What Are Our Obligations to the Poor? Part 3
April 27, 2010
Dear Friends,
There is probably no better place to start on this subject than at the beginning.
As a result of the fall in the Garden of Eden, the opportunity for poverty came into being. The once healthy relationships that existed between man and God, self, others and creation were replaced with dysfunctional relationships. This dysfunction was the fodder for poverty in all of its aspects. In the book, When Helping Hurts, the authors say,
Poverty is the result of relationships that do not work, that are not just, that are not for life, that are not harmonious or enjoyable. Poverty is the absence of shalom in all of its meanings.
In the fall, mankind's relationship with God was fundamentally changed. Men introduced all kinds of idols, false doctrines and other harmful practices. Romans 1 describes this change when it says that we "exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles." (v. 22 NIV) As a result, men ignored God's commandments. Even seemingly innocuous commandments that were ignored by men became catalysts for poverty. For example, when we study the Sabbath we often forget that along with commanding men to abstain from work one day a week, God commanded men to work six days a week. "Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God." (Ex. 20:9,10) And how long was this to go on?
Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground. (Gen. 3:17-19)
Work is a godly activity in both the Old and New Testaments. When men do not work or the social systems do not allow for men to work, proper relationships break down. We are encouraged throughout the Bible to work and do our best when we do.
Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. (Ecc. 9:10)
Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: and whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord. (Col 3;22-23)
One of the main things we should strive for in poverty alleviation is the restore people's proper relationship with their Creator. We not only teach them who God is but what He expects of us. This act of reconciliation is one reason why preaching and helping the poor in a godly manner are so intertwined.
A few years ago I interviewed with an organization that was looking for an executive director to end homelessness in the Richmond area. According to the organization, their bold and highly aggressive goal was not hyperbole. They really wanted zero homelessness in area. With the highest ranks of both government and industry on board to accomplish this task, they really felt they could do it. Now, I don't have any educational background or work experience in this area. However, I interviewed for this job because I didn't have any background in this area. It seemed to me at the time (and still does) that if you really want to end homelessness in a large metropolitan area, you are going to have to do some things completely "out of the box." You have to shake things up a bit. Since I have a difficult time thinking inside the box, I felt like I might be a good candidate.
In preparing for the interview, I read the organizations rather extensive planning document. During the interview, I challenged my interviewer on the organization's approach. From what I read in their master plan, they were only addressing pieces of the problem. There were, to my untrained eye, gaping holes in the plan. They had a lot of social organizations, local governments and businesses involved, but no churches or synagogues. They had ways to address financial and mental health problems, but no plans to address moral and spiritual problems. From my perspective, if they kept doing what they had been doing without success, why would they think anything would change? Needless to say, they didn't hire me. They hired one of the people already involved in the system and, to my knowledge, there are still plenty of homeless in my hometown.
My point is not that they should have hired me. I probably wouldn't have hired me either. The point is that we think about the problem of the poor way too simplistically and don't address their greater needs. Poverty has a lot of causes – financial resources are but one element. In helping the poor, we need to address the issue holistically. We need to address all of the relational elements that became dysfunctional in Eden.
Have a great week,
