I’ve noticed that the people asking
for money at prominent intersections have changed their strategy. Instead of holding
up cardboard signs saying, “will work for food,” they are now faking
illnesses. Faced with an immediate
choice about giving or not giving, many people give in to the naive impulse
that wants to believe we can anonymously help with a quick gift. Thus, panhandlers make more tax-free money
than the people who work very hard at socially important but poorly paid jobs.
If you detect a bit of frustration,
please know that I admire generosity, and I desire the best for the people
seeking help. Last Sunday night my congregation collected thousands of dollars
to help a local family and support a mission in the Ukraine. But in both instances we have some
relationship with the recipients. We
don’t want our efforts at hospitality to become a form of co-dependency which
harms strangers. Social workers have
repeatedly told my church members that financially helping certain people just promotes
their transiency by financing patterns of continuing dependency and isolation.
Several years ago local churches began
to take stock of their efforts to help alleviate poverty in Indy. Conclusion?
Many food pantries and clothing drives are doing good work; but
providing services is not fully addressing real systemic problems.
Steve Corbett and Biken Fikkert’s book, When Helping Hurts, demonstrates how some
ministries actually disempower and shame the people they are trying to
help. As a result some missions these
days are trying to help people discover and express their own talents. That’s harder work because it requires time,
commitment and loving presence.
The Christmas story insists that what
people need is precisely the gift of loving presence. God became a vulnerable guest among the
poor. Born out of wedlock to a
poverty-stricken, near-eastern teenager, the King of Kings did his work by
befriending common folks who would become his co-workers. Jesus’ name is Immanuel--God with us. Real gift-giving has to include the gift of
such sustained presence and friendship.
No gift less costly will suffice.
