Broader Horizons

Most people in the U.S. have heard the phrase "broadening horizons." In the context I have heard it this often means exploring one's sexuality or experimenting with drugs or alcohol. That is not what that phrase should stand for, and now I want to encourage you to broaden your horizons.

People like to be comfortable, they like to experience things that they already know, people like order and structure. This can mean going to church each Sunday and singing songs they know, knowing the correct handshake with which to greet someone, or even eating food that they know they like. Now, though, I want to challenge you in the things you are comfortable in, because I want to broaden your horizons. In high school many of my friends did not drink and took no part in that culture. I'm sure my parents were glad that I did not partake in any of that, but when I got to college and everyone around me was drinking I didn't know how to react. I had what I now call a "narrow vision." In my world no one drank alcohol, so when I encountered people who did I had no idea what to do, and sometimes I judged them or withdrew from them. Now that I have been in college for 3 years I am finally comfortable being around, and being friends with, people who drink and party and I can love them. Finally my vision has broadened. You might say, why was having that narrow vision bad, it kept you safe. True, but it did not prepare me to minister to or be friends with people I would encounter in the future. I had to be removed from my "comfort zone" to understand more about others and to be better able to love them.

On this trip I have seen people's horizons broaden. One of my teammates, Jamie, helped teach at an elementary school called Little Angels in Uganda. She seemed to really love it, until she came home from it one day and looked like she was about to cry. She told me that in school that day the teachers slapped the children and hit them with canes when they didn't get questions right. She said she had to leave she was so angry and sad, but I think it was a good experience for her. In the U.S. she never encountered anything like that, so she didn't know how to react when she did encounter it, so she left. However, God does not call us to abandon situations that we find uncomfortable or scary. God called Hosea to marry a prostitute, so that he could show how Israel acted like a prostitute towards God. That situation was certainly extremely uncomfortable and confusing, but God did not just allow it to happen, he meant for it to happen. So, often God will call us into things we don't want to do or things we don't like, but we must endure. One way we can prepare for this is by broadening our horizons and experiencing many different things. Now the next time Jamie encounters "slashing" in schools she won't have to run away, but maybe she can help minister to those children and teachers. She now knows what can happen in schools and other countries, and now that she knows about it she can help change it. Also, we talked to a man who said that without slashing he would not be very successful. Physical pain gave him the motivation to try hard in school. I don't think physical pain is the best motivator, but it is does work to some extent.

Last night we watched a movie called Hotel Rwanda, about the genocide in Rwanda. In the genocide the Hutu tribe tried to exterminate the Tutsi tribe. Hundreds of thousands of Tutsis were not only killed, but hacked to death with machetes, a horrible death. Knowing this part of Rwanda's history can help us minister to the people here. We can begin to understand their pain and help to heal it. If we chose to ignore this gruesome truth it might hinder our ministry.

Now, I'm not telling you that you have to go to other countries and immerse yourself in their culture so that you can broaden your horizons. What I'm telling you is to open your eyes, pay attention. When other people do things that you don't agree with don't just make an instant judgment, but put yourself in their shoes. Beating children for better grades is not right, but the teachers do it to help the children be successful. Your friend who goes out and gets wasted every weekend may be trying to drown some sorrow in their life. The children in Uganda who act out do it because the generation in front of them is dying or has died from AIDs and they have no one to lead them. So never turn a blind eye to something you don't like. Parents, teach your children about sex and drugs, because these things exist and your children need to know about them so that they won't be hurt by them. People, pay attention to other countries and what is happening there, because maybe hundreds of thousands of people are being murdered and you don't even know that they existed to begin with. Even if it is hard, try to experience new things and meet new people. God wants to use you in places that are uncomfortable, will you let him? I am also guilty of this, but now God is opening my eyes and broadening my horizons. He is preparing me to understand other people and to know how to love them. This is also my prayer for you.