How should missionaries respond when Western expectations for privacy collide with cultures that do not value privacy?
Hale notes that privacy troubles many missionaries, largely because Westerners often treat it as a “right.” Yet much of the world does not prize privacy in the same way. In many cultures, the obvious presence and noise of people can feel safer than solitude.
Hale illustrates the point with a missionary family who attempt a picnic that becomes overrun with curious nationals. The event was not necessarily hostile. It was cultural nearness. People felt free to join because private space was not assumed.
Practically, Hale argues that missionaries must either release the felt need for privacy or work hard to secure it, often by leaving the area for a time.
Missionaries must reframe privacy as a stewardship issue rather than an inviolable right, learning either to relinquish it or to secure it wisely without resentment.
Disclaimer: Information in my “slip-box” doesn’t necessarily reflect my agreement with the source or all its content. Recording diverse perspectives helps strengthen one’s position beyond the echo chamber of like-minded thinkers. By documenting alternative viewpoints, we engage in the intellectual wrestling match that ultimately deepens our understanding.
I aspire to post one note from my “slip-box” every weekday. If you want to learn more about how to work with knowledge, click this link: What is knowledge management?
Pastor Dan Patrick, raised in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., holds both a Bible degree and a Master’s of Divinity. He has ministered across five states from coast to coast, serving in various capacities, including pastoral leadership. Dan’s primary mission is to help people love God’s Word and find their purpose in God’s work.
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