conflicts between these two groups are one of the reasons that many missionaries can't get along with each other.

To be continued...

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Why Missionaries Fail Part 19

A major reason for the failure of most missionaries is that the normal problems in Sunday church are packed into a seven-day week. Another problem involves jealousy and envy.

The translators of the King James version got this one right, while most modern translations got it wrong. "Jealousy" refers to a person having something, but being afraid that someone else will take it away. King Saul was jealous of David, fearing that David would steal his kingdom. Jealousy is not a big deal in the Bible, however.

"Envy" refers to a person who does not have something, but he feels that it should rightfully be his. The Bible talks a lot about the problem of envy, when a person demands a position, an honor, or leadership that someone else has. We'll see how this relates to missionaries.