This is quite shocking actually. Me, the “missions kid,” the one who is on the World Race as we speak, changing the way I think about missions with only one book. How is this even possible?
That, my friends, is why I’m writing about When Helping Hurts, by Brian Fickkert and Steve Corbett.
I should preface this by saying in order for you to fully grasp what this book is talking about, you must read it. I mean it. It will make you rethink everything you’ve every thought about missions, and still get you excited about them in a whole new way. It’s convicting, but it brings joy for what can be done in the future. Ok, enough praise for this thing. Let me try my best to summarize this book.
Also, as a sidenote: this book is focused primarily on alleviating poverty, but it also discusses evangelistic opportunities.
Fickkert starts off by discussing why Jesus came to Earth, what His purpose was, and what our purpose is. Jesus came to restore relationships with us because we jacked things up and are living in a world full of broken relationships. He is offering us new, perfect relationships, but we will continually work on them until we are made perfect in heaven. In the meantime, we must reach out to others and give them the opportunities to make relationships right.
There are several major concepts that need to be discussed before solutions can be applied. First, there are 4 types of relationships: with self, with others, with creation, and with God. No one is perfect in any of these. Not you, not the poor, no one. We can’t go into places with the idea that we are perfect and only the poor need help, or that our ideas are the best possible solutions for all problems everywhere in the World (when I put it that way, it sounds kind of ridiculous, doesn’t it?).
The second foundational concept is that there are two causes of poverty: the person and the system. Not all the blame can be placed on the person (the conservative viewpoint), nor can all the blame be placed on the system (the liberal viewpoint). Both factors are causes of the problems, and both parts can be fixed.
People need to have their relationships made right, and that is only through the power of Christ. This is the most important point that this book makes.
On the other hand, the current systems and institutions in place pretty much suck, so there must be necessary changes made there as well if we have any hope in seeing legitimate poverty alleviation.
These problems in the system are a result of broken relationships as well. It is revealed not just in a personal level, but also in the economic, political, social, and religious systems that humans create (source: Location 1103).
It sounds like the whole situation is hopeless, doesn’t it? 2.5 billion living on less than a dollar a day. Rampant poverty throughout the world. No easy way to get out of it. Pretty morbid stuff.
But that’s why we must rely on Christ. Nothing can be done without His power. Change is possible as a result of the cross and the work Christ did in restoring our relationship with God, our only chance of survival.
Thankfully, there are people (read: Christians) in this world who are seeking to make relationships right, starting with their heavenly Father. And these people are seeking to alleviate poverty through effective means. Yes it’s slow work, and yes, a lot of it sound contradictory to what we’ve thought for a long time. But God is good and behind it.
The rest of the book offers some ways to alleviate poverty and how we can be involved in the process. It discusses different types of poverty (yes, there are different types), what each one needs, and how each one can be counteracted. And let me tell you, none of them involve merely dumping money into a country and hoping for the best.
All that said, I want to give my personal thoughts on these concepts and ideas. But that’s for my next blog. Stay tuned.
In the meantime, you should hope on amazon.com or drive over to your nearest Barnes and Noble, and purchase this book. I truly cannot do it justice through a 700-word summary.
