Page 90 - Protestant Missionary Activity in the Arabian Gulf

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risen in the economic scale while many are leaders in the

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State." It is to the Mission’s credit that a genuine ef­

fort was made from the very start not only to serve the needs

of the Mission but to serve the needs of the community even

when, as time went on, it became increasingly clear that the

two were not always integrally related.

In the process of serving the Arab communities’ needs,

the missionaries often offered free medical and educational

services. But a third probable explanation for their success,

paradoxically, can be found in the fact that this policy was

only followed when the students and patients were unable to

pay. Although the missionaries did not generally seek poli­

tical or financial favors for their services nor try to

charge the poor for medical services, they did try whenever

possible to charge those who were able to pay for the treat­

ment they received. Mot only was the revenue thus gained

useful for defraying costs, but also the missionaries felt

that their services would be more appreciated if they had

Charity is always
cost the recipients something of value,
at least subconsciously resented by the receiver and often

an air of social superiority, real or imagined, hangs about

• the giver. The missionaries were anxious to avoid both of

these pitfalls, and appear to have been quite successful in
"Un­
doing so without greatly curtailing their activities,

earned charity is dangerous and bad,” Paul Harrison had argued

in explaining why the Mission attempted to have the hospital
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in Mutrali support itself by collected fees. The citizens