AVERY WEST
Member Engagement Director
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Everyone agrees we should give to the poor. But the compelling question is why? 

A satisfactory answer requires more than the simple, “We should give because Christ tells us to.” While true, that stops short of prescribing how to give, leaving us with no further information about wise, effective giving. We must instead press deeper and ask, “For what purpose should I give to the poor?” 

The world provides a broad range of answers. For example, Effective Altruists say the purpose of giving is:

the “prevention or alleviation of suffering and premature death resulting from poverty and disease that affect the greatest number of people.” 

Others, such as liberation theologian Gustavo Guitierrez, claim Christians should desire:

“not only better living conditions, a radical change of structures, a social revolution; it is much more: the continuous creation, never-ending, of a new way to be a man…”

These modern definitions tend to emphasize the social end-product–that is, the type of world we’ll live in once charity is done correctly. Our Christian forefathers, on the other hand, focused on the spiritual benefit for the giver and the receiver in their discussions on almsgiving. 

Saint Thomas Aquinas was a seminal voice in that discussion. Known for concise but complete summaries of other theologians’ positions combined with convincing arguments for his own, his Summa Theologica (“Summary of Theology,” written in the 13th century) is a worthy place to find insights that can inform our understanding of true charity. 

In it, he parses complex ideas into smaller units that enable us to understand the whole. Drawing from my work with nonprofit and church leaders around the United States who work with the poor (the True Charity Network), I will suggest practical ways givers and ministry leaders can integrate Aquinas’ insights into their work.

In his section on charity, Aquinas summarizes the three purposes (or ends) of almsgiving:

The first (and most similar to many Americans’ instincts) is the alleviation of our neighbors’ needs. It’s important to note Aquinas understood such “works of mercy” as not only meeting physical needs such as food, drink, clothing, and shelter but spiritual needs for instruction, counsel, comfort, reproof, bearing with, and pardoning (ST II-II.32.2. corp.). That broader, more holistic understanding means poverty alleviation is complex and requires discernment, relationship, and time. 

Thus, from the high-capacity giver to the weekly tither, each individual should prayerfully discern which ministries will steward our gifts well. Extending our focus beyond outputs (i.e., how many pounds of food we give away) to outcomes (how many people maintained a job for six months) is a helpful way to determine whether our money is being used to achieve the impact God desires. True Charity’s free “Giving Guide” provides seven questions to think through as you determine how to best meet the needs of the poor. 

Charity leaders, on the other hand, can facilitate impactful giving by honestly evaluating their programs’ ability to help people thrive–and share those evaluations with donors. 

Aquinas’s second end of giving is the spiritual fruit it produces in the giver. That said, he makes clear the amount given is no measure of one’s love for God or their neighbor, as evidenced by the widow who gave two coins, yet “more than all” (Mark 12:41-44). One’s motive is the measure of value, for it is only “insofar as a man gives corporal alms out of love for God and his neighbor” (ST II.II.32.4. corp.) that his actions actually bear fruit. 

For Aquinas, almsgiving is a way of practicing the virtue of charity, or “the friendship of man for God” (ST II.II.23.1. corp.) This love of God actually “attains God,” meaning every act of love is an expression of the great truth that “it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me …” (Gal. 2:20). Thus we participate, however imperfectly, in the One who is Love”

Practically, this is a high bar for the giver: to allow God to love through him, and therefore participate in the very life of God with his act of giving. It requires abiding in Him (John 15:5) and denying ourselves (Phil. 2:1-8). As a start, we could consider how we interact with our neighbors when giving. Christ calls us to go beyond check-writing or even food-box packing. He calls us to deeply love our neighbors, which requires that we first know them. We should seek out opportunities to walk alongside them over time, share in their joys and sorrows, and in turn, allow them to share in ours. 

Organizations are desperate for volunteers willing to invest that amount of time and emotional energy. The Cornerstone Initiative in Huntsville, AL and Innermission in Hammond, IN offer six-month mentoring programs which facilitate real charity between participants and volunteers. Adding a mentoring component to an existing program (for example, a soup kitchen or church benevolence ministry) can be a great first step toward the development of organic, loving friendships among people in your community. 

