A Bug that Prays?

Well, it did look like it was praying! I had a bit of a fright, or maybe I should say surprise Friday during lunch hour. I had gone down to the ground floor shower room to get water. (We have a very good filter on one of the showers. We get water there and use it to fill the water coolers in our apartments.) As I came out of the shower room and was locking up, I looked up and a bit of a screech came out of my lips. A large praying mantis was hanging just a bit above eye level. At first glance I didn’t know it was a praying mantis, so it startled me. I was taking a good look when student I know was walking by, and he swatted it down, and I didn’t see it again.

A couple of things come to mind from this incident:

#1. Was it REALLY praying
In another culture, it is sometimes easy to assign inaccurate meaning to an event because we lack understanding. When living outside our own culture, a person is wise to take the stance of a learner, and not draw conclusions without digging deeper. One example, one can be very puzzled to see men holding hands while walking together. In Central and East Africa (maybe other places too) it is a sign of a good friendship when men hold hands. I think the same is true for women.

#2. The praying mantis LOOKED like it was praying.
Our actions do have an impact. People do notice what we do. But, more important than actions, are the heart and motives from which the actions spring. When living in another culture, it is all to easy to make mistakes. The mantis truly looked like it was praying! I thought Q so I did X . Oops….. But, if our heart and motives are noted, we will likely be forgiven. I heard a story a couple years ago from a veteran missionary. It went something like this: he was invited to a special meal. There were important nationals there. In one dish they were served, he found the meat to be extremely tough and about impossible to chew and swallow. It happened that there was a dog in the house. He carefully sneaked a few pieces of meat to the dog. Somehow he was found out. Then he found out it was an especially bad social mistep. Well, he got through it. And who of us haven’t made a social blunder. But, we manage to get through it (usually). Life doesn’t end - we dust ourselves off, laugh at ourselves, and carry on.

#3. Maybe it was praying … maybe it wasn’t
If we get an opportunity, we should examine things, ask questions, analyze, but do it with wisdom. It was ok to want to examine a praying mantis, but I didn’t get much of a chance. But it wouldn’t be wise to examine a live snake here. There are about 16 types of them that are poisonous. I don’t want to take any chances. Therefore, if possible, I try to ask a national for advice before I take action. Using this method, we can gradually learn to make wise choices in another culture.

Hmm, seems there is an eternal culture I am preparing to enter. I want to be involved in learning about that culture. How often do I seek out the Architect of that culture? How often do I read the Guidebook? Do I meet with other people on this journey to help me stay on the path?