Tag Archives: poverty

Part 4 – Reources, The First Fundamental Element

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As I stated in the last post, God created humans with needs and provided Four Fundamental Elements for those needs to be met. The Four Fundamental Elements are Resources, Opportunity, Instruction, and Relationships. With these provisions, humankind could live independently and have a full life.

Adam had a need for the resource of food and water and God provided for that need in the Garden. There were four rivers that ran through the garden, which would provide water and food was literally hanging from the trees. Adam had a need and God met that need. With these resources, he and Eve would be able to stay alive.

While this may sound elementary, this is God’s first Fundamental Element and God continues to provide resources to mankind when He wants something accomplished.

Let’s fast forward to Noah. For some reason God called Noah to build an ark instead of just giving him one.

Wouldn’t it have been easier if God had just told Noah, “Hey. I’ve put a big boat out in the wood full of everything you need...all you have to do is climb in and ride out the storm.” But He didn’t…God wanted Noah to do the work Click To Tweet

But God provided Noah with the resources necessary to complete the task. Now Scripture does not tell us exactly how Noah got the resources, but it seems pretty apparent that they were available in the surrounding area. And unlike the Hollywood movie, I don’t think that a box full of tools found its way to Noah’s front porch and the wood wasn’t delivered by the Go 4 WOOD company.

Again, this would have been easier, but God had Noah do the work. In fact, Noah probably had to fashion the tools just to do the work. Now I used to remodel houses and I had the benefit of pneumatic tools, electric saws and trucks…and it was still really hard work. Can you imagine how much harder it had to be for Noah? But for some reason, God had Noah do the work. And work he did…it took him 120 years to build that ark.

Every time God called people to accomplish something, He made the necessary resources available. When He called the Israelites to build the Sanctuary, the resources were already in their possession. When God called Nehemiah to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem, the resources were provided through the king in Nehemiah 2.

God made people do the work to accomplish His will, but He always provided the First Fundamental Element, Resources. He provided the Resources that were necessary for the work to be completed.

The Kid Around the Corner

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I was recently at a dinner and a church was being recognized for their outreach and service. As the pastor talked about how their church impacts their community he said, “We are very active in our community. Every month we do a clothing and food give away and give backpacks to the kids every fall.”

A picture popped up on the overhead of this Pastor and a child as he went on, “This is the child that we support in a third world country.  We got to meet him last fall on a mission trip and our support is helping this young man break free from the bonds of poverty.”

As the crowd rose to their feet with applause, to shouts of “Amen”, “Great Job” and “Praise God”, I wondered, “Why do we want to break the bonds of poverty in  Third World countries but the kid around the corner only gets a backpack and a box of food?”

“Why do we want to break the bonds of poverty in 3rd World countries, but the kid around the corner gets a backpack and a box of food?” Click To Tweet

I have started asking this question to Pastors and have received blank stares from some and a grimaced reality from others.

One Pastor responded, “Exactly”, as he proudly told me about their monthly food and giveaway programs. I am fairly confident he did not understand the question.

I asked his question to social media and got some very good responses.  While there are thousands of reasons, below are the thoughts of others as well as a few of my own as to why we only meet the immediate need to the kid around the corner.

  1. Some have a superman complex. They need someone to save. People on the other side of the world are not a threat. If you help the kid around the corner too much in ways that lead to independence and this person that used to be on the receiving end is now your peer/equal you have lost your power.
  2. It’s easy to write a check, pat yourself on the back, and move on. Not so easy to make a commitment, invest time in someone’s life, then see them continue to suffer. We live in the age of instant gratification in which we think 140 characters in ten seconds should yield a miraculous return on our investment. Besides, it’s harder to help someone you will see again because they might expect more of you, Rob! People don’t even want to walk across the street and meet their neighbor for fear of getting too close, much less look a hungry child in the eye because we might be compelled to try to help in some way, and then feel the pain when we fail to make a significant difference.
  3. Your post reminds me of a fav quote of mine from World Relief leader, Jenny Yang:
    “Charity removes us from the hard work of building relationships with people who make us uncomfortable. We have to transition from charity to justice.”
  4. We live in America…the land of opportunity. If somebody really wants to change, then they will change. Besides, we pay our taxes and the government takes care of them. They give them educational opportunities, healthcare and meet their immediate need. We limit our service because if this kid really wanted out, he’d “pull himself up by his bootstraps.”
  5. We alleviate our responsibility by not acknowledging the problem here in our own backyard. If we begin to invest ourselves in real solutions in our own communities, our reality will have to change. It could be considered a form of denial or self-protection to ignore the real needs of the kid around the corner, but help those who don’t really affect you in any way.
  6. Helping the kid around the corner is scary. It’s cool to go to an unknown, possibly dangerous place in a third world country for a couple of days, but the kid around the corner lives in a community that we try to avoid. He lives in communities with gangs, drugs and violence. We wouldn’t want to go there and we certainly would not our children to build a friendship with that kid.                                                                                       Last but certainly not least:
  7. We don’t really love our neighbor as ourselves. We want to do the minimum so that our ministry box gets checked and we can go home knowing we are good Christians.

