What's so funny?

A friend excitedly told me the other day of how he was able to share openly about Jesus at a meeting of high government officials. After sharing his faith with them, the highest ranked amongst them said "I have only one thing to say.. The poor people all give gifts to the Wat (Buddhist temple). The Christians give to the poor." Then, they all laughed.

My friend was delighted that we are being a great witness of Jesus' love for people, making other religions look foolish. I was a little more skeptical. My limited knowledge of government officials suggests that it is we who they consider fools for spending ourselves on the poor. Steve's thought that perhaps the official was exposing the irony of Christian giving ending up in the Wat.

But the question remains.. why did they laugh? I decided to take this question to the road and ask my Khmer friends. Here are their thoughts on why the officials laughed...

* They were happy.
* They were surprised by what the top official said.
* They didn't understand what the top official said.
* It shows how people can hold onto two religions at once.
* It shows that the Christians are "buying the hearts" of the poor.
* They laughed to encourage the top official (jokes are funnier when told by people of high rank).

One friend helpfully suggested that the only way to know what the official meant by what he said is to ask him directly... and then he probably wouldn't tell you the truth anyhow.

Hmm. How little we know in this culture and how easily our efforts to serve can be misunderstood.