Re: Moving From Mercy To Justice

Link: http://www.theooze.com/articles/article.cfm?id=2129

Steve Conrad wrote about a recent trip to Africa. On his trip he saw that showing just mercy and giving gifts to help the poor sometimes shortchanges their ability to live on their own. It creates dependence on the giver instead of healthy interdependence. The giver must pay attention to justice by thinking past the gift and into the end result that giving that gift will have.

Steve really hit a target here. Until I read this I hadn’t thought about the repercussions of simply throwing something “over the wall” as we say in the software development world. Not thinking about the effects we have on the people we help is a huge error. This article is definitely worth the read.

Amy’s thoughts (in the comments) helped focus this on relationships. That is an important part of being truly effective especially in areas where corruption may be a factor and what assistance we bring may simply end up in someone’s pocket. So there must be relationships and trust to be effective. No surprise there once we think about the whole picture. Of course as Steve mentions, this takes a lot more time and probably gives the investor less immediate gratification. You would have to be in it for the long haul.

Thanks Steve, for the insightful post.

For: The Institute Of Contemporary And Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen’s University, Essentials Blue Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt.