What about the Christians?

The first in an occasional series by Grace Cheng

N

ot long ago, I attended a lunch-hour panel discussion at my law school on the topic of international human rights careers. One of the speakers on the panel was a young lawyer who had done lots of policy work with NGOs in developing countries.

Yet while the calculated purpose of the panel was to assure students that there were worthwhile, paying careers to be found in human rights, this speaker’s cynicism suggested otherwise. She spoke jadedly about the non-existence of job security, citing her own experience of jumping from contract to contract to barely make ends meet. Then she observed, with more than a hint of bitterness: “99% of Western ex-pats in the developing world become one of two things. Either they become racists, constantly talking in terms of “us” and “them,” or they become alcoholics.”

My colleagues and I exchanged stunned glances. We knew there was probably much truth to her words; we just could not quite believe she had spoken them in the setting we were in. (I wonder if she’ll ever be invited to speak again.)

“What about the Christians?” I badly wanted to ask. I wished she had said something, anything, about the Christians. Even a disparaging remark about “religious workers” or “missionaries” would have been better than no comment at all. There are so many Christians working “in the field” with humanitarian agencies and missions organizations today. Had she noticed anything different about them?

It’s with this cynical lawyer’s observation in mind that I leave home (Canada) this summer to work with a human rights NGO in Southeast Asia.* The NGO intervenes on behalf of child victims of trafficking and forced prostitution by removing the children from those situations, rehabilitating them into healthy environments, and ensuring the proper prosecution of their traffickers and pimps under local national law. The hope is that one day the local public justice system will, on its own, adequately enforce laws that protect the poor and vulnerable from such demeaning forms of abuse.

Obviously, I aspire to much more than avoiding the vices of racism and alcoholism while I am there. I hope that serving the poor as a Christian looks different from other forms of service, however that may be. Possibly it means that the way of Christ infuses every aspect of the work, from vision and mission to methodologies and strategies. Jesus said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave - just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:26-28).

I hope it looks a little like that.

* Because of the confidential nature of the NGO’s work, Grace’s precise location and the NGO’s name will not be disclosed.

Writer: Grace Cheng serves with Corps 614 in Regent Park, Toronto, Canada. Her first taste of inner-city ministry involved a close encounter with the local police, and she’s been hooked ever since. Grace participated in the Salvation Army’s IGNITE discipleship program in 2006-2007. When she’s not contemplating issues of race and identity or church and community, Grace attends law school. She hopes her life will contribute meaningfully to God’s work of justice on earth.

1 Comment to What about the Christians?

1. Grace:

   I can’t believe that you got through half of your first year of law school before you were exposed to your first cynical lawyer!

   Never fear. Full-time, secure, permanent gigs are scarce in all fields these days, so you might as well do what you love….If God wants you there the work will love you back.

   Andrea
Andrea614Regent on July 22nd, 2008

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