Finally, Aquinas draws our attention to a third purpose in giving—one many modern poverty-alleviation groups overlook: spiritual fruit in the life of the receiver. He writes that almsgiving has this effect “inasmuch as our neighbor, who is succored [given relief] by a corporal alms, is moved to pray for his benefactor” (ST II.II.32.4. corp.). Put simply, receivers will be moved to pray for us when we give. (Aquinas mentions this effect in passing in another treatise, almost assuming that praying for the almsgiver is the norm). The best kind of charity will draw our neighbors in poverty toward the Lord as they go to Him in thanksgiving. For Aquinas, these prayers shouldn’t be a motivating factor for the giver, but rather are a final cause, an end, that should ideally occur.

How can we create a culture in which our poor neighbors are moved to pray for those who help? Mentoring creates friendships that can lend themselves to mutual prayer—though sometimes givers find it challenging to admit their struggles and ask for it. But this vulnerability is part of the true friendship God desires us to have with the poor. 

Ministries in which donors are separated from their recipients can create opportunities for recipients’ gratitude and prayers. Good Samaritan Health Centers in Gwinnett, GA, lets any client who receives a scholarship know who provided it. They’re given a card and encouraged to “take this postcard and write a thank you note so that we can send it to the donor.” Personalizing gifts in this way fosters gratitude and, hopefully, an overflow of prayer. In this way, receivers become true givers of prayers to our Lord who “hears the cry of the poor” (Psalm 34:28).

As we discern which ministries to support with our time and money, we should keep Aquinas’ insights in mind and ponder these questions:  (1) Does my giving alleviate the physical and spiritual needs of those I seek to serve? (2) Does it allow me to practice charity (i.e. the deepest form of love) toward God and neighbor? And finally, (3) Does it facilitate spiritual fruit (especially prayer) in the life of the receiver?

The organizations mentioned have built programs that not only meet the complex needs of the poor but facilitate the dignified receiving and giving relationship God wants for His people. As givers, we should carefully pray about our own purposes for giving, and choose to support ministries that accomplish them. In this way, our giving ceases to be transactional and instead becomes caritas—that is, graciousness empowered by the love of God and for others, without which our words would be nothing more than a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal (1 Corinthians 13:1).

 

 

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Jon Barrett

Executive Director of CVCCS
Guest Contributor

 

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In 2021, I had just assumed the role of the Executive Director of Conestoga Valley Christian Community Services in Lancaster, PA, when I was invited to a True Charity Foundations Workshop. I was skeptical about attending, partly because I felt I had a good handle on helping people in poverty, but also because I had never heard of True Charity.  

Thirty seconds into the first session, I was skeptical no more. 

I was also stunned.

I quickly came face-to-face with a convicting question: Was I really helping people? I learned my view of charity wasn’t very biblical–and that in my zeal to help others, I had harmed those I tried to help. By failing to use discernment, I was enabling people drowning in poverty to do nothing more than tread water. Instead, I should have been helping them permanently escape its rough waters. 

I was challenged to change how I approached charity and to adopt a different view of my role as the leader of a faith-based non-profit. I learned our clients needed transformational charity rooted in Jesus and the biblical concepts of affiliation, bonding, exchange, and freedom. When I returned home, I aligned my leadership strategy and our organization’s vision with the True Charity movement. We slowed down, focused less on numbers, and spent more time getting to know our clients.

There’s a catch, though. Relationships take time. They require meaningful conversations–which means listening intently, sharing stories, and establishing connections. It is NOT easy–and that makes going back to the old way of doing things very tempting.

This leads to a key question:  As charity leaders, how do we avoid that temptation and stay on the right path to true charity? It starts with godly, servant leadership– and David, king of Israel, teaches us at least three great lessons about what that looks like:

#1. Servant leadership is based on strength and courage that comes from cultivating a deep, abiding relationship with God.

 

David was FAR from perfect. Nevertheless, God called him a man after His own heart (1 Samuel 13:14) because, despite his weakness, David regularly found strength in his relationship with God (1 Sam. 30:1-6 is a great example).  

He knew the successor to his throne, his son, Solomon, would need the same thing. That’s why David told him to “… be strong therefore and prove yourself a man. And keep the charge of the Lord your God: to walk in His ways … that you may prosper in all that you do …” (1 Ki. 2:2-3) and “know the God of your father and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind …” (1 Chron. 28:9). Godly leadership must include God’s presence first!

#2. Servant leaders lead justly.

 

In the nonprofit world, making sure people are treated justly (or “as they ought to be treated”) is a common passion. David’s last words (found in 2 Samuel 23:1-4) show us what that looks like: 

Now these are the last words of David. Thus says David the son of Jesse; thus says the man raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel: “The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me, and His word was on my tongue. The God of Israel said, ‘The Rock of Israel spoke to me: He who rules over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. And he shall be like the light of the morning when the sun rises, a morning without clouds, like the tender grass springing out of the earth, by clear shining after rain.”’

