Sunday, February 1, 2009

All Men Are Created...Equal...?

As much as people (particularly in America) like to say it, I'm becoming more and more perturbed at the inequality that I see. No, I'm not just talking about illegal immigrants getting to live for free. I'm talking about Christians attempting to fulfill the Great Commission.

What? Aren't Christians (if anyone) supposed to live the law of love and realize that one is not better than the other? And yet, in the modern mission movement, this seems to be the opposite of what really happens. There are several steps to convincing people they should be going on mission trips. The first is to to convict them and make them feel very sorry for all those poor people that live in the slums. Now as good as this may, they go about it in a completely wrong way. Instead of telling these people, "Hey, guys, these people (notice people) are in need of help. There are Christians there that are living without food, shelter, or clean water, etc.", they show pictures of children with bloated bellies and people that have suffered from leprosy. They put the title "The poorest of the poor don't know Christ. Wouldn't Jesus have wanted you to help them?" Okay, fine. Maybe Jesus would have wanted you to help them, but put yourself in their shoes. They're living. They know they're poor. They're continually being ignored. Yet, don't you think they want some independence? Do you really think they want to be on websites with degrading titles over them? Do they want to have to depend on "those rich Americans who just throw money around"? How would you like to get your picture taken and a few months later find it on websites with big letters over it saying "The poorest of the poor..."? Wouldn't you feel just a tad bit used? Maybe even a big looked down on?

This is always something I think about as I'm looking at books with these "poor, helpless children" and am watching something about a different country. It's something that really bothers me how Americans (I'm just using 'Americans' as a generalization for anyone who fits what I'm talking about) can't take part in those poor peoples' lives. Just in the way they talk about them suggests that somehow they're superior. They don't actually want to know each person's story. In fact, they don't really care about them. They just send the money off, knowing they have done a good deed for the poorest of the poor and check it off their list. This is something I run across time after time as I look at websites, books, or even watch things on TV about poorer countries. People can't be bothered. All they want to know is that they're doing their good deed for the day. Particularly in short-term mission trips, people will not take a part in anyone's lives. They'll pay money to go there, do their good deed each day by fixing a church roof or painting a school. They will then go on to gawk at the people who are living in such terrible conditions, feel kind of sorry for them, go to their 5-star hotel for the night, and go home with their hundreds of pictures of the poorest of the poor living in terrible conditions. Now I'm not saying that no good has come from any of these trips, but so many people go on them with a completely wrong attitude. They go on their "holy trip" to somehow make themselves feel like they're done something worth their taking up space on this earth. And these poor people? They're used as the object by which these people gain their holiness.

It's not right. It is just not. Do you think that these people really want to have pictures taken of them and be shown at home where people will 'humm' and 'haaa' over them, or do you think that they just want to be shown a little love - true love? The kind of love that they actually feel like they're worth something and that the people that are there with them really truly care about them and want them to know the love of Christ? For myself, I honestly don't think that these people who are going to these poor countries are being much of a good witness to the people. These people don't want to be gawked at. They want to be treated like normal people.

10 comments:

Steven said...

"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will get sick of eating fish."

Good Points Abbey!
I have seen the same story many times at my old Church. The guy would come in to the youth group, give a fantastic speech, and suddenly everyone was ready to go to Mexico.
The trip to Mexico: go, build a house for some poor family, give them some "start up" cash, when the week was up everyone would head back. Good deed done for the year. I have always wondered why so many waste such time and energy (not to mention money) on such trips that accomplish so little. Sure, the family now has a house to live in. The Church group might have improved the living conditions for the family, but have they really changed anything? Have they really shown God's love to the family?

Don't get me wrong, I do think that God can work through this type of thing too, but I think it's far too often, the opposite case, that people are just going to do the good dead. (getting heaven points) :-)

I still would go on to say that in some cases the families are really effected in a good way by other Christians coming and helping, but I often wonder how the Churches got the idea: throwing money at a situation will fix it, and sending people on a mission trip will make them "feel like [they've] done something worth [them] taking up space on this earth."

Now, on to another idea.
I would like to think that I would like to be labeled "Poorest of the poor," because I would receive oodles and boodles of donation money, Christians from all over the U.S. to help me build a house. I would also be able to apply for help from the UN, so I guess I don't really see the big problem with being gawked at. :P
Ok, ok.. maybe not.

All in all, thanks for shedding some light on the fallacy of the common way Christians seem to "help" those in need.

Dr. Russell Norman Murray said...

'Particularly in short-term mission trips, people will not take a part in anyone's lives. They'll pay money to go there, do their good deed each day by fixing a church roof or painting a school. They will then go on to gawk at the people who are living in such terrible conditions, feel kind of sorry for them, go to their 5-star hotel for the night, and go home with their hundreds of pictures of the poorest of the poor living in terrible conditions. Now I'm not saying that no good has come from any of these trips, but so many people go on them with a completely wrong attitude. They go on their "holy trip" to somehow make themselves feel like they're done something worth their taking up space on this earth. And these poor people? They're used as the object by which these people gain their holiness.

It's not right. It is just not.'

Good points. I suppose it is often difficult for someone in the West to make the sacrifice of full-time missionary work and living as one of those suffering.

