Commerce Over Charity
Not too long ago, our T.V. screens flashed images of bloated-bellied African children. Emotion-filled voices pleaded for donations to save them from starvation. Either those ads stopped working or the situation has improved. Probably a little of both. Over the last 20 years, the number of children dying each day from malnutrition and preventable disease has dropped from 33,000 to about 19,000. Before you relax, remember…that’s an NBA arena full of kids under 5 years old dying every single day. Imagine the headlines if a sold-out Phillips Arena or Boston Gardens collapsed and killed everyone inside. That many kids die every day.
As a Jesus-follower, I want to do something. These are helpless kids. The poorest of the poor. The ‘least of these’.
So I do what most of us do. I write checks. Those checks, written by people like you and me in the developed world, have totaled over $1 trillion over the last 50 years.
Writes Bob Lupton…
“Intended to save lives, to cure diseases, bolster struggling economies, and stimulate productivity, these streams of charity flowing in from prosperous nations around the globe have produced the opposite effects. Productivity has declined, corruption has increased, survival stress perpetually erupts in violence, millions have died…Not only does aid foment political instability and corruption, it discourages free enterprise- like the African mosquito-netting manufacturer who was put out of business by well-meaning charities that handed out millions of free nets.”1
Then along comes David Platt with his book Radical.2 He takes our prosperity and smashes our face with it. I heard him say this (not an exact quote), “Years from now, this generation will look back and see that we had a huge ‘blind spot’ when it comes to our affluence and the world’s poverty…..a ‘blind spot’ that will make the one Christians had regarding slavery look miniscule.” My gut says he’s right.
So, what do we do?
1. Read Bob Lupton’s book Toxic Charity . It’ll broaden your perspective. And Bob’s on the front lines here, not some twice-removed dude second-guessing everybody. He’s put his life where his mouth is, and has done it for decades.
2. Sort giving opportunities into charity and ministry and support some of both. On the charity side, support those involved in meeting the most basic of human needs. For example, Charity Water is singularly focused on getting clean water to people. That’s not creating dependency, that’s meeting a critical need that cuts sickness and death & frees up manpower for productivity and not just survival. There are others.
3. Carefully and prayerfully get personally and financially committed to ONE ministry to the poor. Pick a ministry that has a model for long term sustainability that involves commerce. Go there. Meet the people face to face, both the helpers and those being helped. Walk around. Have real conversations. If it’s off-shore, you may be the one who uncovers the entrepreneurial opportunity to create jobs and sustainability… the ‘economic engine’ for the whole community.
Lupton again….
“For disadvantaged people to flourish into their full, God-given potential, they must leave behind dependencies that impede their growth. Initiatives that thwart their development, though rightly motivated, must be restructured to reinforce self-sufficiency if they are to become agents of lasting and positive change”.
1. Toxic Charity, Robert D. Lupton, Harper One, 2011
2. Radical, David Platt, Multnomah, 2010
Question: Will you ‘plug in’ somewhere? Will you be about our Father’s business? Will you ‘do for one what you wish you could do for everyone’? Tell us about it here.
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Responses (5)
Reggie I’ve been supporting Food For the Poor because they actually help build ways to help the poor do sustainable things, like farm equipment , fishing boats etc. I hope I’m doing the right thing. If you know otherwise concerning this organization please let me know.
Patrick
I don’t know anything about Food for the Poor. I’m trying to hone some ‘principles’ to apply as I consider these opportunities to help.
Looks like Bono has been following the blog.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/parmyolson/2012/10/22/bonos-humbling-realizations-about-aid-capitalism-and-nerds/
I think one big blind spot is that Islam has been very effective winning converts by using charity to build up poor 3rd world communities.
You’re right about Islam. I’ve heard of massive amounts of money flowing from the Muslim countries, buying favor with corrupt leaders in developing nations. Scary.
I reccomend World Vision. An organization that meets basic, immediate needs and builds self sufficient communities.
The founder Bob Pierce once said “Love spoken of is easily dismissed, love demonstrated is irresistable”
I just finished reading Radical and the Lord is using it to redirect my life and priorities.