Note God’s portrayal. Each description adds another dimension to being a just leader (I appreciate David Guzik for these insights): 

 

• “The son of Jesse” reminds us that David came from humble beginnings. Jesse was not a man of wealth, influence, or reputation. At times, David forgot that, and pride and selfishness took over. In each case, though, he humbled himself, went back to God, and “returned to his roots,” so to speak. 

• “The man raised up on high” shows us David was exalted by the King of the universe so that he could confidently function as the king of Israel.

• “The anointed of the God of Jacob.” David didn’t anoint himself nor was he anointed by man. He had a unique enablement from God.

• “The sweet psalmist of Israel.” God gave David a beautiful gift of eloquence and expression. This title reminds us of David’s deep inner life with Him.

Guzik continues ,“Ruling in the fear of the Lord is the key to justice in the work of a leader. When leaders rule in the fear of God, they recognize that a God of justice reviews their work and will require an accounting of how the ruler has led” (emphasis added). . . David reflected on how a wise ruler is blessed when he rules with justice. Though David’s reign was not perfect, it was blessed–and his reign is the one most identified with the reign of Jesus the Messiah.” 

#3. Servant leaders lead holistically.

 

David’s life shows he was a well-rounded leader. Here are five distinct traits that demonstrate what that looks like:

• Be yourself. David wrote psalms in different styles–which means he wasn’t afraid to be himself. We shouldn’t be, either.
• Wait. Despite his impulsiveness at times, David learned to wait for God to act. In Psalm 37:7, he says, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently.” Waiting involves trust. Impatient decisions are always the worst decisions, particularly when it comes to charity. Leaders must avoid being overrun by the frenzy of trying to meet every need.
• Cultivate love. David thirsted for God like a deer pants for water (Psalm 42:1-2a). When under pressure and surrounded by enemies, the one thing he asked was to dwell in the house of the Lord (Psalm 27:4)–that is, to be with the One he loved and who loved him. Cultivating love for others starts with our love for Jesus (Matt. 22:37-39).
• Rest. David allowed some of his men to rest even in the midst of a major battle (1 Samuel 30:9-10). If we don’t learn to rest in the Lord, we’ll suffer significant consequences that come from running on empty.
• Be careful. In 2 Samuel 11, we find David in Jerusalem when he should have been in battle with his men. In an idle moment, he saw Bathsheba bathing on her rooftop. Lust turned into adultery, adultery turned into murder, murder turned into a cover-up, and a cover-up turned into chaos (2 Samuel 12–20).

David’s life helps us remember the purpose of just leadership is to point others to the only place Jesus’ glory and transforming power is available: the Cross. It is only there that one finds everything necessary for true change in a lost and broken world.

 

JIM MORGAN

President of Meet the Need
Guest Contributor

 

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The Greatest of All identified Himself with the “least of these.” Jesus’ economy flips ours on its head – rich is poor, and poor is rich. He modeled healing and feeding to open ears before disclosing who He is (i.e., the Gospel). His parables of the Good Samaritan, Sheep and Goats, and Rich Man and Lazarus could even be misread to infer our eternal fate hinges on our response to poverty. Of course, we’re saved by God’s grace alone, but the implication is clear – no authentic Christ-follower will ignore the materially poor. 

For roughly 1,900 years, churches took those warnings seriously. Local churches were the food bank and homeless shelter – the first place the destitute turned to for help. The Church was the spiritual, social, and charitable “center of town” across the globe – integral and integrated. Even the word “charity,” derived from Old English, means “Christian love of one’s fellows.” Few disputed our right to speak up on issues of importance to a community or culture – in their eyes, we had earned the right to do so. Yet over the past century, churches gradually abdicated the front lines of poverty alleviation in America. The failed Social Gospel Movement and New Deal era sparked that transition, but another movement emerging over the past few decades accelerated the separation of compassion from evangelism – an insatiable appetite for church growth.

 

Prevailing ideas about church growth are incompatible with Jesus’ model for Kingdom growth. They encourage the attraction and retention of churchgoers, not the development and deployment of disciples. They treat congregations as “customers” rather than Kingdom employees (and my decade of Customer Relationship Management consulting taught me the value of properly defining and serving the right customer). They direct attention and resource allocation inward, not out, toward the real “customer” that every Christian should be pursuing – those in dire need of help and hope. Consequently, performance expectations have shifted, with members church hopping and shopping to find the best “experience.” Church has become centralized around a place and pastors, simply asking attendees to encourage friends to come next Sunday to hear the Gospel from a “professional.” Investing energy in the church is now our focus, not sending workers out to reach the lost. Churches can no longer demand “consumers” take personal responsibility for discipleship, compassion, and evangelism. However, if churches still viewed congregants as Kingdom “workers,” we would imitate companies and train them to be effective in their “mission fields.” 

