Mark 11:3 if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord….
‘Why’ is what makes us get up in the morning. ‘Why’ is what makes us move. ‘Why’ is what makes us do things. Many times we can’t put our finger on the reason we do things because it’s a weak ‘why’ but we do it anyway. ‘Why’ motivates us and drives us. ‘Why’ even makes us do things we don’t want to do, like buying stuff we can’t afford.
I rapidly learned in car sales that memorizing color chips, engine sizes and horsepower, had very little to do with actually selling a car. It was a purely emotional thing. The fact that I had a great boss made me want to sell more. Selling was emotional for the customer (because of pride or the fact that their family or girlfriend was going to be happy), emotional for me (depending on a salesman of the month plague, or if I liked my boss or not). It had all to do with ‘why’! It has nothing really to do with my commission nor that $59,995 + t & t, piece of metal. It was all about emotion.
Apple got it as well. Many people chose Apple computers because of the ‘why’, innovative, different, no virus, no need of an IT team, cutting edge etc. Crushing all the other great computer companies. iPhones too, just another phone out of millions of less expensive phones that people chose simply because of the ‘why’, whether it was real or not.
Everyone needs a ‘why?’ Getting up in the morning to go to work for example. Some kids never leave home because they don’t have a strong enough ‘why’ to get up in the morning and face the day on the job. That is why married people with kids living in their own home make for better employees usually than single people living at home with their parents. Cubans call necessity the mother of learning. They want to earn a living and provide for their family? They better figure out how to get that ‘57 Chevy running without the necessary replacement parts from the factory. Their ‘why’ is stronger than their ‘can’t’.
People quit many times because they don’t have a good ‘why’. Many stop even serving the Lord often because their ‘why’ isn’t as strong as it should have been. If you are working for a company, and your ‘why’ is only money, the moment you stop getting paid is the moment you stop working.
Manolito has been with me since before I bought the land for Hogar de Gloria (WEGO). During 9-11, and the year that followed, Manolito worked for Hogar de Gloria without pay….. his ‘why’ was stronger than just for ‘money’. His ‘why’ was the street children, loyalty, and principals. He is still with us up to this very moment.
All true Christians should have a ‘why’. That ‘why’ in theory should be ‘the Lord’. People ask me ‘why’ all the time. I could be in the states, golfing with all my other retired friends, but that ‘why’ would be negligible. I was offered a nice ministerial position for a bunch of rich expats down here, but again, the ‘why?’ was way too small. Another time I was offered a well paying job to just sit and watch American Football with rich Costa Rican’s explaining the rules. But ‘why??’ Honestly, the money was great in the later two, and the locations even better, but the ‘why’s were so small it was ridiculous.
‘Whyis also a question. Salesmen and companies have to find out what the customer’s ‘why’ is. Corporations actually spend millions of dollars to get to thewhy`, often unsuccessfully. If you are a salesman, you get to the ´why´ by asking the customer. Nosey people ask ‘why’. Know it alls ask ‘why’. Three year olds ask ‘why’ (you should hear some of the ‘why’ questions our little midgets ask us in the chureca and in the pre-school, haha.) People that love you ask ‘why’. People that want to help you or hurt you ask you ‘why’. ‘Why?’ is an open ended question that you can’t answer except with a long drawn out dialogue, usually.
When people ask me why I do what I do, I just say.. ‘The Lord’…. How do you explain it? No idea, I just know this is what He wants me to do, and this is the way He wants me to do it. When and If that changes, He will let me know.
But for more detail, to you who pray for us and support us, here is our ‘why’ to do the things that the Lord has shown us, and our ‘why’ about the way we do things. Some people get it. Some don’t. That’s perfectly ok! The Lord has us doing these things in this way because;
- First and foremost, for people to go to heaven (people often also ask, why do we let hippies or other non-believers help us, my why again is the same. As long as they are safe around women and kids, they might get saved in the process. Some have already)
- Lots of churches here but not much for street kids
- Hungry bellies have no ears, our are at-risk kids
- ‘Bad kids’ or kids that don’t fit in are run off
- Parents and families of the kids get collateral love
- Absolutely nothing for kids during the weekdays
- Our teaching method for kids is one on one
- Discipleship & English classes for the older ones
- Stretching the dollar, 33 cents per kid per nutritious, home cooked meal with a juicy
- Pre School to get kids off on the right foot
- Follow through, if we quit, it’s a bad testimony, were we really called at all? or was it all for nothing?
- Our staff of 9 and their families depend on us, plus a lot of odd jobs and other ways we can bless our neighbor
- Everyone is watching us to see if Jesus is real
- To finish well
2 Timothy 4:7 – I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
Our goal is still to have a full school / orphanage/ old folks home, on a sustainable farm because we feel that is what the Lord wants. When it’s time, He will provide for the enormous costs of land, equipment, staffing, counseling, medical etc
So, to top it all off again, for those who want to know, Jesus is our ‘why’. So we don’t quit. As Peter said
John 6:68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.
So, Christian Soldier? What’s your why?
With much love in Jesus
Dean and Winnie Peters
Joyfully serving the ‘least of these’ in Managua Nicaragua