There was no one to say to me, “How much is that donkey?”
–Local oral tradition
How might your culture and language paint a picture of utter loneliness and isolation? In Central Asia, apparently, being utterly alone means there’s not even anyone making inquiries about donkeys. Talk about being left out in the cold.
We were on a trip back to Poet City this week when we heard this proverb used for the first time, when a young preacher was describing how lonely middle school had been for him. Most of us have been there. Middle school can be a very rough time. The Bible has its own imagery describing these anguished depths of isolation, the strongest of which is probably Psalm 88:18, “Darkness is my only friend.”
Darkness makes sense, but why donkeys? Well, on the one hand, our Central Asians find donkeys so ludicrous, so hilarious, that they seem eager to fit them into their proverbs whenever they can. Another working theory is that because donkeys are viewed as very base, dumb, and dirty, it may be that ‘donkey business’ functions as a kind of shorthand for the lowest and most menial of human interactions. In this sense, it means sometimes you’re so alone that no one even bothers to interact with you even on these most base and even embarrassing fronts.
Though sometimes unavoidable, and even temporarily beneficial, the Bible consistently teaches that it’s not good for us to be alone. In fact, this is the first thing in the created world described as “not good,” such a bad situation, in fact, that it led to the glorious creation of woman. The preacher in Ecclesiastes elaborates further, stating that being with others means a better return for your labor, help back up after a fall, staying warm at night, and self defense (Ecc 4:9-12).
That’s a lot of benefits that come from not being on your own. Our Central Asian friends would add one more. Turns out it’s also better for donkey business.
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Two international churches in our region are in need of pastors, one needs a lead pastor and one an associate pastor. Our kids’ TCK school is also in need of a math and a science teacher for middle school and high school. If you have a good lead, shoot me a note here.
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Photo from Unsplash.com
Entrusted to the Dirt 