The life of an ambassador requires humility, since one is not representing oneself, but another Person or Country.  If people happen to secretly hate that Person or Country and habitually vent their dislike by disdaining you and giving you the cold shoulder, you just have to endure it.  That's part of the job.  If you get upset and try to defend yourself and prioritize gaining their respect over representing the Person or Country accurately, you will fail at being an ambassador.

Those of us who are followers of Jesus Christ are called to a role of 'ambassador' to everyone we come in contact with.  Our job is to represent Him, to increase His good reputation, and to introduce others to Him.  As Paul wrote in 2 Corinithians 5:20, "Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God."

But this life is not easy.  It often does not lead to honor and popularity.  It sometimes leads to being despised and rejected by one's friends, neighbors, coworkers, and even fellow churchgoers.  As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 4:9-13,

"For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men.
We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are prudent in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are distinguished, but we are without honor.
To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless; and we toil, working with our own hands;
when we are reviled, we bless;
when we are persecuted, we endure;
when we are slandered, we try to conciliate;
we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now."

Common knowledge says that the only people who "try to conciliate" when they are slandered are people who are unimportant, boring, pathetic, losers.  "If you are worth something," says common knowledge, "then if someone shafts you, dish it right back to him/her.  Don't let people treat you disrespectfully.  Stand up for your rights."

But those of us who are called to represent Jesus Christ cannot act that way.  We are seeking His approval, not our peers'.  There is zero allowance for self-pride and self-exaltation.  Our ultimate goal is to hear from Him on Judgment Day, "Well done, good and faithful servant!  Enter into the joy of your Master."

When someone insults us or criticizes us, instead of becoming defensive, our gospel-steeped response should be "Actually, I'm far worse than you say... far worse than you can imagine... far worse than I am even currently aware... but God's grace is also far bigger than you or I can imagine."  In Tim Keller's words, "I am more sinful than I could dare to admit, but at the same time... loved and accepted than I could ever dare to dream..." through Jesus Christ.   "I am so bad he had to die for me, and I am so loved he was glad to die for me."

"The LORD is my portion," says my soul,
"Therefore I have hope in Him."           Lamentations 3:24

From a flyer distributed last month in Cairo by the protesters immediately after former president Mubarak resigned (thanks Brian for the link) --

"Today this country is your country. Do not litter. Don't drive through traffic lights. Don't bribe. Don't forge paperwork. Don't drive the wrong way. Don't drive quickly to be cool while putting lives at risk. Don't enter through the exit door at the metro. Don't harass women. Don't say, 'It's not my problem.' Consider God in your work. We have no excuse anymore."

Well!  Here are a few thoughts...

1. These all sound like reasonable prohibitions.   Basically, 'do the right thing; follow the law; don't disrupt societal order'.  Kind of a modern version of the Ten Commandments, although not nearly as comprehensive as the Biblical Ten Commandments.

2. The fact that they would put out this flyer indicates that all these things were happening!   Imagine that...  a society full of people carelessly breaking all the rules of society... driving the wrong way on one-way streets, bribing, forging paperwork, harassing women, etc.  The phrase "we have no excuse anymore" indicates that many people must have excused/blamed their behavior on the government, instead of taking responsibility for their own actions.

3. The basic motive seems to be: Pride.  Nationalistic pride.   "We're better than that."   "Let's have other people see how law-abiding we are, and start to praise us."  "Let's put Egypt on the map as a place of exemplary integrity."  Etc.

4. Will this appeal to people's nationalistic pride be successful in making these changes to the behavior of hundreds of thousands of individual Egyptians?   When someone is tempted to bribe the policeman so he doesn't receive a ticket, will he decide to 'take the hit' for his country and refuse to offer a bribe?   When someone really wants to get uptown on the metro but has no money with him, and sees all his friends sneaking through the 'exit' door, will he decide to forgo the trip and bear all his friends' insults simply for the sake of making Egypt's reputation better?