The only way the Church in America can stem its decline in growth, impact, influence, and public perception is to abandon current church growth principles. No organization that targets the wrong customer or ignores its intended customer can succeed. The “safety net” in America for hundreds of years was not government programs but generous churches and Christians. Yet today, cynicism mounts each time we run seasonal “outreach” events that double as church advertising – then retreat back into our four walls, seemingly forgetting that those we served are still hungry and hurting after the holidays. As Christians, we won’t regain our voice in the marketplace of ideas until we resume sharing and demonstrating Jesus’ deep love for the poor – year-round. 

Assuming a church is its members, members are its Kingdom “employees,” and the unchurched are its biblical “customer,” here are 7 non-negotiables for church engagement in compassion:

 

1: Pray for the Lord to reveal the ideal opportunities, not just what’s expedient.

Prayer precedes Care and Share in Jesus’ model because the options and outcomes of our compassion and evangelism are in the Father’s hands. Too often, churches default to what’s most convenient – a service day at a popular local ministry or meal-packing event on the church campus. An externally focused church would assess pressing issues in its community and develop plans to address them collaboratively with other leaders. It would surrender its priorities and goals to the Lord’s revealed will for reaching the city.  Surrender entails risking members gaining exposure to ministries where they may feel called to devote time and resources. Surrender means seeking to maximize impact, even though that involves getting our hands dirty – walking alongside individuals and families as they plot and implement their own paths to a brighter future.

 

2: Treat those we’re helping as equals, not as the “rich helping the poor.”

Every human being suffers some form of poverty, whether it’s spiritual, psychological, relational, or financial. Maintaining awareness of our own shortcomings keeps us dependent on the grace of God. However, emphasis on church growth papers over some of our Christian duties by imagining the central focus of the church is to meet our personal needs. Once those needs are met, we’re conditioned to feel anything we do to serve deserves “extra credit.” This amplifies a sense of moral superiority to those we serve. On the contrary, the Bible teaches that poverty alleviation is a mandate, not a favor. Failure to do so is an expression of our own depravity. Learning to imitate Jesus in His humility as a servant and in how He treated everyone with dignity will require a level of personalized, intensive discipleship rarely found in American churches today.

 

3: Train members to share the Gospel powerfully and proactively.

Evangelistic responsibilities of churchgoers have essentially been reduced to testimonies and invitations. For the same reason companies lack the leverage to push customers too hard for referrals, churches no longer feel at liberty to ask members to do something most find extremely uncomfortable. Invitations to church absolve us of our personal responsibility for the Great Commission. Testimonies emphasize what Jesus did for “me” and associate the first part of my story (“who I was”) with the unredeemed listener. Greater church engagement in compassion would put more Christians in a position to share our faith, but we will repeat the mistakes of the Social Gospel Movement if we continue catering to the whims of churchgoers rather than challenging them to become disciples.

 

4: Build ongoing relationships because that’s the answer to poverty in all its forms.

The Chalmers Center and True Charity teach that material poverty originates through broken relationships (with God, His creation, ourselves, and others), and poverty ends when they’re repaired. The strength of relationships determines the effectiveness of interventions.  However, the success of church growth models depends on members and visitors coming back next Sunday. So most churches conduct occasional “outreach” events that require little time and few volunteers. Unfortunately, transactional compassion does more harm than good, building dependence and humiliating those in need of “handouts” to make it through the day. That’s why Meet the Need’s new Link2Hope platform builds sustainable circles of support around families, providing comfort in the knowledge they’re not alone and in the hope that is found only in Jesus. 

 

5: Deal with the underlying issues, not surface-level symptoms.

Only churches can address and restore all four broken relationships at the root of material poverty. Arms-length, sporadic events fail to take advantage of the unique position churches are in to heal the whole person – body, mind, affections, and will. For example, a new job fully leveraging our strengths and capabilities positively impacts our physical, mental, and emotional state. A pastor may counter that his church deals with the whole person and all four key relationships after people join the congregation, but that reflects a failure to recognize those outside the church as the true “customers” in need of healing.  

