Probably about a year or so ago, I bought a book called, 'When Helping Hurts' by Steve Corbett. It deals with the best ways to help those who are in poverty. One of the strong points of the church and even of the general public, is that of compassion. We were made in God's image and as a result, we are compassionate toward others who are not so fortunate. But, sometimes our compassion gets in the way of being helpful, and may also be harmful.
The book talks about the 4 broken systems: 1. Our relationship with God 2. Our relationship with one another 3. Our relationship with ourselves and 4. Our relationship with the rest of creation. We have to work with all the broken systems properly in order to bring about the healing that is needed for us and everyone else around.
Who are the poor? How can we best help them?
Because we tend to be compassionate, we make some mistakes in trying to help the poor. Here is a quote from the book: "One of the biggest mistakes that North American churches make-by far- is applying relief in situations in which rehabilitation or development is the appropriate intervention."
I always ask myself 'what is the best way to help the people we serve at the Suburban Lodge?' We could buy tons of food and supply everyone with plenty of meals, but would that be helpful? I like what the Orlando Rescue Mission does. They house homeless people, but they also have classes on helping these people to become functional again. It's great. And it is an open door for ministering the Gospel, which is the ultimate cure for our disease of sin, and provides reconciliation between us and God, us and other people and the rest of the creation.
It is not wrong to serve people or give them food and other services, while preaching the Gospel to them. God created each one with abilities and gifts that are intended to served with. If we truly love these people, we will serve them and give them the Gospel. God will bring about the results.
Here is the url for the free download:
http://christianaudio.com/free
When you get to the page, it will ask you for your email address. Then it will give you the opportunity to download the audio book.
