reading and thinking

I've been reading "the poisonwood bible" and I must say at times it makes me get mad. Summary of what I've read really short: Minister takes his family to Africa (congo)...they are a missionary family. Story is told by the 3 daughters and the wife. Basically the minister is so set in his ways and what he believes that he judges, and does not adapt to this new culture. He wants everyone in the congo to convert and get babtized. He wants to be their savior in a sense. He wants to show them a way to live. Thinking they don't have what we have here in the states, as in agriculture, crops...etc. because they are ignorant. Yet, it is because of resources yes, but because of different soil, different climate....etc.

In one instance the minister wants to babtize in the lake. Yet the people refuse. He tries and tries and tries, until he is told that one of the major reasons why the people refuse is because just a month before they arrived, a young girl had been killed by an crocodile in that lake. So yeah, people didn't want to go in that same water.

But even after hearing this, he still did not get it. His attitude not only separated the people from him, but his family as well. He became sort of a tyrant. Seeing everything that the people did or not do as something vile.

People are close minded a lot of the times. Thinking about it, they are close minded both in and outside of the church. People outside of church, having their set ways in what they think church is like, what they think God is like, or what they think their life would be if they gave God a chance. and people inside of the church community is set in their way of doing things. They forget mercy and grace. They forget that those two things were shown and given to us by Christ. We see someone in sin and most of the time judge. We see the things of "the world" based on past generations, past decisions made by previous church leaders...regardless if it is completely opposite of what Christ would do.

We want to be Christ like, yet only by words. When we are placed in a situation to really show Christ, we just sit back and do nothing.

I'm just thinking based on what I'm reading. Its a book that makes me think of what my future and even my present will be like. I want to go to the nations, I want to go and serve. But one thing I never want to forget is that I will not be giving my own ideas or my own conclusions. I never want to be so stuck in my own ways that I don't see the need that is around me.