Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Lifting the Veil; When Helping Hurts





Its a dangerous place I'm stepping into. The farther you go with God, the deeper your responsibility and life becomes. You start to see people, creation and the whole world the way Christ intended us to see it.  And you can no longer ignore the problem.
I thought I knew a lot about missions work before I came here...I was the first to rise to occasion when the words "Orphans" or "hunger"  was mentioned. But slowly, being humbled every step of the way, I'm learning that not only do I know nothing....but the majority of the work and "help" I was giving...may have caused more damage then good.


                                                .................What I'm Learning So Far...


When Helping Hurts
Being made in God’s image, human beings are inherently relational and have a divine responsibilities to the world that the Creator left in our care.  What exactly is our responsibility after we've prayed "the sinners prayer". When does the "taking up of the cross" start? <--- these questions and comments are nothing new of course. We've all seen cries for help and been apart of an incredible plan bigger then ourselves. But here's something you may not have considered before:
What exactly is poverty? and, Is it possible that we are all living in a state of poverty?


When the question was first asked---of course I said "no". Americans are not in a state of poverty, and its insane to even try to compare us to developing countries  such as South Africa or Haiti.
But once we took a look at what the bible would define "poverty" as, I was quickly corrected. 
Like mentioned above, Being made in God’s image, human beings are inherently relational. So when we work out of the perfect combination and order of relationship...we find ourselves "poor in spirit."....and can become physically poor.
A) Relationship with God – This is our primary relationship, the other 
three relationships flowing out of this one. The Westminster Shorter 
Catechism teaches that human beings’ primary purpose is ‘to glorify 
God and to enjoy Him forever.’ This is our calling, the ultimate reason 
for which we were created.  
B) Relationship with Self – People are uniquely created in the image of 
God and thus have inherent worth and dignity. 
C) Relationship with Others – God created us to live in loving 
relationship with one another. We are not islands! 
D) Relationship with the Rest of Creation – The ‘cultural mandate’ of 
Genesis 1:28-30 teaches that God created us to be stewards, people 
who understand, subdue, and manage the world that God has 
created in order to produce bounty. 

Obviously, America, the church, and my own community lack highly in some of these areas. 
How can I even comprehend the healing of others without fulling understanding what God's intentions for His people are. 
I think in a lot of ways we tend to think that as Americans, we are the solution to all the worlds problems, and if we hop on a plane with water bottles, food and a blue print for a sustainable water well, then we've successfully checked off all the "essentials" for the trip and we're good to go. This, however, is not the case. 


The Creator calling the creation.
Real needs vs. American needs
"Stop coming into MY community and assuming YOU are the answer to all the "alleged problems."
I mean, are we even asking the community if they want...or need a well? More often then not, the answer is, no. Although its a beautiful dream and desire to bring amazing ideas, like wells, to third world countries, and some times (often even) they do need the wells. (And I am definitely not bashing anyone who has ever or will ever build a well in Africa's desert lands.) Don't misunderstand....But here's what's happening; We never took the time to become apart of the community. We didn't do life with them, and therefore have no history of there values, culture, religious views, education, etc. How do we know that after the well is built and we leave, that they aren't doing some kind of animal sacrifice to their gods in the water that completely decontaminates it, doing (in the long run) more harm then it did good. (Yes, that's an actual example.)
Lets do life with our brothers and sisters. Lets learn from them as much as we've come to teach.
Let's start at the root of the problem; Their worth, their value...their relationship with God and His creation. Doing this....could take months....even years. You have to build their trust...and make their life your life, their dreams your dreams, their problems so real to you, that you seek a solution as a community, using the resources around you. Lets show them every side of Gods heart: Physical, Spiritual, Wisdom and Social. God got his hands dirty. But he also sought the heart out. Both must become essential on the mission field. People are the worlds greatest resource <--- God says so.
Lets humble ourselves and agree we know nothing and we are nothing.


The "4 P's" to the Mission field.
Prayer ---in everything
Passion---for the community you've dedicated your time to
Perseverance---Don't limit God with a time block....real results can take years...decades and we might only be the seed. We may never see the harvest.
Patience---Wait on God's timing. And understand that trust takes time and answers will be made in God's timing. America tends to want to microwave the world. We want results instantly. 


For a long time I've said "I want to be the hands and feet of Christ." And I do...but I want much more then just the hands and feet. I want the mouth, the mind and the heart. 



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