Charity
"So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God, but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us." -1 Thessalonians 2:8
I have this problem with charity. It all started when opened The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne on the Aeroflot plane from Moscow to Mineralnye Vody. (This book was recommended to me by a wonderful friend, and I in turn suggest it to you.)
But anyway, I'll admit these thought are not fully mine, as they originate for me in Claiborne's book, and his life really. But I think charity is like a hermit crab shell without a hermit crab in it. You know? What is charity for? Usually in Western culture, charity organizations are big groups of people who sell t-shirts and mugs and mouse pads with their logo on them, advertising some great cause like "solving world hunger" or "fixing the world water problem" or "converting teen moms to Christianity." I mean, I don't mean to belittle what those organizations do, because they are changing a lot of lives, but I would like to pose some questions.
Could it get any more abstract than "feeding starving children," or some of the other goals of these huge non-profits? And who invented charity? Because charity as we know it here today has not always been around, even though we all know the poor and needy have. And when Jesus said to care for the orphans and widows, he wasn't using words or actions indicating he meant "give money to World Vision." I know I might be stepping on some toes here, and I want to stop and say I am not against these non-profits at all. I give money to World Vision too. But what I'm saying is that we have started, in Western culture, to replace love with vague charity. It is rare that we have faces and stories and actual feelings behind our giving. It is rare that we know where exactly - I mean, exactly - our charity money is going.
This never bothered me before I went to Russia this summer. And the sad thing is, it wasn't my first time out of the country, and it wasn't my first time there. I met those people 5 years ago. But until I lived with them I didn't get it.
There ARE faces and lives and tears and sweat behind the numbers. The statistics of pain, hunger, thirst, etc, are hard to wrap our minds around, and (I think because) those statistics are impersonal. We know that. But we are Americans and we understand things in statistics, in numbers, in big words explaining our ideas on how to solve the problems. We don't understand things in terms of individual people's hearts because we don't know people's hearts. We don't know people's hearts in our own society, much less outside of it. We are trained to think in numbers.
I hope you can all disagree with me and tell me I've been living in a different American than you, but I have a feeling that's not the case. Think about it. Think about your favorite charity or cause, because almost everyone has one. Do you personally know anyone being helped by that charity? Has that ever bothered you?
Here's what I challenge myself to, and I want to challenge you as well. Go find them.
Go find the people that you have a heart for. Let God show you where your passion is - what part of the world, what medium, what problem, what solution stirs you up to action. Go somewhere and listen to people's stories. I did that this summer and it was the hardest summer of my life. But I'll never be the same. And when I think about them, I don't think about charity organizations anymore. I think, "Lianna needs a pair of shoes. I can ship some to her." I think, "Alesia's baby girl is probably so big. I wonder if she is still having health problems and needs money for medicine." I think, "I bet Inna would love a working stove. Maybe I can help her."
I may be wrong, but I think these are the sorts of things Jesus was talking about when he said to care for people.
What if "the poor will always be among you" was a charge instead of a description? Maybe Jesus was telling us we are His church, and part of the church's calling is to have the poor always among them. Serving and helping and giving and loving the poor in our lives, not just the poor we have read about a time or two. And like 1 Thessalonians says, not just sharing the life-giving Gospel (and food and water and clothes) but ALSO our own SELVES.
That is charity that is no obligation. That is charity that fills up our hearts and binds us in community with each other. That is what can solve the problems of hunger and thirst. Being motivated out of LOVE (read the verse again!) will change things.
I have this problem with charity. It all started when opened The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne on the Aeroflot plane from Moscow to Mineralnye Vody. (This book was recommended to me by a wonderful friend, and I in turn suggest it to you.)
But anyway, I'll admit these thought are not fully mine, as they originate for me in Claiborne's book, and his life really. But I think charity is like a hermit crab shell without a hermit crab in it. You know? What is charity for? Usually in Western culture, charity organizations are big groups of people who sell t-shirts and mugs and mouse pads with their logo on them, advertising some great cause like "solving world hunger" or "fixing the world water problem" or "converting teen moms to Christianity." I mean, I don't mean to belittle what those organizations do, because they are changing a lot of lives, but I would like to pose some questions.
Could it get any more abstract than "feeding starving children," or some of the other goals of these huge non-profits? And who invented charity? Because charity as we know it here today has not always been around, even though we all know the poor and needy have. And when Jesus said to care for the orphans and widows, he wasn't using words or actions indicating he meant "give money to World Vision." I know I might be stepping on some toes here, and I want to stop and say I am not against these non-profits at all. I give money to World Vision too. But what I'm saying is that we have started, in Western culture, to replace love with vague charity. It is rare that we have faces and stories and actual feelings behind our giving. It is rare that we know where exactly - I mean, exactly - our charity money is going.
This never bothered me before I went to Russia this summer. And the sad thing is, it wasn't my first time out of the country, and it wasn't my first time there. I met those people 5 years ago. But until I lived with them I didn't get it.
There ARE faces and lives and tears and sweat behind the numbers. The statistics of pain, hunger, thirst, etc, are hard to wrap our minds around, and (I think because) those statistics are impersonal. We know that. But we are Americans and we understand things in statistics, in numbers, in big words explaining our ideas on how to solve the problems. We don't understand things in terms of individual people's hearts because we don't know people's hearts. We don't know people's hearts in our own society, much less outside of it. We are trained to think in numbers.
I hope you can all disagree with me and tell me I've been living in a different American than you, but I have a feeling that's not the case. Think about it. Think about your favorite charity or cause, because almost everyone has one. Do you personally know anyone being helped by that charity? Has that ever bothered you?
Here's what I challenge myself to, and I want to challenge you as well. Go find them.
Go find the people that you have a heart for. Let God show you where your passion is - what part of the world, what medium, what problem, what solution stirs you up to action. Go somewhere and listen to people's stories. I did that this summer and it was the hardest summer of my life. But I'll never be the same. And when I think about them, I don't think about charity organizations anymore. I think, "Lianna needs a pair of shoes. I can ship some to her." I think, "Alesia's baby girl is probably so big. I wonder if she is still having health problems and needs money for medicine." I think, "I bet Inna would love a working stove. Maybe I can help her."
I may be wrong, but I think these are the sorts of things Jesus was talking about when he said to care for people.
What if "the poor will always be among you" was a charge instead of a description? Maybe Jesus was telling us we are His church, and part of the church's calling is to have the poor always among them. Serving and helping and giving and loving the poor in our lives, not just the poor we have read about a time or two. And like 1 Thessalonians says, not just sharing the life-giving Gospel (and food and water and clothes) but ALSO our own SELVES.
That is charity that is no obligation. That is charity that fills up our hearts and binds us in community with each other. That is what can solve the problems of hunger and thirst. Being motivated out of LOVE (read the verse again!) will change things.
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