5. It remains to be seen whether this appeal will work in improving Egypt's personal integrity.  Appeals to pride sometimes work, in my opinion, but when they do, they create a worse problem.  In C.S.Lewis' "The Screwtape Letters", the senior tempter recommends to his junior tempter that he try to get the man to "conquer" his little foibles (lying, selfishness, etc) by telling himself "I'm better than that."  In so doing, the man becomes hooked on the much more insidious sin of pride.

6. But what about that phrase in the flyer, "Consider God in your work"?   Surely this is a direct appeal to conscience and for doing what is right for higher reasons than simply individualistic or nationalistic pride, yes?   Yes, indeed it seems to be.  I'm not sure how that phrase fits with the rest of the paragraph!  Maybe several people were composing the flyer, and after they had finished most of it, someone suggested that they throw in an appeal to spirituality too.   The two motivations seem rather incongruous!  ...like trying to mix oil and water.  

7. According to the Bible, God is after much more than simply behavioral modifications.  Consider these words from Jesus:
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.
"You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence.
"You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.
"So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
(Matthew 23:23-28)

8. Consider how much more powerful a motivation it is once one believes the evidence that there is indeed a Creator God who is watching everything we do, and before Whom some day we will be judged and receive our reward or punishment.    If this God is real (and I think He is) and we are intimate with Him, then of course we won't litter or cheat or bribe or harass women.... because such behavior would bring dishonor to Him.  As Peter wrote:
"Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.  Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority,  or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right.
 For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men.  Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.
 Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.
 Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable.  For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly.
 For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God."
1 Peter 2:12-20

9. Yet there is a motivation stronger still.  If God were merely the Judge, then the motivation to do what's right would only work as long as we were on good terms with Him.  But as soon as we broke His law, we would begin to fear Him, knowing that He will bring punishment against us on Judgment Day.  Any further motivation to do right would be crushed underneath hopelessness, especially as we humans find ourselves breaking God's law over and over again, all day long.
But the God of the Bible is not only Judge.   He is also the Savior!   At terrible cost to Himself, He paid the price of my disobedience and "bought" me back for Himself (1 Peter 1:15-19).  Therefore I am not only motivated by a God who sees my every thought and action and will judge literally everything at the End, but by the love of my Savior, who gave up His own life for me so that I could have the privilege of walking with him in "newness of life" (Romans 6:4); "life to the full" (John 10:10); forever (1 Thessalonians 4:17)!!!!

COURAGE and LOVE:

Here is a short video excerpt (only 90 seconds) of Pakistani Christian politician Shahbaz Bhatti explaining why he planned to continue representing the oppressed minorities in his country despite receiving death threats.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBTBqUJomRE

Two days ago Bhatti was murdered.   Now he is experiencing the JOY of being with Jesus Christ forever, in eternal happiness and approval and glory!

Luke 21:10-19
Then He continued by saying to them, "Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.
"But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name's sake. It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony. So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.
"But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, and you will be hated by all because of My name.
"Yet not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives."

Consider this fascinating quote from Jesus Christ, in John chapter 12 -

²⁷"Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour. ²⁸"Father, glorify Your name." Then a voice came out of heaven: "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again."  ²⁹So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, "An angel has spoken to Him."  ³⁰Jesus answered and said, "This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes.  ³¹"Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.  ³²"And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself."  ³³But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die.

Jesus here shares honestly that at this point in his life, his soul was very troubled... He knew that He was about to die, and not only die, but take upon Himself the sin of 'the world' and pay the penalty on behalf of His people.  The normal thing to do would be to cry out to God for deliverance, ("Father, save me from this hour!"), but in His case, Jesus knew that He had come to the earth precisely for this very task...  He knew it was God's will for Him to die.   Would Jesus resist His Father's will, saying 'it's too painful'?  Or would He submit?

He submitted himself to His Father's will...  He put God's glory ahead of His own desires... He trusted that His Father's plan was best even though it seemed like the most painful and least appealing plan at the moment...  As Hebrews 12 says, Jesus did this because of "the joy set before Him"...  He looked ahead and saw the awesome reward on the other side of the death that His Father was calling Him to.   He obeyed...

