Tales from Thailand #1: Shoes on? No service! Cleaning from the inside out...

I recently returned from a trip to Thailand, where I participated in a medical/dental/vacation Bible school project at an orphanage for HIV positive children.  I departed the United States on March 21 and returned on April 1.  I was profoundly impacted by this trip and because so many of my friends and colleagues have asked for some details, I thought I would share about the trip over the coming days in this blog.

The first full day in Thailand began with group Bible study and prayer led by Pastor Larry Fullerton.  After our study, we had some downtime before a meeting with Mike Conserva, a full time missionary to Thailand supported by my church.  After going on a walk with two of my teammates in the surrounding neighborhood, I utilized the downtime (though brief) to catch up on some homework assignments for seminary and then attended our afternoon meeting.

During the meeting, Mike shared that it is appropriate to remove one's shoes before entering another person's home or store.  I recalled my surprise to see shoes outside of shops and homes during my walk.  The streets and buildings were dirty compared to the buildings and roads at home in the United States; why bother taking off one's shoes if there is minimal care for public cleanliness?  My Western sensibilities were offended by the obvious exterior dirtiness yet the seemingly overly obsessive attention given to footwear.  I'll wear my sneakers, you clean your sidewalk.  Deal?  Despite my Seinfeldian approach to cultural differences, of course I complied with the expectation to remove my shoes when appropriate.  I did not want to offend anyone unnecessarily; I do that enough unintentionally.

For the Thai, wearing shoes indoors is disgusting and disrespectful.  The same shoes that trample garbage, urine, dog feces, dirt, car fluids, and food scraps should never touch the floors of a personal living or working space.  Despite the filth of the outdoors (which pales in comparison to other nations, especially in the Middle East), the Thai cared very much about the cleanliness of their homes and businesses.  I was staying in a major city that hired day laborers to pick up piled up trash yet the interior of their homes and businesses were remarkably clean.

On the average, the opposite seems true in America.  We deeply value clean parks, clean air, public sanitation, single stream recycling bins, and landscaping, yet our homes are often in disarray and we are frequently behind on our household chores and tasks.  We enforce littering laws while our homes are littered with messes from yesterday.  We are typically more concerned about the state of our yards than the state of our kitchens (trust me, as an EMT I've seen some beautiful yards and terrible kitchens).  Culturally, clean exteriors are preferred to clean interiors.  I know some of you are objecting because you are type A, neat freaks, but please remember I am describing cultural differences summarily and of course, there are exceptions to every rule in both Thailand and the United States.

From my experience walking around Chiang Mai, Thailand, I conclude that the exterior appearances seem to hold less significance than the internal realities.  From my experiences as an American, I find that exterior appearances are incredibly important though they might not accurately reflect the internal realities.  I think this says something about our culture; we care deeply about external presentation but perhaps not as much about inward cleanliness.  One does not need to be an astute observer to recognize this is true about America.  The politicians we elect, the celebrities we idolize, the white lies we offer, the clothes we choose to wear, the shoes we polish, the thoughts we bury and beliefs we hide all demonstrate our concern for appearances despite the truths that often contradict the masks we don.  

I am not praising the Thai for their shoe removal; they have just as many cultural problems as we do in the United States.  I am, however, suggesting that our obsession with showing our best face is problematic.  Our American culture is mostly disingenuous, egregiously neglects the soul, and clamors for wealth and success despite personal and moral failings.  We are all emperors wearing new clothes and it is becoming increasingly more obvious (click here if you don't know the story.)

Western care for the exterior deeply influences Christian conduct.  We Christians tend to give our best Christian presentation to the world and when we fail, it shows big time.  I think this is why people are often critical of Christians; they see Christians angry or struggling or frankly, screwing up big time, and they think "Aha!  See!  I knew these Jesus freaks were no different than me!  And after all that holy nonsense, they're no better than anyone else."  And they're right.  The world doesn't need more people acting like they have it together.  It needs real people with real issues who do their best to trust a real God.

The Christian claim has never been that we are better than anyone else nor has it been that we have it all together.  Rather, we worship and serve a God who does have it all together.  It's a lie that we "get right" and then to go to God; we go to God to "get right."  Just like children emulate their parents, we attempt to do the same by sharing the love of a Heavenly Father.  Parents train their children to admit they did something wrong and not make excuses.  "Don't blame your brother, you shouldn't have hit him.  Now say you're sorry, I didn't raise you to act this way."  I think we Christians can do the same thing.  "Hey, I shouldn't have acted that way, I was wrong.  That's not how God teaches me to act and I was wrong.  I'm responsible and I'm sorry."  Imagine the power of such a conversation.  No high horse, no pedestal, no excuses, no blame: truth, vulnerability, hope, and faith.

Vulnerability and sincerity are much more powerful than false fronts and pious presentations.  When we begin to care more about the condition of souls, we will care less for public presentation and more for personal relationships, less for self ambition and more for the well being of others, and less for lies and more for truth.  I am challenged to live such a vulnerable life.  The irony of it all is that such inner purity will naturally overflow into one's conduct before the world.  The Thai have caught onto something: cleanliness begins in the inside and not the outside.  

More to come...

PS - I really don't like wearing shoes indoors now.  Who knows what I'm stepping in...no shoes inside at my place.  Seriously, it's dirty out there.