Lisa Sheffler, author

When God led his people out of Egypt and established them as a nation, he gave them instructions to guide their treatment of one another. They were to be a holy nation who reflected his goodness and righteousness into the world. So, when we look at the Old Testament laws, we can see the expectations that God had for his people at that time in history. We can also discover timeless principles that should guide our behavior today.

As we discovered yesterday, God cares for all people because all people are created in his image. He expects us to treat them accordingly, and that applies to the materially under-resourced and those who live at the margins of society. These are people that society often overlooks or even exploits, but God sees them, knows them, and loves them. We have an opportunity to share that love.

Today, let’s look at one of the provisions that God gave the Israelites for taking care of those in need.

Read

Leviticus 19:9-10

⁹ “‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. ¹⁰ Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God. 

How would the poor be helped by these commands?

Reflect

In these commands we see an important principle for aiding those in material poverty. The Israelites were taught to see all their blessings as gifts from God. An abundant harvest was the provision of a loving God and the people were to share that blessing. In the course of gleaning their fields, the owners were to provide for impoverished Israelites and foreigners alike. No one should go hungry.

By leaving some areas unharvested, and by not going back over the fields a second time, there would be something left for those who needed food. Yet, this was not a handout. Those who had fallen on hard times could come and harvest the remaining crops. They did not have to beg for charity, but could work for what they needed.

We can apply this principle to how we help people today. When someone is in a crisis, we offer whatever immediate help is needed, but that’s not a long term solution. Because people are created in the image of God, they were created for meaningful work. Ideally we want to grant people the dignity and sense of purpose that comes from such work, while helping them meet their immediate physical needs.

In his book, When Helping Hurts, Steve Corbett notes that often impoverished groups around the world describe their situation in ways that go beyond their physical needs. “Poor people typically talk in terms of shame, inferiority, powerlessness, humiliation, fear, hopelessness, depression, social isolation, and voicelessness.” In our efforts to help, we want to reduce these feelings, and not exacerbate them.  

Therefore, Corbett advises a more holistic approach to helping those in material poverty:

“If we reduce human beings to being simply physical—as Western thought is prone to do—our poverty-alleviation efforts will tend to focus on material solutions. But if we remember that humans are spiritual, social, psychological, and physical beings, our poverty-alleviation efforts will be more holistic in their design and execution.”

The gospel of Jesus Christ rescues the whole person. It saves us and grants us eternal life, and it also restores the dignity and worth that was stolen by sin. The gospel gives us hope. As ambassadors of Christ, this is the message we can share through our words and actions with all people, including those who are in material need. How we help those in need matters.

Respond

How does the gospel address the whole person? What would a gospel-oriented approach to helping the under-resourced look like?

Mission Partner Spotlight

This week we’re focusing on our ministry partners that serve our local community. 3e United takes the kind of holistic approach to helping the under-resourced that When Helping Hurts advocates.

3e United

“3e United (formerly 3e McKinney) was founded in 2006 by retired McKinney City Manager Larry Robinson and a group of churches who agreed that coordinating our human and financial capital to work together could have a much greater impact on the empowerment of our materially under-resourced neighbors than we could alone.”

Their initiatives include:

• Adopt The School Program: The success of all our public schools is a key element within the ecosystem of a flourishing city. Adopt The Schools matches churches with Title 1 schools to equip, engage, and empower all stakeholders to cultivate thriving schools, where all children can reach their highest potential. Currently we have 9 schools in McKinney ISD that are adopted.
• Thrive Collin County: Millions of people in the world today are without work or underemployed. Without meaningful work, there is a loss of purpose and dignity. This creates a vicious cycle of poverty—economically, spiritually, and emotionally. Currently, our team is at work to engineer a Holistic Job Preparation, Job Training, Job Placement and Entrepreneurship Program called Thrive Collin County. 
• Faith and Finances: Faith & Finances is a 12-week financial education workshop for people who are just starting out learning how to manage money; don’t have a lot of money to spare; desire to overcome financial obstacles; and want to save more and pay off debt.

Find out more on the 3e United website.