"Father, glorify Your name."

Interesting brief opinion article about contemporary medical ethics, by Cal Thomas (http://online.worldmag.com/2010/12/30/she-told-us-so/)

She told us so

Written by Cal Thomas
December 30, 10:11 AM

Sarah Palin deserves an apology. When she said that the new healthcare law would lead to "death panels" deciding who gets life-saving treatment and who does not, she was roundly denounced and ridiculed.

Now we learn, courtesy of one of the ridiculers - The New York Times - that she was right. Under a new policy not included in the law for fear the administration’s real end-of-life game would be exposed, a rule issued by the recess-appointed Dr. Donald M. Berwick, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, calls for the government to pay doctors to advise patients on options for ending their lives. These could include directives to forgo aggressive treatment that could extend their lives.

This rule will inevitably lead to bureaucrats deciding who is "fit" to live and who is not. The effect this might have on public opinion, which by a solid majority opposes Obamacare, is clear from an email obtained by the Times. It is from Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., who sent it to people working with him on the issue. Oregon and Washington are the only states with assisted-suicide laws, a preview of what is to come at the federal level if this new regulation is allowed to stand. Blumenauer wrote in his November email:

"While we are very happy with the result, we won’t be shouting it from the rooftops because we aren’t out of the woods yet. This regulation could be modified or reversed, especially if Republican leaders try to use this small provision to perpetuate the ‘death panel’ myth."

Ah, but it’s not a myth, and that’s where Palin nailed it. All inhumanities begin with small steps; otherwise the public might rebel against a policy that went straight to the "final solution." All human life was once regarded as having value, because even government saw it as "endowed by our Creator." This doctrine separates us from plants, microorganisms, and animals.

Doctors once swore an oath, which reads in part: "I will not give a lethal drug to anyone if I am asked, nor will I advise such a plan; and similarly I will not give a woman a pessary to cause an abortion." Did Dr. Berwick, a fan of rationed care and the British National Health Service, ever take that oath? If he did, it appears he no longer believes it.

Do you see where this leads? First the prohibition against abortion is removed and "doctors" now perform them. Then the assault on the infirm and elderly begins. Once the definition of human life changes, all human lives become potentially expendable if they don’t measure up to constantly "evolving" government standards.

It will all be dressed up with the best possible motives behind it and sold to the public as the ultimate benefit. The killings, uh, terminations, will take place out of sight so as not to disturb the masses who might have a few embers of a past morality still burning in their souls. People will sign documents testifying to their desire to die, and the government will see it as a means of "reducing the surplus population," to quote Charles Dickens.

When life is seen as having ultimate value, individuals and their doctors can make decisions about treatment that are in the best interests of patients. But when government is looking to cut costs as the highest good and offers to pay doctors to tell patients during their annual visits that they can choose to end their lives rather than continue treatment, that is more than the proverbial camel’s nose under the tent. That is the next step on the way to physician-assisted suicide and, if not stopped, government-mandated euthanasia.

It can’t happen here? Based on what standard? Yes it can happen in America, and it will if the new Congress doesn’t stop it.

I agree with Cal Thomas.  The basic problem is that a large and increasing number of Americans is turning away from the Bible as their source of moral grounding and authority.  The Bible teaches that humans are created in the image of God, and thus they may not be killed (except in a few specific punishment scenarios).  Thus it used to be said that humans are "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."  Especially, humans may not be killed for the sake of convenience, whether they are old, sick, unborn, mentally or physically handicapped, or otherwise dependent.

Once one rejects the Bible, human life becomes of similar value to animal life, and one's "right to live" becomes allegedly dependent on other people's consent.   And specifically, the government's consent.  If the government doesn't have the funds to pay for your medical coverage and decides that you are expendable, your "right to live" is theoretically immediately removed.

"Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body."  Hebrews 13:3

http://www.worldmag.com/articles/17288

"The man who said 'no' to Hitler" - http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703296604576005193516575586.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Inspiring short article.

