We are all familiar with the simple adage, give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime. Yet as simple as it sounds, somehow, so many social programs complicate the issue at hand by focusing on alleviating peripheral problems rather than simply empowering people and their local communities with the tools to advance and sustain their own economic development. Programs that foster personal responsibility rather than entitlement have a greater capacity to bring people out of the long-term grip of poverty.
The disciples of Jesus had a misguided approach to helping the poor that had invited a rebuke from Jesus. They had criticized Mary for having anointing Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume that could have been sold and given to the poor. Jesus’ response was to the point, “the poor you will always have.” His remark has been interpreted by some as an ambivalence towards the poor, but taken in the right context, Jesus ministry to the poor was never focused upon the temporary alieving of suffering. Rather than provide temporary pain relief for the sick, He healed them. Rather than condemn the prostitute, He convicted the establishment for their part in perpetuating a culture of grievous sexual bondage. Jesus got to the root of issues in such a way that people could experience a holistic transformation and freedom.
At BridgeHead our mission is to support organizations that are dedicated to addressing national and local problems in a long-term holistic and transformative fashion. We can only attempt to focus our efforts in facilitating change in a similar way to how Christ engaged people. To do otherwise not only is a waste of time and resources, but perpetuates an insufficient and tepid response that provides no real love when in reality we have been endowed with the prevenient grace and power of Christ that brings true transformation.