NOTE: This is a guest post from Jeremy Solomon, a member of Core. Jeremy serves Core by reading books selected by the pastors of Core and producing reviews of those books. We hope you find his writing helpful.
When you think of the poor and what is needed to help, what comes to mind? Likely you picture a soup kitchen, a donation of food or clothes, or writing checks to a ministry. Our answers can take different forms, but most of them are probably material in nature. This is understandable, given the perspective of us North American Christians. It is (hopefully) needless to say that we have an extremely unique existence in the world, enjoying more resources and comforts than most would ever dream. While we can be thankful, our material living clouds our judgment of what the less fortunate truly need to bring a better quality of life. This sets the stage for the insights of When Helping Hurts, as Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert reshape our thoughts of how to fulfill the hope of the Great Commandment.
Ask yourself the question: “What is poverty?” As simple as this sounds, your answers will likely contrast sharply with those people who are actually in poverty. Often those not in poverty focus on the lack of materials (food, housing, equipment, medicine, etc.), but the poor will not look so much to this, but rather speak of the mental and relational turmoil: loneliness, shame for their plight, and an utter lack of confidence, with no hope for the future. Though we are all in a poverty of relationships, poverty of this kind entraps people in this despair 10-fold. This continues the absence of material needs, becoming a permenant reality for much of the world.
Corbett and Fikkert break down Americans’ traditional ways of solving poverty, how they fall short, and how, in fact, they can do more harm than good. While the authors embrace the more liberal passions and efforts to this very biblical topic, we are given a conservative mindset in thinking through our tactics. Our instincts as Westerners call for a high-speed, Superman-like sweep into third-world situations (even if they are right here in our city!), being saviors and providers to the unfortunate. The authors discuss how this creates a state of paternalism, where the poor will always look to Western help as dependent children, and not to God, themselves, or each other. With the impressions of the “superior” rich taking care of the “inferior” poor, the poor continue to dwell in the lack of hope.
The alternative thinking of the book focuses, instead, on efforts to create relationships for the poor: relationship with God, self, others in community, and with creation. Certainly financial giving is necessary, but we hope, for example, to give while having a local church be the instrument of provision and healing in community. Or, to have the poor take an active part in our pursuit to provide a better tomorrow. Immediate aid is indeed called for in dire, emergency times, when the poor can in no way help themselves, but very often this is not the case, and the building of relationships with God and community will bring about the change we all hope for the poor in spirit.
If you want to be part of the solution by building relationships with the poor in our city, we encourage you to connected with inCommon Community Development. Jeremy and his Home Community are spending Monday evening with inCommon sharing a meal with friends in poverty. You (and your Home Community) can connect, too.