What did Jesus get really excited about?   What made him really happy?   Consider these two parallel passages:

Matt 11
25At that time Jesus said, "I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants.
26"Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight.
 27"All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
28"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
29"Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.
30"For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

Luke 10
17The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name."
18And He said to them, "I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning.
19"Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you.
20"Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven."
21At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, "I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight.
 22"All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."
23Turning to the disciples, He said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see,
24for I say to you, that many prophets and kings wished to see the things which you see, and did not see them, and to hear the things which you hear, and did not hear them."

Isn't this interesting!   ... that Jesus exulted in the 'upside-down-ness' of God's revelation of Himself to humans...  that God revealed Himself to the poor and outcast of the world, the sinners who knew how unworthy they were...  rather than revealing Himself to the fine, noble, upstanding people who were proud of their own goodness and worthiness.

Update: the four points below were written in response to the "burn-a-quran-day", which is now apparently (as of the evening of 9/9/2010) cancelled.  Sarah Palin's quote in Richard Fernandez' article here is quite relevant.
--------

1. The Quran-burning event seems like an expression of anger rather than a rational argument.  While anger toward Islam as a system might be justified (because it sometimes leads people to commit terrorist acts, and even worse, because it keeps precious Muslim individuals away from the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the forgiveness and eternal life that they could otherwise experience in Him), the Quran-burning seems like a bad idea for several reasons.  First, when a book is banned or burned, the usual response is that people become more interested in the book.  A better approach would be to present reasoned arguments about why the Quran is false, rather than merely burning it.  Burning the paper and ink of the book does nothing except send a message of "I don't like this book".  The ideas and teachings are what need to be addressed, to answer the question of "Why" the Quran is false.  Second, the Quran-burning will probably cause lots of violent protests throughout the world, both toward Americans abroad and especially toward vulnerable Christian families in Muslim areas throughout the world, even if they are not American.  Thus, the Quran-burning is a bad idea. (see http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/8937514887.html )

2. However, Muslims burn Bibles quite regularly.  Why do these burnings not cause Christians worldwide to go on violent protest rampages?  Perhaps the contrast (between many Bible-burnings leading to no Christian violence, versus one Quran-burning leading to lots of Muslim violence) needs to be made obvious to the world, and people need to ask themselves the question as to WHY the difference (and hopefully, read the Bible and the Quran and discover the difference for themselves).  Perhaps the aftermath of the Quran-burning event will have this good effect, even though I would personally disagree with the event itself because I prefer to show respect to other people who believe differently than I do.
(examples of Bible-burning: here are a couple links that I found with a little internet searching...  also if you search for 'churches burned', you will find hundreds more links, and often Bibles are burned along with the churches.  E.g., churches burned by Hindus in Orissa, by Muslims in Indonesia, Pakistan, etc
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/245762/re-not-my-name-jonah-goldberg
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/285123/christians_in_gaza_fear_for_their_lives.html?cat=9
http://demo.newvoicemedia.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=54&Itemid=53   )

3. A really interesting response to the 'Burn a Quran Day' is found at this Youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91AM7665cbo  It is entitled, "The Original Burn-A-Quran Day", and recounts the history of Caliph Uthman (an early Muslim) burning all Qurans other than his own standardized copy.

4. Have you ever read the Quran yourself?  I've read both the Quran and the Bible.  If you read the Quran, you will find verses like this: "Let there be no compulsion in religion; truth stands out clear from error." Sura 2:256 .... and you will also find verses like this: "Kill those who join other gods with Allah wherever you find them; besiege them, seize them, lay in wait for them with every kind of ambush...." Sura 9:5
These verses seem to contradict each other.  Peaceful Muslims take the former as overriding the latter, violent Muslims take the latter as overriding the former.  It is interesting to study the reasoning behind their interpretive decisions as to which parts of the Quran to obey and which parts to ignore.  Al Qaeda teaches that 9:5 "abrogates" (replaces, overrides) 2:256 because it was sent down later in Muhammad's life.  But liberal/peaceful Muslims tend to pick and choose only the parts from the Quran that they like, and so they tend to ignore 9:5.  Which is the "true Islam", and how would one know?

