Sharing Burdens
A Word on Charity
As believers we are called to share each other’s burdens. (Romans 12:1-21) Yet, I have seen where churches fail miserably in this department. They will search high and low for someone to save, and then once they are “saved”, they will leave them to their own devices.
Often times, we will blanket an area
that is low income with flyers, asking them to come to church, or to some
event. But, churches are really not prepared or often willing to help with the
needs of the people they are reaching out to.
People of lower income, who are not
“Well Churched” will often come to a church and get saved or start attending
regularly. Then the members of the church start finding out the vast amount of
needs the person or family has. They see the huge differences between someone
who has never been to church, and some who grew up in the church. This often
causes church going people to judge, and drive people away, because they cannot
figure out why the person or family can’t get right, or do what church people
think they should do.
Poor folks often don’t have cars, or
they have broken down vehicles. They don’t have licenses. They can’t pay bills.
They have been to jail, or prison. They have no child care. They often have no
real income, or they work jobs that are considered servile. They do not always
have internet or cable. They don’t have access to things we take for granted.
When people fall on tough times, or are the products of generational poverty,
the hurdles that must be overcome are often beyond the understanding of your
average church member.
It’s not always so easy to just pull
yourself up by the boot straps. There are things that must be overcome. There
are rules that must be followed, that often lead to more rules and more
hurdles. There are generational curses, and personal curses. There are mental
issues, and demonic entities to overcome. There is often sin that a person must
conquer before they can start advancing. Not to mention addictions. Just saying
“Go get a job” is not always as simple as we might think, nor is it the easy
answer. I have lived through this mess, and it takes time, and God to overcome.
It also takes help from people who are willing to share the burdens.
First off, is the person able to
fill out an application well enough to get hired? Does the person have a
criminal record that could keep them from work? Do they have a valid Driver’s
license? Do they have health or mental issues? When you consider these things,
the difficult task of living life in this society becomes unreal. How can a
poor person take a driver’s test without a decent reliable vehicle to take the
test in? Every person they know has a junker car. The DMV refuses such
vehicles. What if they can’t read or have no real work history? What if their
only real personal reference, that is not family, is Jimmy the crack dealer?
Does the person have an address?
Applications of all kinds require an address. Do they have a phone? Do they
have internet access? Most applications are online anymore. Can they get to a
place where there is internet access? These are things that are needed to “get
a job’.
Who will give the rides to
interviews? Do they have clean clothes? Can they afford the work clothes required?
Do they have child care? Can the person behave in a manner that will help them
convince an employer to hire them? Oftentimes people from rough backgrounds
have rough manners. It’s often things they do not even see in themselves.
If they get the job, how do they get
back and forth to work? How do they get food, clothes, hygiene items, or pay
bills until the first pay check comes in? Then, remember that businesses often
keep the first paycheck. So, you are talking about 2 weeks to a month before the
first payday.
What I have said here does not even
begin to cover what a person could need to get up on their feet, or be an
average member of society. There might be legal issues, like court dates or fines
that must be resolved or paid. There might be health or mental issues. There
could be family troubles, like divorce, teen pregnancy, or families practicing
“tough love” and refusing to help other members because they are tired of them.
But, this person still needs help.
The point is that churches must take
these things into consideration with their outreach programs. We bring people
to get saved, but do nothing to help their needs, or do just enough to feel
good about it. This leads to failure, and driving the person away from Christ
even more.
The Bible tells us how to do it. We
share burdens. The Holy Spirit comes along side us and helps us. He teaches us,
and he grows us. We should do the same with those around us in our churches that
have needs. There should be no one in your church who has to go around every
week begging for assistance. There should be no one in your church who pulls up
on Sunday in an old beater car, while the entire church family drives
Cadillac’s or new cars. Often, at church we do things we do not realize. We
have youth events where all the kids must buy a $25.00 dollar t-shirt. Or we
send kids to camp for $300 or more. We go out to eat, and the cost of the meal
is $20 a person. To a poor family, these costs are insurmountable, and it’s
insulting to them when the church members offer to pay these costs. Why not
help these families get on their feet so they can pay it themselves.
Wouldn’t it be better, and more
Christian, to talk to people? To get to know the people in our churches, and to
come along side them, like the Holy Spirit does us. To help the people get up
on their feet, no matter how hard, or how much they fail. Doesn’t God do the
same for us? This isn’t charity that is insulting, this is helping people to
stand up, and be free. This is showing people real love, not telling them to
come kneel at my footstool. (James 2:1-26)
We need to make friends, and tell
them about Jesus. We need to be honest with them and get to know them. Not as
our latest charity cause, or another notch on our spiritual belt, but as
someone of value. Sharing burdens is part of this. Give rides. Pay bills. Watch
kids. Over look failures. Be the person they come to when they have a need. We
are called to burn ourselves out for Christ. We are to die for others. (John
15:13) We have our jobs and our incomes for the purpose of helping others.
Often times, the cost of a meal at the local restaurant would pay bills, for a
family in need. Yet, we won’t give it to them. These people come to our
churches, and become our brothers and sisters in Christ, while we watch them
struggle with things that we could easily help them resolve; if we would just
share the burden.
Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ His newest book is called "The Future is Coming" and is a collection of dystopian short stories.
Follow Him on Medium: https://chris-bunton.medium.com/
Read His Spiritual Writings on Blogger: https://chrisbunton.blogspot.com/
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Photo by the Writer. Doors of the old Mount Olive Church. The building is located at a historic site in Mt. Vernon, Illinois.
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