Same same but different

"Same same, but different" is a popular saying in Cambodia. Most often it is used in communication between Khmer & tourists. For example, when I ordered coffee I would usually be served a hot, black beverage that was not real coffee. I would ask, "This is coffee?" & the smiling response would be, "Yes coffee. Same same, but different." The statement can also be used the other way in trying to explain something from the western world to the Khmer. In essence it means that two things compared are not precisely the same, but are so closely related one may satisfactorily substitute for the other.

During our visit God revealed a few characteristics of the Khmer culture that at first glance appeared incomparable to anything in western culture, but are actually "same same, but different." Although I understand these characteristics may be applied to the western part of the Church as a whole, I must wonder how they may apply to me individually as well.

One bit of Khmer culture that stood out to me the whole time we were there is the idolatry that goes on. There are spirit houses, shrines, pagodas, temples, monuments & idols virtually everywhere. Worship, offerings & sacrifices to these gods & spirits are commonly offered & openly promoted. Even though idolatry is unheard of in the Church, it is just as common. We do not set up spirit houses & shrines in plain view, nonetheless we worship gods other than the One, True, Living God we claim to be devoted to. We bow to the gods of popularity. We give offerings to the gods of prestige. We make sacrifices for the gods of power. God revealed specific examples of this idolatry to me, but I doubt one has to give it much thought before realizing how widely they are promoted even within the Church.

Another bit of Khmer culture that stood out to me (& frankly has me confused even now) is how people relate to each other, especially their children. In general Khmer are very friendly, polite & innocently affectionate. However, such sweet kindness is mostly superficial. Relationships do not involve much commitment. People do not seem to be truly attached to one another. The sweet kindness of the western Church is similar in that we host skads of services, studies, concerts, conferences & even cruises, but we have a gross lack of commitment to one another as individuals. Week after week we meet for events of various sorts & promise to pray for one another, but we rarely commit to real discipleship, to true fellowship that actually & practically bears one another's burdens, or love that sacrifices personal convenience for the benefit of another.

The worst expression of this detachment is the abandonment of children. We saw innumerable children, some as young as 3 years-old, roaming the streets without any supervision. Many even slept on the streets alone thru the night. We shake our heads with disgust, but to our shame, for the western Church shows the same neglect to her spiritual children. We invite people to church services & Bible studies that they might be born again, but once they are, we leave them to fend for themselves. Unlike the apostle Paul, we do not say to new converts, "Follow me as I follow Christ." No, we occasionally see them & pat ourselves on the back for birthing them into the Church, but we leave them to roam the streets on their own. And, when they come up missing, we barely notice.

During our stay in Cambodia we were approached at least three times an hour by someone begging. In the Khmer culture begging is widely considered a career. There is no shame involved, no humiliation, nor desire to do any different. If all one has to do to receive supply is to ask, why not ask? The western Church operates much the same way. There is little ambition for spiritual maturity, for genuine holiness, for sincere righteousness toward God. Why "study to show thyself approved of God, a workman who need not be ashamed," when one really only need attend retreats, conferences, so-called study groups to obtain Biblical doctrine & spiritual discipline someone else has prayerfully studied & applied himself to? We expect to ride into the Lord's presence on the coattails of our "wealthy" brothers & sisters.

We'd like to think we're above the Khmer culture because we don't walk around with our hand out, leave our children outdoors overnight, nor build shrines in our front yards, but as much as we hate to admit it, we truly are "same same, but different.