"Between the Lines"

 A good friend and fellow minister writes a pretty much daily article to post on his social media pages.  Today, he was writing about helping those in need and that he would much rather see the church and people of faith helping rather than the government.  Here is an excerpt of what he wrote.

I would rather help the poor directly.  The less the government takes, the more I have to give.  I am not sure how effective government programs are, though we certainly get whatever assistance we can for those in our community of faith.  I think it is better when I give to those I know and can directly help.  Of course, this assumes we will all give generously to those in need.

 He goes on with his main point in today’s writing:

 I want Jesus and God to get the glory/credit/praise for any help given.  I do not want the resources I have being used for the glory and praise of the government or any politician.  I want to help in the name of Jesus.   

I am always thankful when people are helped.  If God wants to use the government to do that, well... that is certainly His business.  But I just don't see working in earthly kingdoms as fulfilling my real Kingdom responsibility.

 OK, this is Jay again.  I have no issue with what he said.  It IS the responsibility of Christ-followers to help those in need, and to do so with compassion and dignity.  And that help needs to be more than a couple of dollars we might give to the man at the street corner asking for money, or a few cans of green beans given to the food pantry.

However, I believe the issues are much greater, more ingrained, and more intractable than what many people understand.  I wrote this in response to his post.

 Reading between the lines of your post, I see the tension of relying too much on government versus the faith community's charge to care for the needy.

The needs, however, are greater than what any individual church or person can provide.  And, although certainly necessary, needs go far beyond a meal, a coat, or a room at a motel for the night.  Mental health, generational poverty, physical health, depression, legal issues, addiction, affordable housing, and other issues loom like unconquerable mountains over the lives of many of these people.  It’s as if they are looking at a path ahead that is so blocked that there is no conceivable way through or around.  Despair, surrender, and exhaustion become the norm.

However, as my friend Jennifer White and many others have said, and I've often quoted, "I can't do everything, but I can do something." Just because the problem seems intractable is no reason to sit back and relax. We can ALL do something, even though knowing we won't ever "fix" the issues entirely in this fallen creation.

 This is Jay again.  I don’t know what your thoughts are regarding the poor, the impoverished, the unhoused, the mentally ill, and those with other types of issues that keep them from what many of us consider to be a “normal” lifestyle.  You may be one of those who has a very black-and-white view of them and you say, or think, “Why don’t you just get a job and get back into life?”  Others of you may be very engaged in these societal issues through your work as a social worker, therapist, counselor, medical provider, or other similar vocations.

Still others of you may be helping in some way by volunteering at a food pantry, a soup kitchen, or by handing out clothing and other needs to the unhoused.  The responses to the issues of poverty, homelessness, and all the rest are many and varied.  However, the responses of the Christian…the one who is a true follower of Jesus Christ…must be more narrow in scope.

Christians don’t have the option of dismissing someone’s misery by telling them to “Just get a job.”  And Christians do have, in my opinion, an obligation to try to understand at least some of the below-the-surface issues that manifest in homelessness and poverty.

I believe we also have an obligation to not only begin to understand the issues, but to help alleviate those issues ourselves, AND work alongside non-profits, government, and communities of faith…supporting them as we can and are able.

It’s a big issue…one that we will always have with us, I believe.  And it’s one that we as Christians need to not only be aware of, but “dug in,” so to speak, in some way to help alleviate it…renewing the creation One. Person. At. A. Time.

 Blessings