Mrs. Homeschool

If you want a book that will challenge how you view missions and charity work, I highly encourage you to check out “When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor…and Yourself” by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert.  My husband was given a copy of the book by a gentleman that visited our church a few weeks back.  It is an eye opening look at how flawed our views are of the poor and how this adversely affects them through the work we do in the name of “outreach”.

Part of the research done in preparation for the book was looking at how the poor view poverty.  The underlying theme in their comments (and the survey was taken by the poor in countries all around the globe) was they want to have a voice, want to be respected and need true hope.  Yes, many responses included parents who wished they had enough food to feed their hungry children, but oddly enough, they weren’t asking for handouts.

One of the things that really struck me was that so many churches and organizations take the “easy” way out when serving those that WE perceive to be in need.  We bring them Thanksgiving meals and Christmas meals.  We buy toys for their children at Christmas…toys that the parents could never afford to provide them.  We go into a community, clean it up, and wonder why, in a year’s time or so, nothing has changed in that community.

I’m not saying that we should not give to charity or be involved in missions or community outreach.  We DO need to really examine the core needs (not just the symptoms) and also examine our own HEARTS to see if we’re doing these acts of service to make ourselves feel more “holy” or as a response to our feelings of being “better” people than the poor we are reaching out to.

For myself, I know I’ve participated in lots of programs that just required a few dollars and minutes of my time and, afterward, had what I now believe to have been a false sense of pride in doing something good.
 
My husband’s cousin was going to be involved in a church outreach to a local Hispanic community by giving out light bulbs.  Not sure why they chose light bulbs, but it was obvious to him that the church was missing the mark.  The Hispanics look poor to the outreach team.  But these church members didn’t understand what a huge insult it would be to the men in the families to get a light bulb from the “rich, white folks” from the church up the road.

A trivial offering like that sends them a message that they can’t provide for their families.  They don’t “need” light bulbs.  They need respect as human beings and perhaps some help learning English, not charity.  Honestly, before this book, I likely would have participated in this type of outreach, but now I see these in a very different light.

One ministry/charity that I think is doing a good job of addressing the core needs of those they serve is Compassion International.  If you’re not familiar with them, they connect donors with children to sponsor in areas of the world where material and spiritual poverty are prevalent.  Compassion provides for some of the children’s physical/material needs, like providing school supplies, clothing and shoes, but they also address the spiritual and psychological needs of the children by sharing the Gospel with them and helping them gain an education and skills they need to break the poverty cycle.

The book also touches on the dangers of the “health and wealth gospel” that seems to preach that those who have “health and wealth” are more favored by the Lord than those who are sick and live in shacks made of cardboard boxes.  I can’t do justice to the story shared about the spiritually strong church that meets in the worst slums in Nairobi, Kenya, but my husband and I were both deeply moved by the spiritual giants that worship there.  Truly humbling.  Truly humbling.

So, what does this have to do with homeschooling?  I know most homeschool families try to consciously find ways to reach out to their communities to serve others.  We have flexible schedules and seem to have a good grasp of being part of something “bigger” than ourselves.  As for us, we’re looking for ways we can truly bless others without hurting them.  The top idea on our list is to start making regular visits to some of the senior citizen homes and spend time talking with the residents, having the children color pictures for them and reminding them that they haven’t been forgotten.  Over time, we hope to build relationships with them and teach our children that life is about more than doing little things here and there.  It’s about building relationships with those that need someone to listen to them and, as the Lord opens opportunities, share the Hope we have in our lives.

What are your thoughts?  Are there some ways you’ve reached out to others in a way that was truly effective in producing change? 

Here’s a link to a page with webinars on this topic.