The problem is, we are not being good Christians. We are not loving our neighbors as ourselves. To love the kid around the corner as you love yourself, you have to put yourself in their shoes. You’d have to ask the hard question, “What would I want if I were in their situation.”

Maybe a better question would be “What would I do if my child were the kid around the corner?” Click To Tweet

FAQ 4 – What’s wrong with Social Justice?

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Debunking the Myth of Social Justice

“The Bible is all about social justice…it’s talked about from the beginning to the end.” That was the comment the gentleman made. He had come by the booth several times, stood several feet away and read our info from a distance. He didn’t want to engage in conversation, but certainly wanted me to know his position.

His statement is similar to a question I have received from several people. What’s wrong with social justice? To find the answer, let’s turn to Page 78 in Breaking the Broken.

The subtitle of Breaking the Broken is “Debunking the Myth of Social Justice.” There are certain aspects of social justice that are good, but there are many that are not. The good part of social justice is found in the dignity of every human being. We are all created equal. Those who preach social justice believe we all have the right to gain the resources, opportunity, and instruction necessary to meet our basic needs, but these are not new teachings. They are straight out of Scripture and are laid as the groundwork for social justice. Unfortunately, as the theory of social justice has evolved, it has begun to go against God’s plan for humanity.

Today, social justice focuses more on giving and distributing than it does on gaining and creating. It seeks to provide preferential treatment for certain groups by forcing a “just” outcome, but who gets to decide what’s “just”? Social justice creates top-heavy systems run by distant, detached people who are more concerned with rules and regulations than what is best for those being served. Social justice is reduced to a transaction. The benefits of social justice are a myth and do not exist.

Now this may appear to have taken a political turn, but trust me, this isn’t political. It’s biblical. I don’t trust the government to have any answers for the poor. I look to God for real answers. God created things to work a certain way, and I am opposed to anything that goes against His plan and systems.

God says we should not deny justice to the poor, but we are also not to give preferential treatment to the poor, which often is the goal of social justice.

“You must not spread a false report. Do not join the wicked to be a malicious witness. You must not follow a crowd in wrongdoing. Do not testify in a lawsuit and go along with a crowd to pervert justice. Do not show favoritism to a poor person in his lawsuit. If you come across your enemy’s stray ox or donkey, you must return it to him. If you see the donkey of someone who hates you lying helpless under its load, and you want to refrain from helping it, you must help with it. You must not deny justice to a poor person among you in his lawsuit.”
(Exod. 23:1-6)

God calls for justice for everyone, but God wants more than social justice. God’s plan provides restorative justice. Restorative justice is always better than social justice. God’s plan provides what is best for every person involved: those who are rich and comfortable, and those who are poor and hurting.

The last point from this passage is the call for family members to care for their own and not have them be a burden on the church. Helping people who are able to help themselves takes vital resources that could be used for others who are truly in need. This hurts those served and those serving and creates frustration, distrust, and antagonism. God calls us to help the poor, but we are to help in the proper way. Click To Tweet God’s plan provides what is best for everyone involved. The antagonism and frustration that drives wedges between us can be eliminated. Now we need to learn the difference between those who are truly in need and those who should be caring for themselves.

Albuquerque Mayor Using Breaking The Broken Principles

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Debunking the Myth of Social Justice

It’s great to see the mayor of Albuquerque using some of the principles from Breaking the Broken to end homelessness and panhandling. This is a program that is worth duplicating in other areas of the country.

As written in the Washington Post: “Republican Mayor Richard Berry was driving around Albuquerque last year when he saw a man on a street corner holding a sign that read: “Want a Job. Anything Helps.” Throughout his administration, as part of a push to connect the homeless population to services, Berry had taken to driving through the city to talk to panhandlers about their lives. His city’s poorest residents told him they didn’t want to be on the streets begging for money, but they didn’t know where else to go.

