One Sango Word for ‘Work’, Two Different Meanings

Vendors in Bangui, CAR, closing shop.

For the past three summers, I have led teams of graduate students, faculty and professionals to the Central African Republic (CAR), a country of four million people in the heart of Africa.  The CAR is largely a forgotten place, where internal turmoil (eleven mutinies and/or attempted coups in the last decade), instability and war outside its immediate borders, and a relatively small population have done little to attract international aid and economic support.  The United Nations has recently called the CAR the “world’s greatest silent crisis.”  And the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based lobby, says the nation has dropped below the level of a failed state.

In response to the crisis in the CAR, we in InterVarsity’s Graduate & Faculty Ministries and Seattle Pacific University, have felt compelled to help.  Our work first started in 2006, when we joined with an American NGO, International Community Development International(ICDI), to help start a viable micro-finance program.  With deepening relationships and a series of return visits, this past June we broadened the scope of our work to include partnership with The Center International for the Development of Ethical Leadership (CIDEL), a Central African organization committed to training and encouraging ethical leaders at all levels of government, business and education.

 

As part of our June visit, we taught a variety of seminars on topics such as business ethics, micro-enterprise development, and the integration of Christian faith and daily work.  There was a great deal of interest in the first two topics, as you might imagine, but perhaps the warmest reception we received was in response to our teaching on concepts of ministry in daily life.  Pastors, lay people, and leaders in business, government and education listened attentively and enthusiastically to teachings on a biblical understanding of work.  The Central Africans were deeply touched and empowered by the simple, yet profound truth that God cares deeply about the routine rhythms of our daily lives, especially the concept that our work — whether cutting grass ten hours per day with a machete, teaching in a secondary school, or governing in a cabinet-level position — could be a meaningful expression of what it means to live as a Christ follower in the world.

In the course of our seminars, we learned an important Sango (primary language of the CAR) word, kwa.  When said in a low tone, kwa means work.  The same word, kwa, spoken in a high tone, though, means corpse, cadaver, carcass.

The impact of the etymology had profound implications for us, not only in aiding our teaching in the CAR, but for strengthening our own view of work and vocation back home.  When we understand our daily work as an opportunity to serve God and serve others, our perspective changes.  When we see our place in the world as sacred, even the most mundane tasks and moments in life can swell with meaning.  Work is undoubtedly challenging, but it is also a lively expression of who we are, who we are becoming in Christ, and how we are united with God in mirroring his character and joining with him in contributing to the well being of others.  When we fail to incorporate this perspective, daily life and work, even the best of personal and professional roles and responsibilities, can feel like death.  And instead of presenting a sweet fragrance to a hurting and needy world, we offer decay and stench.  Like the word kwa, our activity in the world can go in two very different directions.  We can understand our work as vocation, a calling from God for his purposes.  Or we can take the perspective that work is merely a struggle, something to endure.

I recognize that not all work is created equal.  And we all don’t have equal opportunities to engage in meaningful labor.  For some, work can even be demeaning.  In those situations an external change may be necessary.  But for most of us, it is our perspective that needs to change.  When we see the possibilities that our work presents as service to God and service to others, our sight lifts and our experience changes.  We move from death to life, and the world desperately needs more light.

Is “Being Green” Always So Clean?

I’ve become increasingly concerned about the well being of our planet.  I wish I could say I’ve been a long-term champion of environmental stewardship, but in reality I am a recent convert.  My own journey of earth care coincides with my deepening faith journey, as well as the pinch I feel in my pocketbook every time I pull into my neighborhood fuel station.

A couple of months ago I read a fascinating article in WIRED Magazine (June 2008), entitled Screw Organic.  The graphics and the title caught my attention.  In this piece, the authors offer ten counter-intuitive illustrations of how best to cut carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses.  In their own words, “The war on greenhouse gasses is too important to be left to the environmentalists.”  Here are several of their conclusions:

• Live in Cities: Urban living is gentler on the planet.  “A Manhattanite’s carbon footprint is 30% smaller than the average American’s.”
• Organics Are Not the Answer: “A single organically raised cow puts out 16 percent more greenhouse gasses than its counterpart.”
• Farm the Forests: “Over its lifetime, a tree shifts from being a vacuum cleaner for atmospheric carbon to an emitter.”
• Carbon Trading Doesn’t Work: Despite all the attention, the Kyoto carbon reduction projects will only slow the increase in greenhouse gasses by 6.5 days by 2012.
• And my personal favorite, Used Cars, Not Hybrids: “Pound for pound, making a Prius contributes more carbon to the atmosphere than making a Hummer, largely because of the nickel in the hybrid’s battery.”

This last one hit close to home, when just a few days ago my aunt called to ask me advice on whether or not she should buy a new hybrid Toyota Highlander.  The non-hybrid Highlander gets 18 mpg in the city and 24 on the highway.  The hybrid gets 27 city and 25 highway, only a slight advantage over the non-hybrid, yet it demands a long waiting period and a $10K premium.  Since at least half her miles are driven on the highway, I told her that if she remains sold on this manufactuer and make it was a “no brainer” from my perspective .  Given her years of projected ownership, she’d be a better environmental steward and save some money to boot by going with the non-hybrid.  From my back of the envelope calculations, she’d be more green by doing the non-green thing.  As we continued to talk, I pulled out the above-referenced article and began to quote some of the author’s claims.

“If the new Prius were placed head-to-head with a used car, would the Prius win?  Don’t bet on it.  Making a Prius consumes 113 million Btus, according to sustainability engineer Pablo Päster.  A single gallon of gas costs about 113,000 Btus, so Toyota’s green wonder guzzles the equivalent of 1,000 gallons before it clocks its first mile.  A used car, on the other hand, starts with a significant advantage: the first owner has already paid off its carbon debt.  Buy a decade-old Toyota Tercel, which gets a respectable 35 mpg, and the Prius will have to drive 100,000 miles to catch up.”

I am a novice when it comes to really understanding these important tradeoffs, but as a person trained in business and a Christian concerned with the flourishing of our planet and the well-being of others, I am determined to pay attention.  One place where this conversation will take place in earnest is InterVarsity’s Following Christ 2008 Conference.  The theme of the Conference is human flourishing, which certainly includes the care for creation on which human well-being closely depends.  One of the interdisciplinary tracks at the Conference will be God’s Green Kingdom, directed by Resource Economist, Dr. Lowell “Rusty” Pritchard.  The track will challenge Christians to think holistically and biblically about issues of globalization, architecture, zoology, conservation, climate change, and everything in between.  It will be a mix of teaching and discussion with field reports from people working at the growing edge of creation care, environmentalism, and sustainability.  I don’t know if they’ll talk about the advantages and disadvantages of hybrids, but I do know that they’ll provide important frameworks and case studies to make wise and faithful choices for God’s creation.

I want to be a better environmental steward, making choices that are guided by what is actually best, not just what conventional wisdom suggests.  I commend the Evangelical Environmental Network and Creation Care Magazine to you, as well as the God’s Green Kingdom track at Following Christ 2008.  Care of Creation is another great organization and resource.  They’re three good places to get started on the path of understanding.