What are we really exporting?

We are well into our third year of service, in Southeast Asia. In this short time, I have been surprised how much has changed. More and more western products are available on grocery shelves. There are a few more American chain businesses opening. Since summer, we have noticed a huge influx of Coca-Cola billboards, shop signs, etc., in Siem Reap. Coke has been here, but the advertising was minimal.

   When we are in a city and staying at a hotel, there are always a few American cable channels. The movies being shown aren’t always the best, but they do give us a reminder of our culture.  There are a couple of Thai cable networks that broadcast U.S.-based programming.

   As I travel through the cities and villages, I see a growing influence of western culture in Cambodia. The clothing of many teenagers is no different from their western counterparts. When we returned from our furlough, last May, I was stunned at the number of Starbuck’s shirts being worn by young men and women. They were literally everywhere. We had been gone for sex weeks! I had never seen a Starbuck’s shirt, here.  To really appreciate this overnight invasion, you should know that there are no Starbuck’s outlets in all of Cambodia.

   I am not happy about it.

   If the world’s opinion of us comes from sitcoms and reality TV, we are in a sad shape. I know, some would argue we are in a sad shape, in reality. But, I worry that we are not exporting our best – or, even our average. These beautiful young people are not only imitating our fashion. Their obsession with appearance and the “ideal,” as exhibited by Hollywood, is very apparent. A trip down the Health and Beauty Aids aisle at the grocery or market reveals row after row of lotions, creams, deodorants, and cosmetics that are designed to whiten darker skin.

   Our lives would appear to be filled with promiscuity, deception, car chases, drug use, profanity-laden tirades, venomous religious bigotry, etc. They don’t really know about wholesome families. They don’t know about spiritual

   The first year our ship came to the Tonle Sap Lake, we were pleased that most children had good teeth. They did not get the sweets and pre-packaged foods that we see along the river. That is changing. Snacks filled with sugar and fat can be found in even the smallest of villages. Many of these products come from western producers, or western companies granting production rights to Asian companies. It isn’t enough that we battle with hypertension and diabetes, we are now exporting that, too.

   If all this weren’t enough, I see western religious influences taking hold. The American church is being taken hostage by those preaching a prosperity gospel. You know the one. There are some truths presented, but neatly packaged with lies. Lies that we want to be true. We are told that God loves us and will bless us with treasures untold. (Yeah, I am with you, so far) And, those treasures are ours for the taking and enjoying, NOW. (Now, you lost me) If we live in a right way and follow the path of God, we will be blessed with earthly riches. A loving God would want no less than for us to be prosperous.

That evil message will really get the attention of a financially poverty-stricken people. But what happens next. How do the poor reconcile this message with their life? When they hear the Gospel, choose to become a Christian, and live a life refreshed and renewed?  They changed. They believed. Yet, her baby is still hungry. The toddler is sick. Her husband still beats her. The floodwaters have come. The small rice crop is lost. The chickens are dying. He suffers from a debilitating cough, but cannot afford to get to the free clinic. Where is this God of prosperity? Where is God? Was he just a story? Why would they believe anyone else who comes along talking about a loving God?

   I want to tell them that message is not true. It is not of God. I want them to know that God loves them. He will bless them. He will do so much better than taking away today’s aches and pains. I want them to know about the lives and the faith of the apostles. I want them to know about those followers closest to our Lord. I want them to know that 10 of the 12 were martyrs. They had no prosperity on earth. There was no easy way.

   I want them to hear Paul’s story of earthly prosperity and blessing, in 2 Corinthians 11:24-27. The great apostle Paul was beaten, whipped, stoned, left adrift at sea, imprisoned, hungry, thirsty, and cold. I want them to know that through all this, he counted it all joy.

   I want them to know that God is not saving us from this life. Peter said that we are blessed when we are insulted for the name of Christ, because the Spirit and glory of God rests on us. Peter tells us that if we suffer as Christians we should not be ashamed, but glorify God (1 Peter 4:14-16). They must know that God is preparing us for the next life. And, that is where we will have our prosperity.

   You know, maybe that is the message that the west needs. If it will hear that message, we won’t have to worry about their old message out here.

   Help me out. Share God’s true message at home.