The Bible, on the other hand, is consistent... the story/invitation about the glorious God who created the universe... who did not crush us humans as we deserved because of our rebellion against Him... but instead took upon Himself the penalty for our rebellion.  The innocent volunteered to pay for the guilty... because of His love for us...

As Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

Here is a letter from a friend of mine who helped in Haiti, and a response by me.   How would you respond?  What are your thoughts on this topic?

________ wrote:
> Bonswa once again,
>
> It's hard to believe that our trip is coming to a close. In all honesty, I'm really unsettled about coming home; I'm fairly certain that most of us would never be able to sustain this pace or make Haitian reality our permanent reality, but I've felt sick for the past two days and have a sense of overwhelming guilt about not being able to perform at my peak in the last hours. It's gotten harder to take pictures of Haitians and even tell stories of horrible patient scenarios as I'm reminded that I can quickly jump a plane and go home to my comfy life and they have no way out. I'm not sure if my thoughts completely make sense, but the only comfort I'm finding through prayer is the reminder that Christ was fully God, but he was also fully human. The enormity of his healing work regularly tested his human nature and I'm sure he fell into physically illness and exhaustion. He can relate to the stress felt whenever and wherever we encounter overwhelming need, in America or in foreign lands. He repeatedly holds us accountable, disciplines us, and perhaps lays guilt in our hearts so that we may be tested. I have faith that His aim is not to destroy me through this experience. I'm sure that He will actually do the opposite and even though I'm sitting with this horrible feeling of worthlessness, I pray that He allows it to pervade all facets of my life and allows me to realize just how weak I really am (II Cor 12:9-10). Please pray for safety as we journey home and that we may all have to peace of mind to settle any internal struggles. Your prayers have been with us and I can't wait to give and receive your hugs. I thank God for the girls that I have been able to share this experience with and thank you for all of your encouraging letters and emails. They have meant the world to me in time when I needed them.
>
> Love,
> ____________

Hey ________,

Yes....  thanks for the update...  praying for you all...

Regarding the poor and abused, I have wondered similar questions and felt guilt too.  I lived for six months in Africa when I was a child and traveled briefly in Thailand in college, and lately I've learned more about the persecuted church and the slaves trafficked around the world and have been trying to help in what little ways I can.  For what it's worth, this passage comes to mind:  Mark 14:6-7

But Jesus said, "Let her alone; why do you bother her? She has done a good deed to Me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me.
At first it almost seems callous, when Jesus says "you always have the poor with you...".  Somehow Jesus was able to fully comprehend the suffering of the poor, and even the fact that there will always be poor, suffering people in this world until the end comes, yet he stayed sane and trusted in God through the knowing.   Perhaps His implication is "Don't despair...  put Me first in your life, and then secondly keep helping other needy people all your life long whenever the opportunity arises, knowing that there will never be an end to the poverty and need until the new earth comes."    ?

I'm not trying to give an easy answer to the questions you're wrestling with because of Haiti.  I know it's not just about poverty in Haiti, but about the earthquake suffering, and the violence and abuse there, etc.  Surely they need the gospel more than any other type of aid there, especially long term.  But as I've been pondering these things myself over the past few years, I'm coming to the conclusion that for me it's a matter of doing my little daily part to help the poor (out of love because of the love with which God has loved me first)... like the man walking along the beach tossing stranded starfish back into the ocean before they dried out and died, and the passerby who told him "you can't save them all", and his answer "I know, but I can save THIS one (toss), and THIS one (toss), and THIS one..."

Other related passages that come to mind - Isaiah 58,  Proverbs 19:17,  Luke 13:1-6,  Psalm 37...  and there are obviously many more.  Also if you have time and interest, I recently posted some thoughts on my blog about Psalm 37 - http://tim223.xanga.com/726147754/psalm-37/   I'll be interested to hear more of your thoughts on these things and some passages that you find helpful, as things become clearer some time after the Haiti trip.

With esteem, Tim