The Country of My

One of the most telling conversations we had in Africa was with one of our interpreters. He was asking a few of us about how long we had been married, how many kids we had, how old they are, and things like that. At some point in the conversation he told us he "needed" to get married. We asked him why and he didn't really have an answer. I think it was here that he asked Mark what the perfect wife was. I am sure I am not going to get Mark's answer perfectly correct, but I believe this is generally what he told him. (Honestly, Mark's answer isn't the point. The point is how he responded to Mark's answer that told me all I needed to know about how Americans are viewed.) Mark told him that first, she should love God more than anything else, including her husband. Next he generalized husbands and wives and said, "after loving God, we should love our spouses more than ourselves. We should put their needs above our own" Upon hearing this, he sort of had a puzzled look on his face. Then he said, "But America is the country of my. My house, my car, my wife." Basically he was saying, "Americans don't put others first, they only think about themselves." Mark told him that we often think about our self first, however, God would have us put our spouse and their needs above any need that we may have.

This was one of several things in Africa that put a things in perspective for me. So often we get wrapped up in our wants and put other people's wants and needs on the back burner. My prayer is that, because of my new friend from Africa, I will be more mindful of others' needs and not be so focused on me.