Questions & Conclusions

It’s been a month since I visited Vietnam for the first time and spent two weeks there. I’ve written short blurbs about it and shared photos, yet it’s been difficult to process what I saw and experienced. It was beautiful and complex–but it’s time to try.

• I looked at Vietnam’s history this morning. It’s helpful in understanding how they got where they are:
• 1000 years ruled by China (111BC – 939 AD)
• 1000 years ruled by Vietnamese emperors (939 AD – 1858 AD)
• 100 years ruled by France (1858 AD – 1954 AD)
• 20 years of civil war — North against the South (1954 AD – 1975 AD)
• 50 years of communist rule ( 1975 – Present)

I try to look at everything through a Biblical lens, because it makes the most sense  and holds true in every epoch and age of history. “God is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Heb 13:8, Ps 15:4, Mal 3:6, Isa 46:9-10) “Of old I have known from Your testimonies that You have founded them forever” (Psalm 119:152).

I made observations which raised questions. I asked questions of my hosts and others. Some remain unresolved, but my synopsis is that some big things are going on in Vietnam. God may be coming near (Luke 10:9), and the wind, or Spirit of God, is blowing there (John 3:8), or is about to do so. The country seems in a spiritual vacuum, and the church there has a spark.

I mentioned in my first post about Vietnam that it is open to tourism hosting 22 million visitors in 2025 — about one fifth as many people as their entire population. People interact with each other. And we change each other. Within people is a thirst for wisdom, truth, and understanding. Another characteristic of people is that we thirst for freedom. We are made in the image of a freedom-loving God. The words of the Bible come to mind “It was for freedom that Christ set us free” (Gal 5:1), and “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). The Christ follower can flourish under any type of government. Jesus told Pilate, “My kingdom isn’t of this world.” And Pilate didn’t feel threatened by Jesus. But some are afraid of losing control due to this innate freedom-loving quality in humans.

Communism or socialism doesn’t work well historically—men trying to be their own gods. Corruption is a big problem in Vietnam, China, and Asia in general. It’s been said, “Good men can make a bad system work, but bad men can’t even make a good system work.” There are very few good men absent the Spirit and teaching of God. But the people of Vietnam are very pragmatic and saw what wasn’t working, and then embraced foreign trade and private ownership of property. These incentives made the normally industrious and bright people of Vietnam sacrifice and work hard to improve their lot in life and future for their children. That seems to be obvious and working quite well.

I had the impression that the Vietnamese were the Irish of Asia—kind, hospitable, engaging. The country’s most important asset is her people.

The gorilla or elephant in the room, or on the border, is China. Because of their histories, there’s not much trust or love between them, but China can’t be ignored. There’s not room to go into that, but suffice to say, “You don’t want to poke the gorilla.”

Ho Chi Minh

What influenced the man to hold the views he did on the government needed for Vietnam? Was it the neighboring countries, most notably China? The lust for power? The cultures he encountered in the United States, France, and Russia when he visited? I don’t know. I need to find an objective, historically-accurate biography of the man and trace more of his actions. Jesus said, “By their fruits you shall know them [men]. A bad tree can’t produce good fruit, and a good tree doesn’t produce bad fruit [actions].” (Matthew 7:15-17) Actions speak louder than words, and you know a man better by what he does than what he says.

Some of those I visited from former North Vietnam have warm feelings for him and genuinely referred to him as Uncle Ho. Those who fled Vietnam when the communist took over and those who suffered in reeducation camps, have a completely different idea. Personally, it’s a little hard for me to get past the fact that when the communists took over the south, many property owners were executed as their properties were confiscated.

The Future of Vietnam

Two former North Vietnamese friends told me that 75% of Vietnamese would favor doing business with the USA, even after the war, than any other country. The same friends are doing well for themselves and prospering with the prosperity that’s coming to Vietnam. They said they were happy and content living there.

Later in the week, because of something they said, I asked the question “If you had the chance to live in the USA, would you?” They surprised me by saying, “Of course.” It left me thinking, “OK, which way is it? “”

My concern is for the people of Vietnam. They have been oppressed by foreign powers, like China, France, and their own government. Their country was war torn because of it—3 million Vietnamese and 58,000 Americans dead in just the civil war. Yet they’re smart, industrious, social, ambitious, and want to make a go of it—to make better lives for themselves and their children. They seem to be forgiving and want to “Let bygones be bygones.” Diplomatic relations with the US were restored in 1995.

Free markets work. Individual ownership works. But unbridled consumerism doesn’t. It ends up being an idol and a curse on people who worship or serve only money and material possessions. Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth” (Matthew 6:24). It’s an ancient proverb that Shakespeare says like this, “All that glisters is not gold.” Tolstoy said, “It is amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness.”

Nations sometimes look at America and see only the prosperity and benefits of freedom. They mostly don’t see that it was the word of God, and the Spirit of God, in the people of God that brought the blessings of God—the prosperity and freedom. And those same factors allowed the people of God to have wealth to enjoy without wealth having them. So that they could continue living in the power and blessing of God, in relationship with God on a higher spiritual plane, enjoying the blessings while keeping those things in their proper priority.

I had a rare, beautiful opportunity to take a deep dive into peoples lives and the culture of Vietnam. I love the people and their country. I pray God’s blessing and best for them.

“Father God, may Your kingdom come, and Your will be done in Vietnam as it is in heaven.  Bless the country and people with Your truth and Your life, as only You can. They’ve experienced plenty of wrath. Please, in wrath, remember mercy. Amen”

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“He says, ’It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.’” (Isaiah 49:6)

“Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.” (Isaiah 60:3)

“The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them.” (Isaiah 9:2)

“Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5)

“‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.’”(Jeremiah 29:11)