Spirit of Fear vs. a Culture of Grace

There is nothing like moving to a different country and getting immersed in its culture to make you more aware of your own culture.  If you had to describe the culture of the United States to someone, how would you do it?  Is it even fair to give a broad description in a country as large and as diverse as the United States?  Probably not.  So, instead, I am just going to make a few observations of cultural aspects of living in Tegucigapla, Honduras that strike me as different from my life in West Michigan.  

I think the biggest cultural difference I notice is the presence of the spirit of fear and a general distrust of others that hangs over everyone. Given the crime rates and corruptness of the government, this fear is justified!  Rules I learned very quickly are: 

Out to coffee with my trusted taxi driver and two of his sons.

1. Don’t have your cell phone out when you’re out in public; cell phones are a popular item for thieves.  
2. Don’t EVER go out alone.  
3. Don’t ever take public transportation (not even a taxi) unless you’re with someone else.  
4. Avoid being out after dark if at all possible.  

Since those initial lessons, I have learned through observation that the spirit of fear and lack of trust also direct how people interact with each other.  For example, I know people here who have been waiting for over a year for a hired man to do work at their home, and other people who are working with a paid professional who is not doing a proper job.  In West Michigan, we would have absolutely no tolerance for this.  The hired man would have been dropped 11 months ago, and the professional confronted and probably fired.  We have no tolerance for people not performing their jobs in a timely manner and competently.  Here, however, there is the fear that if they confront someone, there could be vengeance.  I have heard stories of people being shot just because they let their housekeeper go when it was the housekeeper who was stealing money!  Clearly, this makes people think twice before chewing out an employee!  However, as I considered all of this, I thought that perhaps it is not just a spirit of fear, but also a culture of grace.  Life happens more slowly here, and, let’s face it, life is hard.  Extending grace and forgiveness may not get your job done when and how you want, but just maybe it keeps the peace, keeps people in desperate need employed, and strengthens the bonds of community.  My consideration of a culture of grace may be overly optimistic, but I think it’s only fair to give people the benefit of the doubt. 

Day trip with our school secretary and her family.

Despite the spirit of fear and perhaps because of the possibility of a culture of grace, the people I have encountered still exude warmth, friendliness, and hospitality, especially when they are in what’s perceived to be a safe, community environment.  I have been welcomed to the humblest of homes, offered a seat, and given a plate of food.  The homes were filled with laughter and joy, and I left with hugs and invitations to come again soon.  Children here are taught to always acknowledge and greet everyone with a hug and kind word when they enter the room, and this is modeled for them by every adult in their lives.  I have been warmly welcomed and made to feel like part of the community both at the school and the church, and I am thankful for that!  I think people in West Michigan also do a nice job with hospitality, but they may be just a little less willing to invite a foreigner to go on a day trip with their family, invite that foreigner to their family’s home for the weekend, or offer to take her shopping.  The people I have encountered work hard to take care of themselves and their families, but are also always thinking of others and will sacrifice their own needs and desires to serve others. There is this sense of community that seems to stem from mutual hardships and challenges, a common spirit that says, “We are all in this together.  Let’s make the best of it!” 

Lots of hugging goes on at church!

It makes me sad that this underlying beauty—the beauty of warmth, friendliness, and hospitality—is shadowed by the spirit of fear that hangs over everyone.  This fear directs their very lives and dictates how they carry out daily activities.  For the believer in Christ, however, there is hope: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:7).  Sure we have to make wise choices and not purposely put ourselves in the path of danger, but we can live under the culture of grace, extending the same love and mercy to others that God has bestowed upon us, trusting in Him to protect us as always.  His Word commands us to “Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).  Amen!