Igneous Quill

Not long ago one of my friends posted on Facebook about the duty of Christians to help those in need.  One of the first comments in response came from a gentleman who stated that we should only help those who are Christians or who are already in process of becoming Christians.  Really?  That sounds more like conservatism speaking than the lavish, unbounded love of God. 

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” - 1 John 4:10 NIV

“We love because he first loved us.” - 1 John 4:19 NIV

While the world was in sinful rebellion, God took the first step.  He had compassion on us in our miserable, unworthy state and took a risk. Those who argue that God knew the future (I disagree with such a view inherited from Greek and Roman philosophers rather than the apostles and prophets of God) seem to me to be simply looking for an easy way to get God (and by extension themselves) off the hook. Honestly, the whole deal could have gone bad.  It didn’t, though.  By God’s predetermined purpose Christ died for the ungodly while they were yet in their sins, and the love of God inspired in many a response.

This radical love of God is something Jesus of Nazareth taught with regard to one’s “enemies.”  In the original context Jesus’ peasant listeners would have understood he was speaking of the Romans and all those who oppressed them.

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." - Luke 6:32-36 NRSV 

Did you notice how Jesus described God’s attitude toward “the ungrateful and the wicked?”  The word he used was “kind.”

If one is looking for worthiness or even gratitude in the work of helping the needy, perhaps a little self-examination in light of the Scriptures is necessary.  From a human perspective we want to see people who have already proven themselves worthy of assistance receiving what aid we can provide.  From God’s point of view, though, when we do so we are putting the cart before the horse.  

There are, of course, other objections to be made in support of only helping Christians or those “close to the kingdom” and against seeking to aid any others.

First, resources can be strained.  If we focus only on those who are in the family of God already there will be more to go around than if we accept also those from the outside.  We don’t want supplies to run low, do we?

Jesus faced this problem in his own ministry on at least two occasions. He had his usual entourage which included the twelve disciples, but also a large multitude.  People were hungry but no one had anything to eat, other than some loaves of bread and some fish.  Here’s what happened one of the two times:

"Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, 'Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?' He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.  Philip answered him, "Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.' One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 'There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?" Jesus said, 'Have the people sit down.' Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted.  And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, 'Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.' So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.  When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, 'This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!' Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself." - John 6:5-15 NASB

While this account is rich with content and meaning, one point should be abundantly clear: resources (or lack thereof) are no obstacle for God.  While we must be good stewards of what God provides, if despite our best efforts material runs thin, we must look to Him for provision.

Second, we don’t want to create a dependence on us in the needy.  In other words, if we provide resources long enough, people will come to count on it.  I’ve heard that something like this has happened in large parts of Haiti, though I have no direct personal experience to rely upon.  One example would be the “free” rice that is shipped in as aid from other nations.  Quite a lot of it gets sold on the market, and so cheaply that it has driven down the value of locally-grown rice.  Don’t expect rice-growers in Haiti to be doing well until the nation is weaned off of foreign food aid, at least where rice is concerned.

Mistakes have been made in the past.  Today we are seeing more and more non-profits working under the venerable principle of teaching a man to fish, rather than merely giving him a fish.  Men and women are taught trade skills and other techniques for better sanitation and food production in order for them to improve their own lives.  Even where there are food and material “hand-outs” this is rarely the full extent of the work being done.

A misgiving I’ve had regarding the annual “Dump Day” to raise funds to help people who live off of what they find in a Honduran dump is that, up until recently, I’ve only heard about the missionary and a crew going out weekly to the dump with food.  Where’s the development and sustained outreach that lifts people out of poverty? With the most recent Dump Day there were two encouraging signs.

One was the involvement of Bread for a Hungry World, an organization that seeks to provide material resources but also programs that focus on breaking the cycle of poverty.  A second was news that with the extra money raised a clinic near the dump could be built, staffed (as I understand it) by public health workers.  This is progress!

Yes, Christians should seek to help their sisters and brothers in Christ. The love can’t stop there, though.  The signs of God’s in-breaking new creation will be made clear in changed lives that reach out to those still in darkness, lost in the oppression of this present age and held captive by the evil one.  Help starts at home, but it can’t end there.

"So then,as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith." - Galatians 6:10 ESV

The other night I received an e-mail from an address I did not recognize, appealing for me to at least read before deleting.  It was from Africa and had to do with a ministry.  Rather than do as usual and delete, I left it in my inbox, returning to it later.

As it turns out, it was an e-mail from a Church of Christ missionary in South Africa.  In the letter only prayers are requested.  Going to the website of the U.S. church referenced in the letter I found the above video.  Click here to read the newsletter they sent me.

It isn't easy to do this sort of mission work.  Probably a shoestring budget and seemingly insurmountable odds.  Worse still is struggling to catch the attention, prayer and financial support of Western churches that are already trying to deal with a cacophony of voices pleading for help.  I really don't believe it's indifference.  It's just that there is so much need in the world and so many distractions close to home, keeping our focus off.