I approached Alena this morning with an idea that has been on my heart for Wisdom Wednesday. My goal was to caution the reader that there are a lot of missionaries out there that may be doing more harm than good, and many that are living a very lavish lifestyle off of donations from hard working people, We talked about the story of Amy Carmichael and she retold the story so well that I asked her to write this for me. Thanks Alena!!

Are We Truly Serving Christ?

The sight of the four missionaries traveling up the mountain was one that couldn’t easily be forgotten. They traveled at the head of the procession in sedan chairs—chairs with long poles that were carried on the shoulders of servants. Behind them came the rest of the servants carrying all of the missionaries’ “necessary” supplies in heavy trunks and boxes that held things such as badminton rackets and nets and folding chairs. But these missionaries were being quite conservative in what they were bringing. Other missionaries they passed on the road were hauling objects as heavy as pianos and iron bathtubs.

It took thirty-six servants to get the four missionaries up the mountain. And why were they traveling? Because the city lower down was too hot, and so, the missionaries were heading to the mountains where it would be cooler and they could rest.

When Amy Carmichael arrived in India during the late 1800s, and witnessed how the missionaries around her acted, she was horrified. If questioned, each of the missionaries would have been quick to say that they loved the native people and that the reason they were in India was to show them the way to salvation through Christ. But that was not an impression a person could gather merely from watching them.

The British missionaries had no contact with the people of India except in their interactions with their servants. Few of them could even speak the native language. When Amy tried to get her servant to be allowed to sleep in her room with her, the idea was so outrageous to the other missionaries that finally she was forced to relent. Instead of spending time with anyone native born, she was expected to sit with the other missionary women and embroider flowers onto handkerchiefs while they watched the men play cricket in the yard. Their “mission” work was to gather together for monthly meetings where they drank tea and discussed reasons that the Indians were not accepting the Gospel.

At last Amy decided that she had enough and moved out of the mission compound so that she could have more direct contact with the Indian people. The other missionaries had nothing but criticism to offer her, and when she began to dress in the Indian style to make the people around her feel more comfortable when she talked with them, she was scolded and told that she was a disappointment to England. In the missionaries’ minds, giving up the “civilized” way of doing things was tantamount to scorning Queen Victoria and the homeland.

Looking at the British missionaries, it’s easy for us to shake our heads at them. However, they genuinely believed that they were serving God by planting their feet on foreign soil and holding their monthly prayer meetings. How often do we do the same thing? Sometimes when we look within ourselves, it can be hard to see past the glow of our good intentions and see if our actions are truly serving God. Because when it comes down to it, only the work that’s done for Him and with Him will truly last.

If you enjoyed this story, you can see more of her writing over at alenamentink.com or catch her on facebook.