  

6: Test intentions to make sure compassion isn’t advertising or “checking the box.”

If members are treated as “customers,” then local mission activities are likely for them, not for the (materially) poor. Growth-oriented churches hijacked the words “outreach” and “ministry” due to the tremendous manpower needed to sustain operations. “Outreach” now implies advertising, and “ministry” refers primarily to internal “church chores.” The design of initiatives reveals the heart behind them – their proximity, duration, budget, and metrics indicate the sincerity of a church’s commitment to poverty alleviation. Significant expenditures aimed at moving the needle over a long period in unity with partners without announcing it to the world likely means the church is more about Kingdom growth than organizational growth.

 

7: Mobilize members into personal ministry in their neighborhoods and workplaces.

Waiting for the next church-sponsored event to serve or inviting people to church to hear the Gospel won’t reach the many coworkers, neighbors, family, and friends within each member’s circles of influence unwilling to be part of a church body. That’s why no one is exempt from GC3 – the Great Commandment, Great Commission, and Great Calling. Our lack of focus on personal discipleship, compassion, and evangelism was exposed during COVID-19. Even long-time, faithful churchgoers were unprepared to be “pastors” of their neighborhoods, missing countless opportunities to be the personification of the Church when the building’s doors were closed.

All flourishing organizations evaluate employee performance based on customer satisfaction, but dominant narratives of church growth measure the performance of the wrong “employees” and the satisfaction of the wrong “customers.” We’ve asked too much of the church “professionals” and too little of the members. In the end, refocusing our efforts on discipling members to reach the hurting in our communities is a better strategy to expand the Kingdom of God. Compassion evangelism done well is how the Church took the ancient world by storm, and it’s the blueprint for revival today.

 

 

 

As a former Investment Banker on Wall Street and as a Management Consultant to Fortune 500 companies, Jim felt like he needed to be spending more time serving God and helping others. Jim realized that the same solutions he was helping companies implement could be used to help others find opportunities to reach out to those in need.  Meet The Need was founded (and incorporated, as a non-profit) in 2001 and is the realization of Jim’s vision, providing a unique and innovative way to leverage leading-edge business technology to enable churches, ministries and individuals to reach out to those in need in their local communities or anywhere in the world.

 

FROM THE TRUE CHARITY TEAM: We appreciate the perspective of our knowledgeable guest contributors. However, their opinions are their own, and do not necessarily represent positions of True Charity in all respects.

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BETHANY HERRON
Instructional Designer
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I wasn’t sure when I would be ready to write this article, if ever. You see, in October of 2021, I sat beside my mother and watched as machines kept her broken body alive. In tears, I sat for days, repenting of all the years I pushed her away in the name of leaving and cleaving, begging her to wake up so she could move closer to us like she always wanted. After a month on life support, she went to be with the Lord at 67, never having met her 4-month-old grandson, Hank, in person. 

Though God is the one who numbers our days, I can’t help but wonder how an understanding of True Charity principles could have changed my story. And I show up to work every day because I believe that by the grace of God, it can change the stories of those you serve. 

Let’s rewind ten years to high school. Years of family trauma had hardened my heart and dampened my relationships with my parents. As a teenager, I lived with my mom while my dad fought hard against his addiction to drugs and alcohol. Meanwhile, I watched my mom fight her own battles against government dependency and poor financial choices. I had a deep love for my family mixed with a desire to escape and live differently. 

I married my amazing, godly husband the week after graduating college – a sigh of relief entered my heart as I thought, “You’re doing it. You’re choosing a different path.” 

Quickly, I realized that my mother would try her hardest to follow me on that path. So, I kept her at arm’s distance. She tried on and off for eight years to move closer to my family, and for eight years, I said, “Not yet.” 

I convinced myself we weren’t financially ready to handle her lack of responsibility, and she didn’t need us yet, all while ignoring the whisper of Scripture, “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

I didn’t realize that she wanted a different path too, and after years of me dampening the flame of hope, she had all but given up on living a different life. I didn’t realize that my mother was living in poverty – physically and relationally – and she no longer trusted me enough to admit she was struggling. 

During my first few months on the True Charity team, I sat quietly in shame as the Lord deepened my understanding of our call to care for the least of these – especially those within my own family. 

I fully believe our story could’ve been different. Here are three things that I believe can change the narrative of not only those you serve but of their entire families: 

 

1.  Encourage natural affiliations whenever possible. 

Broken relationships are painful, and it’s easy to run instead of restore. 

Broken relationships are prevalent throughout all of creation. You have an amazing opportunity to encourage the restoration of family relationships – if and when it is possible for those relationships to be healthy. Not only are individuals hurting, but their family likely is as well. Consequently, many family members do not recognize their biblical responsibility to care for those within their families (1 Timothy 5:8).

Get used to asking, “Where is your family?” and be prepared to dive into the messiness 

the comes with family relationships. 

 

2.  Restore hope through achievable goals. 

Many individuals can’t think past their current situation. They are defeated and don’t know that a flourishing life is possible. In short, hope is lost. Their poverty reaches far beyond a material need. 

Creating achievable goals can restore hope in the lives of those we serve. As 

created beings, made in the Image of God, we were made for a purpose. Work and 

productivity were given as a blessing before the fall of man. Therefore, work tends 

to awaken worth in an individual. 

Create goals. Empower them to reach them. Encourage dependency on Christ. Surround them with family support. Restore hope. 

 

3.  Help restored families establish boundaries.

Trust has been broken in many of these families. Families are afraid to be taken advantage of. They may also fear creating unhealthy dependency instead of empowering support. 

Working with restored families to create solid boundaries can help ensure healthy connections. Boundaries exist for the good of both parties involved, as family demonstrates trust in an individual, and that individual is held to high expectations. Boundaries work to restore healthy bonds for both parties. 

 

I encourage you to continue practicing True Charity principles. Together, we can work to change the stories of those we serve through the restoration of relationships. 

 

 

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“Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw…”

These words are found in one of the most quoted encounters of Jesus’ ministry. His encounter with the “woman at the well” has been a go-to passage for many a preacher and Sunday school teacher. Found in Chapter 4 of the Gospel of John, this beautiful story of redemption demonstrates the lengths to which Jesus will go to reach those around us living in this broken world. This woman and Jesus’ response and engagement with her prove to be a tremendous example of the discernment required to effectively minister to those in need. Not just “anything helps,” as many signs of those on street corners read; there is an actual underlying need that must ultimately be addressed.

John the Apostle tells of Jesus’ encounter with this woman from Samaria at Jacob’s well. The early parts of the account give us some insight into the mental, societal, and emotional status of this unnamed Samaritan woman. It simply says, “It was about the sixth hour. There came a woman of Samaria to draw water.  Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink.’” 

In Jewish thought, the day began at 6:00 a.m., and the 6th hour would be noon to us. This woman had chosen to come and draw water at the primary water source in the middle of the hottest part of the day. One can assume that either she had terrible timing or (more likely) she was doing what every “normal” person would have done early in the morning at a time when she would be alone, hidden from the expectations and judgments of others. We will find out later that this woman was not living a life of honor but of unchastity, shame, and guilt.

Her meeting Jesus in the middle of the day was the last thing she was expecting—as in the same way God has shown up for so many of us. We encounter Him in the middle of our shameful life when we least expect it. How Jesus interacts with her becomes a beautiful picture of God’s grace and reveals the Father’s desire for true and spiritual worshipers. But for those of us “doing” ministry on a day-to-day basis, it can also be a blueprint for how we handle the everyday encounters with those in need.

As Jesus asks this woman for a drink, it sets into motion a discussion that will touch on everything from societal prejudice, religious customs, eschatological expectations, true and false worship, living conditions, and ultimately the promise of a spiritual relationship with the True God.  She approaches Jesus with a “natural” mindset and a fixation on her perceived need, primarily resulting in a myopic obsession with solving the “everyday” issues of her life. She immediately sees 

1. He’s not supposed to talk to me: “You being a Jew…and I am a Samaritan woman” (v. 9)
2. He has “nothing to draw with and the well is deep” (v. 11)  
3. He is just a man and “not greater than our father Jacob…who gave us the well” (v. 12)

Everything about her perception is earthly and steeped in the natural. Jesus engages her spiritually and says, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give me a drink’ you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water” (v. 10).  Here He begins speaking to her and interacting at a completely different level than she is likely used to. This is seen clearly when her response is all about her natural, superficial needs. The woman said to Him, “Sir give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw” (v. 15). She wanted her circumstances to change! She wanted the burden of life to be eased and her responsibilities to be lifted. Her hopes were that this man could make her life easier. Her perceived need was for a better or easier existence, and this man sounded like a possible way of receiving her perceived need.  