I have been a full-time student for 18 years and grow tired of just scraping by and the debt and so I can somewhat understand the reservations of some for full-time missions works, but on the other hand, it does need to be done.

Russ

Great Googly Moogly! said...

OUCH!

PREACH IT SISTER!! AMEN & HALLELUJAH!

Uh-um...I mean, nice post Abbey.

I'm sure that there are legitimate organizations out there who truly do seek to help the poor (in America and elsewhere) and need financial support. But I agree that it seems degrading for a "poor" and "needy" individual to be "marketed" so shamelessly in order for the organization to solicite funds. It can be a "catch-22" in some respect; they need funds, but would they get money and supplies if they didn't "show" us the misery? I'm not defending the blatant "emotionalism" involved; but unless we know the severity of the situation...

And that's the problem, isn't it? We wealthly Westerners aren't really concerned about anyone else unless we see them on the t.v. or on a website. And even then, our concerns goes only as far as the "conviction" to pull out our wallet or to even spend a few days somewhere to build a house (or whatever) and then leave.

You said it well, "They just send the money off, knowing they have done a good deed for the poorest of the poor and check it off their list."

And that's really our problem as "contemporary Christians". We like to have lists of "to do" or "not to do" and we feel that we're committed to Christ as we check off items on our list. If we truly, lived out the reality of who we are as Children of God, however, we would recognize the inherent value and dignity in all people everywhere and our affections for those less fortunate than us would not be so easily turned on and off based on emotional appeals as we're confronted with oppression, misery and need. No...our affections would always be "on" because we would be sensitive to the plight of others (here and there) based on the Spirit's continual work of conforming us (back) into the image of Christ! He didn't have to "see" particular and specific need in order to feel compassion and minister where He could; He didn't have to have someone show Him how "poor" and "miserable" this particular person or group of people were; He "saw" need everywhere and ministered to that need because--as a Man--He was sensitive to humanity!

Obviously, sometimes we must be made aware of others in need (we're not omniscient); but we shouldn't need to have the affliction and misery of others broadcast in order to be "moved" to minister (either through the giving of funds or the actual long-term missionary endeavor). As you suggest, sometimes it seems to almost de-humanize an individual to have his picture broadcast around the world declaring that he is the "poorest of the poor" and his survival and "flourishing" is dependent upon us (determined by us) to graciously condescend and grant him the priveledge of our concern.

But why are these types of ploys even necessary in the first place? That's where the state of Christianity today stands condemned. We simply aren't concerned unless we're slapped in the face. And when we finally are, our "legalism" and "arrogance" tends to rear its ugly head!

Oops...I didn't mean to write a book. I've got to start picking some hymns for Sunday or Mrs. Moogly will be getting upset! :-)

GGM

Ben&Brit said...

"They go on their "holy trip" to somehow make themselves feel like they're done something worth their taking up space on this earth." -- Hehe :-) Don't we love a way to "check God off the list for the day" and avoid a true relationship with Him? :-)

Abbey said...

Steve,

Thanks for the comment - it's even long! :D

"I still would go on to say that in some cases the families are really effected in a good way by other Christians coming and helping.."

Maybe in most cases, but especially in short-term trips for high school/college age people, they end up doing more harm than good. They don't understand the culture and don't really care to, they don't realize how big of a sacrifice it is for someone to feed them, etc. Sometimes I think it would be better for these people just to stay home.

"getting heaven points"

Lol - I love heaven points.

Oh, and I'll give your CD back someday... At the moment, I'm feeling pretty powerful (and GLAD *groan*)having it. :D "Dum, de, doo, doo, de, dum, de, dooooo..."

Abbey said...

Russ,

Good points, but I think maybe I didn't make myself clear enough on my post. I was mainly saying that those going on short-term trips don't make any effort to understand the culture or to try to understand how it would be to live as they do. They just "throw money at it" . I'm not saying they should be going into it full-time. I just wish they would make a bigger effort to really help while they're there.

Thanks for the comment. :)

Abbey said...

Jason,

"PREACH IT SISTER!!"

No, it's got to be "sista" if it's really going to sound real. :D

"they need funds, but would they get money and supplies if they didn't "show" us the misery?"

Good point, but what I react to is these people in these pictures being these anonymous people who don't seem to have a name besides Poverty and a story besides I'm one of those people who depends on rich Americans to live.

The rest of your comment was *kinda* what I was trying to get across (though I wasn't waxing very eloquent) yesterday. I think you said it very well. Maybe I should just delete my post and put your quote up instead. Or maybe you should just write a book?... :D

Thanks, GGM. :P

Steven said...

Just noticed my typo "...that people are just going to do the good dead." Deed instead of dead.. sigh... You would think that being home skooled would help me to not make that kind of mistake.

Dr. Russell Norman Murray said...

'Good points, but I think maybe I didn't make myself clear enough on my post. I was mainly saying that those going on short-term trips don't make any effort to understand the culture or to try to understand how it would be to live as they do. They just "throw money at it" . I'm not saying they should be going into it full-time. I just wish they would make a bigger effort to really help while they're there.'

Thanks, Abbey. I understood your points and can appreciate them but I was expressing a different perspective on the topic.

Russ:)

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