6 Ways To Avoid Becoming a Missionary

So, contrary to what you might think, I’m not here today to make you feel guilty, I’m here to help you out. Let me tell you the top six ways you can avoid becoming a missionary. Here they are. Some of you have never taken a note in a message before, but you’re about to start writing because I’m finally saying something you think is important. So here goes. Here are the top six ways to avoid becoming a missionary:

6 Worry incessantly about money. That one will stop you right there because becoming a missionary means you really have to depend on God to sustain you, and who would want to do that? After all, He’s only the sovereign God and sole owner of the Universe. Want to avoid the mission field? Then worry incessantly about money.

5 Always imagine missionaries as talented, super-spiritual people who stand on lofty pedestals. Maintaining this image of missionaries will heighten your own sense of inadequacy. Convincing yourself that God does not use ordinary people as missionaries will smother any guilt you may feel about refusing to even listen for a call from God.

4 Stay away from missionaries. Their testimonies can be disturbing. The situations they describe will distract you from embracing whole-heartedly the materialistic lifestyle of the United States.

3 Get married to somebody who thinks the "Great Commission" is what your employer gives you after you make a big sale. After marriage, embrace the socially accepted norms of settling down, establishing a respectable career trajectory and raising a picture-perfect family.

2 Focus your energies on socially legitimate targets. Go after a bigger salary. Focus on getting a job promotion, a bigger home, a more luxurious car, or future financial security. Along the way, run up some big credit card debts.

1 Ignore Jesus' request in John 4:35 that we take a long hard look at the fields. Seeing the needs of people can be depressing and very unsettling. It could lead to genuine missionary concern. (John 4:35 "Do you not say, `Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest."