Media Missionary Focus

Vampires on the Loose

Fall is almost here. Back in the states we hear family talking about the temperatures cooling off, and soon it will be the leaves changing, watching football, and waking up to frost.

It’s also hard for me to think about fall without thinking about Halloween. Whether or not you approve of Halloween, the fact is that many of us grew up trick-or-treating, and it is hard for me to think of Fall without memories of that sort of thing. Here in Cambodia, this time of year has a very different feel. October is the big holiday season here. We have independence day, the former king’s birthday, as well as a few Buddhist holidays. But this year there is a touch of the Halloween feel as well. Yesterday I picked up a newspaper and found a full page article, including color pictures, about vampires (yes, I did say vampires).

Cambodia is full of superstitions. It seems every time you turn around there is a new one. And most of them are designed around appeasing some spirit or other so that they don’t hurt you or bring you bad luck. In just one restaurant that I used to frequent there were about 7 different alters to use to appease various spirits so that you would not have bad luck. people stop on the top of mountains to give offerings to spirits there along side the road so that nothing bad will happen to them as they travel. I could go on, but the point is it all revolves around fear. The latest practice, which I am a bit chagrined to admit has taken hold near where we used to live in Kompong Cham province, is no different except that it sounds a bit like a “B” vampire movie.

According to one 37 year old father, “mixing red dye with water looks like the blood of a virgin girl… [and] any household that does not hang bottles or plastic bags of red-dyed water in front of their houses risks having evil spirits come into their homes and sucking the blood of their daughters or family members.” Residents of the area say there has been a lot of deaths on the nearby roads lately and that those who have died become vampires. This new practice has just sprung up in the last few months, but already almost every home in the area has the fake blood hanging outside to ward off the vampires.

The newspaper article quoted Buddhist leaders as saying that superstitions like this are more rooted in Brahmanism and Hinduism than in Buddhism, and the author of the article also pointed to the popularity of horror films, but the ultimate source is fear.

I John 4:18 says “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” Thank God that we don’t have to be motivated by fear. But notice I said “we don’t have to be motivated by fear,” and NOT “we are not motivated by fear.” Unfortunately I think very often we are motivated by fear. All too often we see God as watching our every move, just waiting for us to mess up so He can punish us. But that’s not the God described in the Bible.

Oh, I know there are plenty of instances of God’s judgment you can point to and say, “but what about here? Isn’t this God punishing people for their sins?” Sure there are instances of God doing that. But I see much more evidence of a God looking for the opportunity to forgive and reconcile. Just look at the story of the prodigal son. And as for bad things being a punishment from God for sin, look at Job. The calamities that befell him were not punishments from God.

In the aftermath of hurricane Katrina it is tempting to look at New Orleans and think, “with all the wickedness and immorality that is there (just look at Marti-Gra) surly part of this is a judgment from God. I agree that you have to consider the moral condition of the city, but I read it just the opposite; God sending a wake-up call (not just to New Orleans, but to the nation as a whole) and an opportunity to wake up and see their need and turn to God. When a doctor tells you that you have cancer is he punishing you because you’ve been bad? Of course not; he is telling something that may be painful and devastating, but he is telling you so that you can get treatment, and hopefully, recover from it and have life. God operates out of love, and not just any love, but perfect love. And perfect love casts out fear.

So how do we as Christians hang our version of bags of water and red dye? How about tithes? I know some people (including myself at times) give their tithes because they are afraid that if they don’t, some financial calamity will befall them. Is that right? I don’t think so. So does that mean we don’t need to give our tithes and offerings? No, but if you are just giving tithes out of a sense of obligation you have missed the whole point. The Bible says God loves a cheerful giver. When you stop giving out of obligation and fear and start giving out of love it changes the whole dynamic of it, and chances are you will find yourself giving more, not less. But this is a bit of a “bunny path”; the point is do we operate out of fear, like the people with the bags of red water, or do we operate out of love?

We in the church in America may not be hanging bags of vampire decoys out in front of our houses, but before you laugh at what they do here, be sure you aren’t hanging the equivalent of spiritual vampire decoys in your spiritual life.

posted by Troy In Cambodia @ 12:01 PM