A question of motivation

Why are you going on this missions trip?

Sit in front of the mirror, and ask yourself that question. Don’t accept a pat answer. Dig deeper, under the myriad of answers that you feel you should have.

Why are you going on this trip?

I think everyone who goes on a missions trip needs to ask themselves this. And if the answer is to change your life or to make your boyfriend or girlfriend happy or to have an international cultural experience or because that’s what good Christians do, we encourage you to sit with God about this.

Any of these answers don’t necessarily mean you shouldn’t go. It just means you should pray to God to shift your motivation. Because going on a trip should be about them, not you. It should be about the lost. It should be about the missionary. It should be about the widows and the orphans.

It should be.

But let’s be honest. We are human. We often want things for selfish reasons. We often flirt with selfish ambition. You wouldn’t be the first. That’s why it’s important to give God the space and the chance to change your motivation. Ask God to give you a heart for the people you are going to serve. Ask him to break your heart for what breaks his. We have seen he is faithful to answer this prayer.

Ironically, it isn’t until after you have reached the point at which your true, honest motivation for going is others, that you yourself are changed. Often those selfish ambitions are fulfilled. But at that point, they don’t matter anymore.

Ask yourself why. Then ask God to align your reasons for going to His reason for calling you there.