EMQ » April–June 2019 » Volume 55 Issue 3
By Karen L. H. Shaw
William Carey Publishing, Littleton, CO, 2018
214 pages
USD $12.79
Reviewed by C. Jeremy Lind, Business as Mission (BAM) practitioner among Muslims in Southeast Asia and current PhD candidate at Cook School of Intercultural Studies, Biola University, La Mirada, California.
“How much do you make and who pays you?” A simple question, yet it may cause us expatriate workers to squirm and change the subject. This commonly experienced inquiry might be taken as an intrusion into our private affairs. An honest answer might reveal creature comforts we could not leave behind or expose our support network back home. But such questions are normal in the Middle East and Asia where perceived wealth is laden with cultural assumptions. How we as expats answer this question will have a significant impact upon our witness. This book challenges our assumption that the recipients of our ministry will share our understanding of the sacrifices we have made to leave our country and live among a people not our own. Karen Shaw says, “We compare our incomes and lifestyles with our friends back home, or with what we might have had if we stayed home, and we feel virtuously deprived. Yet we will never convince the majority of our Middle Eastern acquaintances other than that we are rich” (Kindle location 210-212). Shaw’s research may cause us some level of discomfort, compel us to consider our motives anew, and, where needed, shift our orientation towards how we use our resources in ministry.
The first two chapters deal with the question, “Who are the righteous rich?” Shaw examines the Old and New Testament peering into the lives of many biblical characters including Abraham, Solomon and Jesus. She gives no simple answers or solutions regarding the Bible’s attitude towards righteousness and wealth. Rather, Shaw balances the tensions of cultural and historical context with passages that often are assumed to discourage the amassing of wealth, or at least the pride of wealth.
Chapters three through nine explore themes from interviews with Middle Easterners of various countries, ages, religions, and economic backgrounds. Her analysis reveals the cultural blind spots of some expats and how Middle Easterners may come closer to upholding biblical principles than do North American Christians. Other insights expose areas in Middle Eastern culture where God’s Kingdom has yet to take root.
This book addresses those involved in cross-cultural ministry who have struggled with how to respond to requests for money and how to live generously without creating dependency upon outside resources. Though Shaw’s informants are Middle Eastern, there is much that can be generally applied to the Global South. The book is peppered with practical insights into how expats are perceived, how they can be more culturally sensitive, and how they might embody righteousness in culturally relevant ways while also challenging aspects of culture which do not please God. If there is any area left unaddressed, it would be real-life examples of how expats have sought to live out the principles of the righteous rich. The reader can expect personal blind spots to be exposed, areas sensitive to offense to be softened, and a new hope to live out their faith in both word and deed as a member of the righteous rich.
For Further Reading:
Corbett, S., & Fikkert, B. When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty without Hurting the Poor… and Yourself. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2012.
Myers, B. L.. Walking with the Poor: Principles and Practices of Transformational
Development. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2011.
Mallouhi, Christine A. Miniskirts, Mothers & Muslims: A Christian Woman in a Muslim Land. Oxford: Monarch, 2004.
