Charity, Grace, Redemption
-- Matthew 25:40
I spent a couple of hours this morning at our church's Missions Office interviewing people who were requesting financial assistance for various needs in their lives. This is a new experience for me -- this was my second assigned meeting time and my first time to lead the interviews -- and I'm dealing with a variety of different emotions and reactions.
First is a feeling of inadequacy. Who am I to decide whether or not someone who is asking for rent money is telling the truth about their situation? How can I assess if we're helping the situation or simply enabling people to avoid the consequences of their bad decisions? Lord, grant me wisdom and discernment.
Second is sadness at seeing the difficult realities of life. It's been a long time since $20 made a difference in my lifestyle, but there are people all around us for whom pocket change may mean the difference between eating today or waiting until tomorrow. Lord, give me a generous spirit.
Third is gratitude for a church who makes benevolence a priority, and not just with lip service. Our earmarked funds for these purposes is measured in the thousands of dollars per week. Lord, let me not forget your tender mercies that are renewed morning by morning.
Fourth is joy at being able to tell a single woman who is nine months pregnant that she and her new son (who will be born later today) can stay in her apartment for another month because we will pay her rent. It's hard to see how that could be a bad decision; if we err, we're going to err on the side of generosity. Lord, give me a soft heart and take away my pride.
Fifth is the awesome feeling of being able to talk openly to these people about their spiritual condition, after we've finished talking about their physical needs. (We do it after so that they don't feel any pressure to give the "right" answers, thinking that's how they qualify for our help.) There's not a single problem we (or they) encounter for which God will not provide the solution. Lord, please accept the praise of my heart.
Sixth is...well, I'm back to frustration again, and sadness. It's so easy for us to perceive the bad decisions that people have made. A young woman has three young children by three different men, none of whom she's married and none of whom are now in her life. A man can't pay his electric bill because he's got a $350 a month car payment. And those are the easy examples. We try to counsel them, gently, non-judgmentally, offering concrete alternatives to consider (not just, "you've got to get your act together!"). And almost universally they'll nod in fervent agreement...but you know -- somehow you just know -- that when they walk out the door, nothing is going to change. Lord, let me see others through your eyes.
OK, it's not our job to change people, or to change their hearts. I don't think we could do it even if it was our job. Only God can do that, and the best we can hope for is that we've either pointed them to Him, or modeled Him and His love in the way we've treated them and spoken with them and prayed for them.
A man I respect greatly always reminds me that God's purposes are redemptive. There's great hope in that realization. My prayer is that we're not only giving money to people in need, but we're bringing that hope to life for them.
Lord, whatever I do...whatever I say...let it be to your glory. Amen.
Good point, Rach. We're not all called to the same kind of ministry, are we? But this is one where a team approach is helpful. You need someone with a slightly skeptical attitude, and who is ideally teamed with a tender-hearted person, and hopefully the two of them will be able to work to the right decisions. We always try to conduct the interviews in pairs for this reason, even though it's probably a little intimidating to the interviewee.
Posted by: Eric at March 7, 2006 10:25 PMGratitude is a very healing feeling. Gratitude that we are able to help someone else, and gratitude that we, ourselves, are not in the situation that brings those people in for help.
This is an interesting topic for me today. I get an odd feeling when the church that we attend [and another in which I grew up] solicit aid for "mission trips" to various and diverse areas outside of Midland. I want to stand up and say.....go Southeast about 1-2 miles....there are a mulitude of people in our own town who could use the help. Granted these churches do much here....but more could be done, and needs to be done locally.
Posted by: Wallace-Midland, Texas at March 7, 2006 10:40 PMWallace, you raise an interesting point, one that's been debated through the centuries, I'm sure. My feeling is that Jesus empowered His Church to do both. Read Acts 1:8, where He talks about doing local, regional and international ministry. But you're right; there are cases where one kind of ministry is done to the exclusion of the others. The hope is that it all kind of balances out in the overall scheme of things.
I can tell you (and you already know this), Midland has an amazing number of effective and generous ministries at work within the city limits, of all denominations (and some of no denomination). It's also got a pretty effective cross-checking database that helps to ensure that those who would try to abuse the system aren't successful...an unfortunate necessity.
Posted by: Eric at March 7, 2006 10:49 PMGreat, great post, Eric! And as Wallace points out, it is filled with gratitude, for it is gratitude that makes people truly happy. You've gotta know that the folks you have helped are feeling a great deal of it about now, especially the new mother! And it is with gratitude that they can move closer to God and He can guide them towards making better choices in the future. There is such a fine line between helping and enabling. I can imagine the struggle that imposes on you, the interviewers. That's wonderful that your church does this in such a structured (planned and budgeted) manner. I do sometimes think that we fail to help our neighbors before we rush off to the likes of Guatamala (although there is certainly good in that too). Thanks for the inspiration. :-)
Posted by: Gwynne at March 7, 2006 10:57 PMif we err, we're going to err on the side of generosity.
Isn't that the way Jesus would want it? Great words, guy.
Posted by: bryan at March 8, 2006 06:04 AMGod bless you for not judging these people who have fallen on hard times. My parents were in charge of a ministry in Lubbock, and often you do get taken advantage of, but as long as your heart is right, that is all that matters to the Lord. You planted seeds that you may not water, but someone else will.
Wow, what a cool thing to be part of, Eric! Finances are a definite "hot potato" in any organization. I really like the idea that you guys rotate the responsibility for dispersing the funds. It keeps any one person from burning out on such a tough task. And it's also a great idea to have 2 of you doing the work together. That way, no one can point a finger at one of you and say that you took too much power. It sounds like you all are making all the right moves in what can be a really delicate mission.
Posted by: Deb Thompson at March 8, 2006 09:52 AMMy parents were in charge of a ministry in Lubbock...
I can't imagine doing this day-in, day-out. The stress must be overwhelming. I guess you have to rely on God, because there's absolutely no other way to cope with it.
Maybe that's why we don't hear about any worldwide atheistic benevolence associations. ;-)
Deb, I doubt very seriously that we're "making all the right moves" in reality, given our inherent human frailties, but God's grace covers missteps of all kinds. I do agree that the process itself appears to be sound, and there are a number of safeguards built in that offer some protection of all parties against mistakes and abuse. And when you envelop all of that with continual prayer, good things are going to happen!
Posted by: Eric at March 8, 2006 04:54 PMEric - You echoed my feelings from my days on the Bene Committee. Do it as unto the LORD. He'll sort 'em out. Blessings to Deb too . . . for putting up with you.
Posted by: don poage at March 9, 2006 11:45 AMDon, thanks for stopping by.
"Bad Jesse"?
Posted by: Eric at March 9, 2006 12:48 PMAbout the publisher
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"...the flower fades..."
Finding meaning in random events
Random Thursday: The Thanksgiving Edition
A Matter of Perception
Reason #21 to wear shoes in West Texas
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Wow! I'm glad that you are doing that job and not me! I'd have a hard time saying no too. Proves we are all made for different jobs within the body! Great post Eric!
Posted by: Rachel at March 7, 2006 10:07 PM