Just a little help, please.

Now that I work in a church office and spend most of my day here, I am lucky enough to get to answer the phones almost all day long.  Having not worked in a church office full-time for several years, I had forgotten how many calls we get everyday from people looking for help.  98% of those calling for help are very specific about the help they want: rent, gas, and food.  And, being a small church whose budget has been adversely affected by the current recession (like every other organization across America... except for Apple...), we simply don't have the resources to help.  It bothers me that we can't be more help, but it has gotten me thinking.

Most churches don't really help people like that directly anymore--at least not to my knowledge.  Indirectly, they help by contributing time, money, and other resources to other organizations whose sole purpose is to help the needy, like food banks and so forth.  But the days where folks would call the church and ask for a handout are mostly gone.

And that's sad.

But is it necessarily bad?

My first thoughts were "of course it is!"  And I'm sure most people would feel that way.  I can think of several people who don't go to church who would say "that's because the church is full of self-serving hypocrites who aren't interested at all in helping people."  Sadly, they are not wrong, for the most part.  And to think that I myself, or my church, are any different, would fall in the realm of arrogance, or ignorance--one of the two.

But stop and think about it for a second.  Putting yourselves in the shoes of the person answering the phones all day long or the person whose decision it is whether or not to help, might give you a different perspective.

I ask you this: is it possible that churches, or other charitable organizations, have limited their handouts because there is so much fraud?  I mean, you can't be so blind or so immersed in the sadness of the situation that you can't see the abuse.  We (churches) have been taken advantage of so many times, or find ourselves in a situation where we don't have the resources available to make an informed decision of the person's real need, that we have pulled back a little--or a lot.  We're gun-shy when it comes to helping people because we see so much abuse of our charity, day-in, and day-out.  I've had the same person call 3 times in a row because they were simply going down a list of churches in a phone book.  I've brought food to people's houses that were nicer than mine with a new car and shiny rims in the front yard, but they can't make their bills.  You can't help but get a little bitter about it.

What do you think?  Have you seen the abuse?  Have you been burned by fraud?

Of course, I can't end this without thinking about what Jesus would say about the situation.  I think He would say: "Suck it up, boy.  Don't be a punk.  I didn't call you to help people who didn't need it, or didn't deserve it.  Did you deserve my grace?  Quit your whining and get out there and be my hands and feet."

I'm not saying it's OK to quit helping the needy.  It's pretty clear that the early church in the Book of Acts spent much time and energy helping the needy.  I am, however, offering this as an explanation to the perceived inability of the church to help people.  It's really not fair to expect us to help everyone, in every way.  But we have to at least try.  We have to continue helping, because Jesus would.

Because Jesus would.

Comments

[Beth]

Actually, I completely agree with you, and you know how religious I am (not at all!)

I think it's wonderful when churches go help others and donate money to good causes. When I was in a youth group back in the day, I remember how we went to an elderly lady in our church's house and completely fixed it up for her. She didn't have the money to hire someone to do it, nor could she do it herself, so we did it for her. This was probably 10 or so years ago. It gave me a good feeling and I was happy to help. We all were. It makes me happy to see ANY organization, religious or not, be willing and happy to give of their time and energy to help others in need.

But you need to draw a line. The guy you're talking about, who called three times because he was just going down lists in a phonebook? No, I don't think god would want you to give him the money. It's like our government giving more and more money to welfare people who keep having more and more kids. It's teaching them to be disrespectful of people who ARE responsible... it's teaching THEM to be irresponsible and not take responsibility for their own actions. And it just perpetuates the negative situation. A wise person once said, "God helps those who help themselves." I think the same should be true of people. You can give them all the money in the world... but what would be better is helping them find a job, or helping them to manage their money more wisely. Maybe helping them get ahold of a good AA or NA group, if that's what they're blowing their money on.

That being said, you've always been respectful of my beliefs, as I've been respectful of yours, so I hope you don't ban this atheist's opinions from your blog. I think you know we both have the same general idea, it just stems from two different things. :D

[Daniel Hahn]

Another wise person once said "Give a person a fish, and you feed them for a day. Teach them to fish, and you feed them for a lifetime."

And again I want to make it clear that I think we should help folks. But, maybe by "teaching them to fish" instead of giving them a handout. And since that's easier said than done, maybe by also contributing to organizations that "teach people to fish."

[Beth]

I'm glad we're on the same page.