This becomes the exact moment where Jesus models a better way of helping: He shifts the entire conversation away from her perceived need and exposes her actual need. He says to her, “Go, call your husband” (v. 17), and this simple charge unlocks the reality of a life lived in disobedience to God’s commands and exposes a pattern of shame and brokenness that has plagued the Samaritan woman for years. His prophetic insight brings this woman into a place of humility and lays bare the truth that her perceived need was not her greatest need. She was in need of something greater.  In fact, she was in need of Someone greater. She needed Jesus.  

During this encounter, the woman does what most of us do. She deflects, waxes theological, and begins debating and excusing away her culture, life, and existence in it. But Jesus avoids following the rabbit trail. He loves her enough to continually reveal her true need. She needed Him. Later in the account, the woman says to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming, he who is called Christ; when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.” Jesus responds to her, “I who speak to you am He.” 

Many of us spend our lives serving and ministering to people. They are often distraught, hurting, financially ruined, and emotionally broken. They come from every kind of experience and from every walk of life and always carry with them a sense of perceived need. We have to approach conversations with this mindset so that those to whom we’re ministering can come to this realization. Let’s pray for the Holy Spirit to lead us with discernment and help us reveal to those we serve their actual need: Jesus!

For all those faithfully serving Jesus and others, my prayer for you today is Galatians 6:9: Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.

In a world filled with people who have great needs, let’s never forget that their greatest need is Jesus.

 

FROM THE TRUE CHARITY TEAM: We appreciate the perspective of our knowledgeable guest contributors. However, their opinions are their own, and do not necessarily represent positions of True Charity in all respects.

 

 

 

The working poor face a variety of challenges in attempting to escape poverty, but none is quite as mind boggling or discouraging as the disincentives to work that are ingrained in our country’s poverty relief programs.

At our organization, we call these “benefits cliffs,” points where minimal pay increases can lead to the loss of thousands of dollars in benefits. Our modeling of the problem in a dozen states – representing more than a third of the US population – shows us that the problem exists in many of the largest welfare programs and is made worse when a family is enrolled in multiple programs.

To make matters worse, for those receiving benefits, it’s not an easy thing to determine when they are likely to fall off a benefits cliff. Instead, it’s a bit of a guessing game that results in many recipients giving up working hours, pay increases, or promotions simply to avoid the possibility of a catastrophic loss in benefits.

If, like us, you counsel clients who are receiving benefits (or are eligible to receive them) and trying to earn enough to escape poverty, you probably wonder if there is anything you can do to help them better deal with the disincentives in the system. While there is no single solution or approach that works, what follows are some things you can do to equip your clients to make an informed decision and, hopefully, set the stage for reforming the system.

 

1: Knowledge is power

If your state is in our platform, you can use it to help your clients figure out when they are likely to hit cliffs and plan accordingly as they earn more money. To sign up, visit benefitscliffs.org/sign-up.

 

2: Find Alternatives

If you’re working with clients not already receiving welfare benefits, now is the time to see if there are other ways to provide help. In many communities, there are charities that can help with short- and long-term needs but without the negative incentives of the government system. Remember, once someone is receiving welfare benefits, it becomes very difficult financially – though not impossible – for them to leave the system.

 

3: Work First at Every Turn

For clients who are work-capable (and most are), promoting and helping them to find work is the most loving thing you can do. Work not only provides income, it offers dignity that comes from self-sufficiency—and much more. Work allows all of us to express our creative nature as God’s image-bearers. It allows us to serve the needs of others, can give us purpose, and helps us build social networks that make us resilient. If your organization serves emergency needs, consider partnering with an organization that can help your clients find employment. GCO’s Better Work team has helpful tips for doing this well. 

 

4: Plan for Raises and Negotiate

For working clients receiving benefits, the benefits cliffs model can help you see when the client will hit one or more cliffs as they earn more money through work. Depending on your client’s situation (family structure, etc.), the cliffs they face may be dramatic and costly, but not all are. Some cliffs are small enough that receiving a slightly higher raise can help a client leapfrog a particular cliff. If armed with this knowledge, it could provide clients with the information and incentive they need to ask their employer for more. For most employers, a slightly higher raise is far better than the costs associated with losing a good employee.

 

5: Benefits Can Make a Difference

The loss of childcare (CCAPs) and Medicaid benefits are two of the programs most commonly lost by welfare recipients as they earn additional income. Given the cost and importance of childcare and healthcare, it’s no surprise they are also the most difficult welfare benefits to give up. 

