Dear Billy,
Thanks so much for your note. I understand now why it has been so long since we last spoke. Please know that I understand what you are going through. Everybody has doubts. Please do not feel pressure from us....or from anybody else for that matter. From your email I can tell that you have been getting a lot of advice. That's okay. But, be careful to evaluate the nature of their advice. Heartfelt, concerned counsel from mature believers who really love you and the Lord is what you desperately need. But remember, you, as a family, must make these hard decisions about the course your life is taking!
I sensed a great deal of anger when you wrote about the conversation with your Dad. You need to cut him a little slack. I don't agree with everything that he said, but please understand that this is very difficult for him. He feels like he is losing his son. He feels like you have rejected the path that he has offered you and he takes it personally. He also may be thinking that your decision to become a missionary is somehow a criticism of what he has done with his life. I really hope that this is not the case. You will have to do some self-examination on that one. We all must be very careful not to judge others because of the career decisions they have made. I don't need that....you don't either....and I really don't think that your Dad deserves it either.
By the way, there is nothing wrong with being a successful businessman. Serving God is not exclusive to foreign missionaries....or even "full-time" ministry positions. God is glorified by business men who put Him first in the way that they run their business, their treatment of employees, their integrity towards laws and taxes and their generous use of the profits as investments in the kingdom of God. God's plan is huge and intricate and involves a wide variety of gifts and personalities. Try to understand that your father is trying to follow Christ in his own way. Has he made mistakes? Of course. Does he have regrets? Certainly. But he loves Jesus and he loves you. For right now, that should be enough and you should strive to resolve your conflict as soon as possible. You need to be as spiritually healthy as possible in order to clearly evaluate the decisions that lay before you.
Go see you Dad....have lunch....calm down....listen and try to hear his heart. It doesn't mean that you have to agree with him, but you can love him right where he is.
Maybe then your heavenly Father can speak more clearly to your concerns!
I'll write later this week....your Dad said some things about money that got me thinking...
Praying for you...th
