Tisk, tisk, task!

I am reading the book Ministering Cross-Culturally by Lingenfelter and Mayers. It is really a good book about seeing how our Western culture differs from most other cultures. They contrast 12 different areas that can cause tension on the mission field. The one that really hit home for me was the contrast of goals. Are you task-oriented or people-oriented? I found, much to my surprise, that I am a task-oriented person, even though I am very much a people lover. Most of Western culture is task-oriented.

So, here's what got to me.....There was a man who wanted to have some of his friends come over and help him do a task. Only a few showed up and so they sat on the porch and talked until more men showed up. Not enough men showed up to work, so they just sat talking and called it a day later that afternoon and decided that they would try it again next week. Now, I would have been frustrated by this. Frustrated that the few that were there didn't at least start on the task. Frustrated that nothing got done. Frustrated at what seems to be "wasted" time. But....they didn't see it that way. To them, work isn't worth doing at all if it isn't accompanied by relationship. If you can't enjoy your time together, then what is the point of working?

OUCH! Tasks will ALWAYS be there, but relationships will not be. The day of those men was certainly not wasted. In fact, it was more valuable than if they would have worked all day long and never taken a break!

So, my question is this....Will there be people who never hear the gospel because I was too busy on my "important task"?