Click here to continue reading the Washington Post article.

 

FAQ 2 – Why Would You Qualify People?

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Not Approved“Why would you qualify people? The Bible doesn’t tell us to do that! Jesus helped everyone.” These are some of the things I’ve heard during conversations about effectively ministering to the poor. I find the belief that Jesus never qualified people before helping an interesting idea…one that doesn’t have a lot of Biblical support. First we know that Jesus didn’t have to qualify anybody because, unlike us, He already knew their motivation, but there are a couple of times when Jesus did question people before He healed them.

Jesus asked “What do you want me to do for you?” with two blind men in Matt 20 and 1 blind man in Mark 10. Now it’s possible that these are the same instance, but there are a couple of interesting things to note about this exchange.

  1. Jesus asked what they wanted.
    • He didn’t need to ask. I believe Jesus was publicly checking their motives.
  2. Jesus made the blind come to him.
    • He didn’t walk over to them. He made them come to Him.

Now let’s look at a time when Jesus was really hard on people. The Bible doesn’t say they were poor, but He had fed them the day before. It’s found in John 6. Let’s set it up:

  • Jesus feeds the 5,000
  • Jesus goes to the mountain alone
  • The 12 leave in a boat
  • Jesus walks on water
  • The people find out that Jesus has gone to Capernaum
  • A “crowd” of people go and find Him

Jesus qualifies them…or should I say disqualifies them

  • They weren’t coming because they believed
  • They only wanted Jesus because their belly was full
  • They even bring up the manna that the Israelites were fed in the desert
  • They weren’t willing to follow Him as their savior
  • Jesus told them the hard truth
  • They walked away

Jesus didn’t chase the people down and try to convince them to follow Him. He knew their self-serving motives and He let them go.

Jesus didn't chase people down and try to convince them to follow Him. Click To Tweet

There are a several passages where Paul tells us the right way to live and qualifies people. Let’s look at a couple.

1 Timothy 5

  • Only “genuine widows” should be cared for by the church
  • If someone doesn’t take care of their own family they are worse than an unbeliever
  • Refuse to provide long-term support for younger widows

1 Thess. 4 – These are things that are considered walking properly and they display brotherly love.

  • Lead a quiet life
  • Mind your own business
  • Work with your own hands

And we certainly can’t forget 2 Thess. 3 where Paul “Commands in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ” that a man who is not willing to work should not eat.

Next time we’ll take on the question “why is work so important?”

Until then, can you think of other passages in the Bible where people were qualified before receiving help?

FAQ 1 – What about Jesus Feeding the 5,000?

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As I travel around the country speaking, and equipping churches to renew broken lives, there are some Frequently Asked Questions that I receive. I am going to take the next few posts to answer some of these F.A.Q.’s, beginning with the following question:

“What about Jesus feeding the 4,000 and the 5,000?
Doesn’t that show that Jesus wants us to feed the poor?”

This question is often asked by people who are struggling with the idea that God calls us to do more than just meet the immediate need. And while I appreciate this line of thought, we have to be careful not to take these two isolated instances out of context and use them to support systematic feeding programs.

Let’s look at the two passages and see what they have in common and how they are different from our feeding programs today.

Let’s start with the feeding of the 5,000. This is found in Matt 14, Mark 6, Luke 9 and John 6. Feel free to read them.

What was the situation when Jesus fed the 5,000?

  • Jesus was heading to an uninhabited area
  • People ran around the Sea of Galilee and beat Jesus to where He landed
  • Jesus spent the day healing people
  • There was no other food available
  • Feeding them was a necessity

What about the feeding of the 4,000? Found in Matt 15, Mark 8

  • Jesus was up on a mountain (remote area)
  • They had been with Jesus for 3 days
  • Jesus spent his time healing people
  • It was physically dangerous to send them home on an empty stomach
  • There was no other food available
  • Feeding them was a necessity,

These two passages have a lot of things in common, but the question is: do the people our feeding programs serve mirror those who Jesus fed?

  • Are they in a remote area?
  • Are they giving up their time and energies to be near Christ?
  • Are they there, or bringing their loved ones, to be healed?
  • Is there no other option for people to get food?
  • Are they physically in danger if they don’t eat?

As we look at these two instances, it becomes pretty clear that Jesus was not creating a model for feeding programs. Now think about this. When Jesus healed someone, He opened the door for them to work and care for their families.

