I can only speak within an American context. I was heavily involved in my local “Christianity/Church” affiliated homeless shelters/care programs and after a couple years walked away from it. We were not helping the poor, but rather enabling a subset of people’s irresponsible lifestyles. I would like to know what the definition of poor is…
I can only speak within an American context. I was heavily involved in my local “Christianity/Church” affiliated homeless shelters/care programs and after a couple years walked away from it. We were not helping the poor, but rather enabling a subset of people’s irresponsible lifestyles. I would like to know what the definition of poor is, in relation to being in the United States. I delivered boxes of food to families in the projects that were in possession of nicer cars, televisions and cellphones than what I had at the time.
I saw “Christian” agencies being soft on drugs and alcohol. The list goes on.
Are we scripturally called to care for the poor? 100%. How to do that in the world’s most affluent country, where our poor are rich compared to the rest of the world, is a quandary.
I definitely think there is a way to do it that puts relationships ahead of everything else. All help is contingent upon relational engagement. I know that flies in the face of some scripture, but it seems to me that continuing to enable lifestyles of extreme moral decadence is also a problem, scripturally speaking. We have to figure things out. We have to care for the poor, but that care has to be conditioned by actual affairs on the ground. To continue helping the poor in America as though they are the same as the poor in the developing world is tone deaf and will continue to do more harm than good.
I can only speak within an American context. I was heavily involved in my local “Christianity/Church” affiliated homeless shelters/care programs and after a couple years walked away from it. We were not helping the poor, but rather enabling a subset of people’s irresponsible lifestyles. I would like to know what the definition of poor is, in relation to being in the United States. I delivered boxes of food to families in the projects that were in possession of nicer cars, televisions and cellphones than what I had at the time.
I saw “Christian” agencies being soft on drugs and alcohol. The list goes on.
Are we scripturally called to care for the poor? 100%. How to do that in the world’s most affluent country, where our poor are rich compared to the rest of the world, is a quandary.
I definitely think there is a way to do it that puts relationships ahead of everything else. All help is contingent upon relational engagement. I know that flies in the face of some scripture, but it seems to me that continuing to enable lifestyles of extreme moral decadence is also a problem, scripturally speaking. We have to figure things out. We have to care for the poor, but that care has to be conditioned by actual affairs on the ground. To continue helping the poor in America as though they are the same as the poor in the developing world is tone deaf and will continue to do more harm than good.