For clients with the looming loss of these welfare benefits, a strategy that points clients to employers offering childcare or healthcare benefits (or both) can help eliminate the impact of the client losing these welfare programs and allow them to continue moving up the pay scale. In the case of childcare benefits, it is also important to note that federal tax credits (and similar credits in many states) may exist to offset the cost of employer-provided childcare assistance.

 

6: Escape the System

There are numerous private and public options that provide workforce development  designed to help workers obtain training and certifications for high-demand industries. Right now, those jobs include many good-paying positions in healthcare, IT, logistics, and construction among others. Many programs will pay for the certifications and training needed to enter these fields and many of the certifications can be achieved in weeks or a few months. The best news is that most of these positions pay starting wages that make welfare unnecessary.

 

7: Become an Advocate for Reform

While the suggestions above can help your clients minimize the negative effects of the benefits cliffs, none solve the problem entirely. For that to happen, we need our state and federal leaders to understand the scope of the problem and hear our collective demands for reform. Some reforms can begin at the state level, but some must come from the federal government. If you want to learn more about our state and federal reform ideas, email me at ericc@foropportunity.org or download a summary of our suggestions here.

 

Eric Cochling is the Chief Program Officer and General Counsel for the Georgia Center for Opportunity, a True Charity member organization.

 

FROM THE TRUE CHARITY TEAM: We appreciate the perspective of our knowledgeable guest contributors. However, their opinions are their own, and do not necessarily represent positions of True Charity in all respects.

 

 

 

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This article was originally published in WORLD Magazine on September 22, 2022.

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Imagine a game of musical chairs, with one of the contestants on crutches. As 10 people scramble for nine chairs, the player on crutches will doubtless be left standing. That vulnerability, however, isn’t the “root cause” of the player’s chairlessness, because if the room had 10 chairs, his crutches would be irrelevant.

Housing scholar Gregg Colburn and data journalist Clayton Aldern use this metaphor in their trailblazing new book Homelessness Is a Housing Problem (University of California Press, 2022) to illustrate their main argument. They write that in discussions about homelessness, vulnerabilities like addiction and domestic abuse are a distraction from the fact that there simply isn’t enough affordable housing to go around.

The argument that homelessness is merely a side effect of expensive rent is alluring. Unfortunately, the authors, though good at crunching numbers, are bad at drawing conclusions.

Colburn and Aldern do not reject the idea that poverty, divorce, mental health, and substance abuse precipitate many instances of homelessness. However, they argue that regional ­variations in homelessness are most strongly associated with regional ­variations in housing prices.

For example, San Francisco and Chicago are both Democrat-governed cities with comparable rates of mental health and addiction issues. San Francisco, however, has five times the level of homelessness. The main difference is housing prices. Colburn and Aldern claim that while individual vulnerabilities matter, high housing prices are a requirement for homelessness.

While their data certainly adds to the conversation, their conclusion overreaches on two levels.

First, they conflate variation in homelessness with absolute amounts of homelessness, overlooking the fact that even places with low home prices retain significant homelessness. In my own state of Missouri, rental prices are the second lowest in the nation—44 percent less than the national average. Yet, homelessness still exists, and at the 28th-highest level by state.

Second, they define the problem in a way that is so reductionist that it becomes misleading. The word homeless is functionally a euphemism for a person who not only lacks a home but also has myriad other problems. This is often the case with euphemism; the label only refers to a small element of the implied concept. If a contractor gives you a bid to build a “bathroom,” you will expect that he plans to install a toilet as a part of the package. If Colburn and Aldern have a solution to “homelessness,” the inference is that they will provide the formerly homeless with an improved life.

But among the chronically homeless, 60 percent have mental health problems, 80 percent are addicted, and up to 75 percent have health problems. Colburn and Aldern sidestep these associated issues and provide no reason to believe housing will fix them.

“Jimmy,” a man at my local shelter, is a typical example of a “homeless” person. Beginning at 3 years old, he was a victim of prolonged sexual abuse. He started using meth to make his nightmares go away, but it soon took everything else away as well. Jimmy was not just homeless; he was also jobless, friendless, addicted, and suicidal.

Jimmy needs more than a house. He needs a physical, psychological, social, and spiritual intervention, led by people who genuinely care about him.

Colburn and Aldern are right that Jimmy needs to live in a society where necessities like housing are within reach if he works full time. The special interest policies that prevent the building of new housing in order to elevate home prices for existing owners are repugnant, and the authors deserve credit for drawing attention to this fact.

But the authors fail to realize that homelessness is a problem with a wide variety of causes. Thus, a magical cure-all for homelessness will continue to elude the brightest minds of our era.

 

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