While it is necessary to meet the immediate need, Jesus was not using Himself as an example for feeding the poor. In fact, there is no evidence in Scripture that the people he fed were even poor.

What other programs or services do we provide that stop short of restoring the poor because they only meet the immediate need?

Next time we will look at a second F.A.Q. I get asked regularly. Why do you qualify people before you serve them? Jesus didn’t do that.

Do you want to learn more about God’s plan to restore hurting people? Click here to order your copy of Breaking the Broken.

Do you Value or Pity the Poor?

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Do You Value or Pity the Poor

Many of us provide services or minister to the poor. We donate clothing and supplies, provide food and shelter and this is done because we value human life. To value something means to find it important and our hearts are broken when we see our fellow humans suffering so we work to alleviate their pain.

But there is another aspect of value and a very different way to respond. To value something also means to find it useful. We believe it has worth and is important. While we may see our service as important, do we really see the poor as important? Do we see their worth and usefulness?

Pity, on the other hand, is the feeling of sorrow and compassion caused by the suffering and misfortunes of others. The truth is, most of our services are driven out of pity and not value. You see we invest in what we believe in. When we only meet the immediate need, without working to help them gain sustainable change in their lives, we are showing our thoughts on their value.

God Made Noah Work

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NoahMost of our Christian service to the poor is based on giving and not equipping. I’m not sure why we have taken this approach because that is not the example we see in Scripture. God always made man do everything that was within his abilities. God always required man to work to care for his own needs. There were no hand-outs in God’s Plan. Below is a short example of God’s requirement when a hand-out would have been much easier.

In Genesis 6, we read that mankind had grown wicked and all their schemes were evil all the time. God was fed up. He decided He was going to destroy all living things from the face of the earth. He was going to wipe the plate clean and start over, but not completely. There was one man that God would save.

But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. These are the family records of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among his contemporaries; Noah walked with God. (Gen. 6:8-9 HCSB)

God would start over with Noah, but how did God do this? He flooded the entire earth and destroyed every living thing, but saved Noah and his family. God could have made it easy on Noah. He could have had Noah go into the woods, where he would find a big boat that was filled with all the food and supplies he would need. The boat would have been completely ready to go. All Noah would need to do is load up and ride out the storm.

God could have had all the tools drop-shipped to Noah’s front porch. He could have had the materials delivered to the side yard. That’s the way it happened in the Hollywood movie, but that is not what God did. God worked within the Plan that He had established in the garden. Noah had to do the work himself.

If you are interested in learning more about God’s Plan to restore the hurting, click here to order your copy of Breaking the Broken today.

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Jesus Never Set Up a Food Pantry

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WMIcrowavee live in a microwave society. We don’t like to wait. We want things fixed and we want them fixed quickly. We rarely spend the time investigating to discover the underlying reasons behind behaviors or situations. If a child’s behavior is not acceptable we want immediate change, so we give that child a pill.

Some friends of ours have tried a new approach to training their son. When he disobeys, talks back, or is rude, they stop; they calm the situation down and then ask, “Where is your heart right now?” They want to get to the reason behind his behavior.
They want to get to the cause. This question has led them to some incredible conversations about how we represent Christ in our everyday lives.

Our desire for the quick and easy fix has also infiltrated our service to the poor. Most of the time, energy and money spent is focused on the symptoms of the struggle. That’s not what Jesus did. Jesus always addressed the reasons and not the results of the struggle. Jesus didn’t give away clothes, set up food pantries or homeless shelters. He healed people, because if the cause is corrected, then the symptoms take care of themselves.

Before I am labeled a heretic and people are calling for my head, let’s set the record straight. Felt-need assistance must continue to be available. Scripture requires us to provide for people who are physically or mentally unable to provide for themselves. It’s necessary to deliver services to people who live in areas of the world where the land cannot produce enough food and water for those living there. We also need to offer assistance to those who are going through hard times, but this must only be available as a stop-gap measure.

I am not saying that providing these services to hurting people is a sin. They are necessary, but they must be done in the right way and with the right motives. Doing something poorly is often worse than doing nothing at all. The systematic, long-term provision for people who are physically and mentally capable of caring for themselves must stop. It must come to an end. These services have a detrimental effect on everyone and in no way display the love of Christ. If your service has a singular focus on the symptom, are you really meeting the need or are you adding to the problem?

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