Living Unhindered
by: Joyce Chang
Being an Asian-Canadian Christian can be hard. Being indoctrinated with the values of our Asian heritage, Christian faith, and Western society all together can be both beautiful and toxic.
Asian heritage highly esteems education, hard work, family, obedience and authority -- to name a few -- and they are values that have caused our people to flourish in great ways. The principles that guide our way of life happily overlaps with much of the Bible, where we are told to honour our father and mother, to submit to authority, and to obey God’s Word as absolute truth. So when Jesus tells us to deny ourselves and lose our life for gospel (Mark 8:34-35), it isn’t too hard.
We literally deny our own needs, prioritize the work of the church, and lose our souls in the process. We swallow and tolerate all sufferings, because Jesus said that we will suffer for His name, and there will be much suffering while here on earth. We don’t complain or ask others to help us, because Philippians tells us to do everything without complaining or arguing (Philippians 2:14), and our Asian heritage tells us it’s weak.
For a lot of my life, my faith and attitude towards life was dictated by certain Scripture read through a filter of Asian values instilled in me:
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” (Philippians 2:3-4)
My interpretation: never do anything for yourself, because that’s selfish ambition. Always value others above yourself no matter.
“Do everything without complaining and arguing.” (Philippians 2:14)
My interpretation: never complain or ague about the tasks given or your circumstances.
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.” (Mark 8:34-35)
My interpretation: the work of God and evangelizing always comes first before all aspects of life.
All these statements are not wrong at surface level, but they are quite extreme and leave little room for grayness and nuances that happen in life. What these patterns -- what we call faulty thinking -- end up doing is leaving you feeling helpless, joyless, bitter, or cut off from experiencing genuine community.
I don’t think God intended for us to live life at the expense of our mental, emotional and spiritual well-being.
Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us that to run the race towards Jesus requires us to first throw off the weighty things that hinder us, such as sinful behaviour and faulty thinking patterns. Jesus came so that through His deed on the cross, we can live life to the fullest, free from the bondages of sin that hold us down.
Let us receive the invitation that Jesus has given us by identifying what kind of behaviour and thinking hinders us, then looking deep within ourselves of the origin of our behaviours (often rooted in family relationships). After that, by calling them out one by one with the Spirit, we release the power and control they have over our lives. When that happens, we are able to see how to overcome the things that hinder us more objectively step-by-step.
But the decision is up to you.
Are you willing to let the Spirit reveal these things to you? Are you open-handed and open-minded to hear what He has to say? Do you believe that a life of freedom in Christ is far better than where you are now?
Come and be unhindered by Jesus.
Joyce Chang freelances photography and illustration, with a passion for the circular economy, service design, and design thinking. She trains ministry leaders through Leadership Training, and serves as a worship leader at New Hope Fellowship Downtown in Toronto. Leadership Training. Joyce is often found in a facilitator or consulting role bringing people, research, or thoughts together.
IG: @joycecchang