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In the fall of 2024, I had the privilege of making my first visit to Asia. My destination was China, where my son and daughter-in-law were living. I went into the trip with many pre-conceived ideas, and I willingly admit that most of these ideas were dashed during the first few days of this unforgettable trip.
With all of the Asian world getting ready to celebrate the lunar New Year (February 17 in 2026), I thought it would be timely to admit to some of my pre-conceived ideas, and to see what kinds of spiritual lessons we can draw from them. In invite you to join us for the next four Saturdays for, "The Surprising Things I Learned in China"!
I admit, I am about as western as they come. My only contact prior to this visit with Chinese culture was through restaurants that advertised "American Chinese" food. Oh, and also my Chinese daughter-in-law and a pair of foreign students I have adopted as my own who happen to be Chinese...Okay, being thus surrounded, perhaps I shouldn't have had so many surprises! Nonetheless, the very first thing that surprised me was the fact that drinks weren't served cold.
Now I've traveled enough in my lifetime to know that the American taste for iced drinks is not shared by many other cultures, so that didn't actually surprise me. What did surprise me was the reason why! I don't know if this is everyone's reason, but it was the reason one of my son's friends gave me. He told me cold drinks -- and cold food as well! -- throws the body's yin and yang out of balance.
I politely nodded my head and thanked him for the explanation. In my head, however, the thoughts were buzzing around: you mean educated people still believe in superstition? Besides, I've been drinking cold drinks all my life and I haven't suffered from it!
And I will admit I was having to work to suppress my smile...
It wasn't until weeks later that two important facts occurred to me...
First, I was judging his explanation from my westernized cultural background without knowing even the tiniest bit about this particular Chinese philosophy.
Secondly, this young man had given me this explanation without even considering the fact that it meant nothing to me.
Wait. Aren't I guilty of the same thing?
No, I don't tell people not to drink cold water because it upsets the yin and the yang; but perhaps worse, I throw out Christian vocabulary around non-Christians, totally expecting them to know what I'm talking about! Why would someone who was raised secularist care that Jesus died for our sins? Without any knowledge of the fact that we can't work our way into Heaven, the thoughts in their heads with such a statement would likely be along the lines of my thoughts about the yin and the yang. Is it any wonder that most of my efforts to 'share the gospel' fall on deaf ears? Before I can expect anyone to be impressed by Jesus' sacrifice, they must first understand why such a sacrifice is required! They must understand they are sinners in need of a Savior!
This is the first lesson I would learn from the surprises that I found in China: when we witness to people, we need to consider their cultural and religious background. We need to think about their knowledge of Christianity and any pre-conceived ideas they may or may not hav.! Otherwise, our explanations will do as much for them as my interpreter's explanation about why he didn't drink cold liquids. It will be tossed out as ludicrous.
So what do we do?
The Word of God gives us some tips:
"...but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, but with gentleness and respect..." (1 Peter 3:15 NASB). In other words, we need to "wear" our Christianity. Those we are interacting with need to be able to see something different in us, something that will make them want to ask questions. And perhaps even more importantly, we need to be ready to answer. This means that we need to know what kind of an answer will be the most effective.
How can we know this? By taking 2 Timothy 2:15 to heart: "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a worker who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth." (NASB). We need to be very familiar with the Word of God, yes. But it also means we need to be aware of the cultural and religious backgrounds of those we wish to witness to.
Of course, there are times when we may be approached with questions by people we know nothing about. If this is the case, there is only one thing to do: Pray and ask for God's Spirit to guide every word out of our mouths. Remember Jesus' words? "...do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you at that time; for you are not the ones speaking, but it is the Holy Spirit." (Mark 13:15 NASB) True enough, this verse is specifically giving instructions for if you are arrested; but the principle applies to all situations: when we don't know how to respond, we need to pray and God's Spirit will give us the answers.
What about it? Let's stop throwing out our Christian jargon. Instead, let's be prepared to respond, and let's rely on God's Spirit to guide us in everything answer we give!
Oh ... And perhaps the next time you are given an explanation that you don't fully understand, maybe it would be good to investigate it in more depth before writing it off...
In His love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Chaffart
Author, Moderator, Acting Director, Answers2Prayer Ministries
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