I Didn't Get

For all the good one can do in helping the poor, the down side is creating a sense of dependency. I see it all the time in Red Hill, where unemployment is estimated at about 80 percent yet many seem quite content as long as there are enough handouts to keep them fed and clothed.

Whenever Living Hope is involved in giving something away – whether it’s food for the kids, shoes, clothing, Christmas gifts or whatever – the inevitable cry from someone is “I didn’t get!” A few weeks ago, for example, when we gave out shoes to kids who attend our afternoon programs, people came out of the woodwork – teens we never see otherwise, mothers with babies, they were all there with hands extended – and many walked away empty-handed and disappointed.

Rather than follow the command of Philippians 2:4, “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others,” the mindset seems to be, “If my neighbor gets something for free, then I deserve to get it too.” After a team from my church gave away Bibles and fruit at a women’s outreach – and some ladies helped themselves to multiple Bibles and multiple pieces of fruit – a friend of mine remarked, “You could tell them you’re giving away car batteries and every one of those ladies would walk away lugging a car battery, even though most of them don’t even have cars.”

Poverty is relative. Sure, Red Hill is impoverished, but most residents aren’t starving. When kids complain about the food we give, or ask for more, or don’t say thank-you, we remind them that some people right here in South Africa don’t have anything and really are starving.

It’s a complex issue. There’s a fine line between helping someone truly in need and handing out to someone who doesn’t want to work their way out of poverty. I’m not always sure if I’m helping or hurting the person who complains “I didn’t get.” God calls His people to care for the poor, but the question is, “How best do we do that?”

Whatever the answer is, this much is certain: Material things do not last. The most important thing we can do to help the poor – and the rich as well – is to share the Gospel of Jesus, who called Himself the “bread of life” and said, “He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35).