What Happens When You 'Burn Out' In Helping The Needy?

     Why do people burn out when they minister to others? It could be because the minister has wrong expectations of the person they are ministering to, but I would like to talk about a more likely answer to this question.
  A big reason we burn out when ministering to others, is that the other person isn't ready to receive truth into their lives. When we are helping people, we have to remember that those we are ministering to are human beings created by God. Many have been dehumanized and really don't know how to receive help. Others have only learned to work by manipulation, and they don't know any other way to live and operate in society.
  People are truly helped when we are successful in getting them back on their feet. The problem with trying to help the homeless is that many don't want to get back on their feet. Not sure why, but there really could be a variety of reasons. One is, that they could be reluctant to work, because they don't feel ready to have a job. But another reason could be because they are lazy. It's hard to say unless we know the person.
  But back to the point; we will feel burned out when we minister and give, and continue to give, but the other person doesn't change. We point them to Christ and minister the Gospel with them. But if they cannot receive truth, or are resistant to receiving truth, we will feel burned out. We can't do the work of God in their hearts, neither can we take full responsibility for them and their actions.
  An example of this is trying to help a homeless man in a wheelchair. No shelter will take him, yet we can give him phone numbers and people he can contact. If he does nothing with those numbers, we will be spinning our wheels trying to find a place for him that doesn't exist. Then we will feel guilty that he is on the streets in the rain, in a wheelchair.
  Another example of this is something that actually happened to us. There was a family in our community group who was having financial difficulties. Someone helped the man of the home with the family budget, and also helped the man do his taxes. Now, if the envelope for the taxes went out the next day, this family would have enough money to help them for a while. But the man took a long time before he sent out the income tax form. If we continue to try to help this man, we will become burned out.
  But there is another way we can become burned out. It has to do with walking with a person in a relationship together, while the person in need is going through difficulties. These people are ready to receive help, but, when it comes to receiving the truths of God's word in their lives, they are resistant to that kind of help. The person in need has certain 'boundaries' set up around himself/herself and will not respond to taking in the truth that will cost them something. This is why we have burnout. Don't let it happen to you. In situations like these, the minister of the Gospel takes the lead and calls the shots. Never let the needy person lead you to believe that certain places are off limits (when it comes to speaking the Gospel or Bible truths to them).
   Finally, we can read about this happening in the Bible. Although Jesus never burned out from this (He is always one step ahead of people) many of His followers turned their backs on Him. You can read the whole episode in John chapters 6-8. Jesus fed a couple thousand people with just a couple of fish and some loaves of bread. As the event continues, Jesus reveals their hearts. He tells them that they are not looking for Jesus because they want to hear truth, but because they want to have more food! After they were done eating, Jesus begins to speak words of truth to these people. They resisted hearing Him. And finally, many of His disciples left Him. Only the 12 stayed.
   Serve the poor, but speak the truth. If they don't receive it, don't try to come up with ways that will be conducive for them to receive it. Don't take responsibility for their irresponsibility! Pray that God will soften their hearts and make them ready to hear truth. Don't burn out!