In Matthew 26:11, Jesus said “you will always have the poor with you”.
So, if we will always have the poor, why bother caring?
I don’t believe Jesus was trying to say that. He was alluding back to Deuteronomy 15:11:
Don’t worry, this is not going to be a guilt trip asking for money – I’m actually hoping it will provide some hope.
In the Nelson diocese, we sadly have one of the highest rates of child poverty at 18.5%. Children in households suffering from severe material hardship in the past financial year is at 5.9% - that’s around 2,400 children.1 Churches and the wider community do incredible work in this space, providing food parcels and hardship grants to help stressed out caregivers get through the week. These caregivers often face shame and a sense of failure as many often go without food so that they can feed their children.
A while ago I was talking to someone about homelessness. Her view was that homelessness is caused by laziness. The solution? Get a job and all will be well.
I really do wish it was this simple.
The real answer? It’s complicated.
It is the same for families who are experiencing hardship. It could be a tough season in their life, or a lack of financial education, or poor mental health, or trauma, or many other reasons – or, most likely, a mixture of many.
If a child is born into a family in poverty, it’s difficult for them to break out of the cycle. Poverty can then follow a family for generations as children have issues with mental health, physical health, education, organisation dependencies and many other things.
In the book When Helping Hurts, Corbett and Fikkert state four different beliefs people may have that cause poverty and the alleviation strategies that follow.2 Although these may not be harmful strategies, without the right understanding, these strategies could be doing more damage than good.
If we believe the primary cause of poverty is a lack of knowledge, then we will primarily try to educate the poor.
If we believe the primary cause of poverty is oppression by powerful people, then we will primarily try to work for social justice.
If we believe the primary cause of poverty is the personal sins of the poor, then we will primarily try to evangelise and disciple the poor.
If we believe the primary cause of poverty is a lack of material resources, then we will primarily try to give material resources to the poor.
Poverty shouldn’t be seen as just lacking materially. For those facing poverty, there can be a loss of meaning, purpose, and hope. The World Bank define poverty as a “pronounced deprivation in wellbeing”.3
How we understand wellbeing is then going to influence how we act when helping our neighbour.
Do we naturally sway to education, social justice, evangelism or generosity? All four of these practices are great, but how do we get to the core of the issue that leads to poverty?
Through relationship.
These are three words that are so easy to say and so hard to do, but will change the world.
Sure, it’s a bit idealistic. And poverty is so big that we think, What can one person do? Well, what can one person do? Love your neighbour. As we truly love people, we will see what the leading cause of poverty is for them and be able to lovingly work with them amidst it.
The most exciting thing about this? As we invite others into our lives, we learn about them, about us and more about God, whilst restoring someones meaning, purpose and hope.
We will always have the poor with us. And our relational God is already working among them, inviting us to lovingly join him as we work to restore the world back to him.
If you would like to help children who are in poverty, look up organisations like Christians Against Poverty or Kids Can. You could even help at your local youth group. Helping relationally doesn’t have to cost us financially. We just need to be willing to lay our lives down for others.
As another option, if you or someone you know is in a place of financial hardship, the Anglican Care Committee may be able to provide assistance through a grant. Please email me if you would like more details regarding this.
1"Child poverty statistics: Year ended June 2023", Stats NZ.
2Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert, When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor... and Yourself, Moody Publishers, 2014.
3"World Development Report 2000/2001: Attacking Poverty", World Bank, 2001.
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
We have invited these writers to share their experiences, ideas and opinions in the hope that these will provoke thought, challenge you to go deeper and inspire you to put your faith into action. These articles should not be taken as the official view of the Nelson Diocese on any particular matter.
In Matthew 26:11, Jesus said “you will always have the poor with you”.
So, if we will always have the poor, why bother caring?
I don’t believe Jesus was trying to say that. He was alluding back to Deuteronomy 15:11:
Don’t worry, this is not going to be a guilt trip asking for money – I’m actually hoping it will provide some hope.
In the Nelson diocese, we sadly have one of the highest rates of child poverty at 18.5%. Children in households suffering from severe material hardship in the past financial year is at 5.9% - that’s around 2,400 children.1 Churches and the wider community do incredible work in this space, providing food parcels and hardship grants to help stressed out caregivers get through the week. These caregivers often face shame and a sense of failure as many often go without food so that they can feed their children.
A while ago I was talking to someone about homelessness. Her view was that homelessness is caused by laziness. The solution? Get a job and all will be well.
I really do wish it was this simple.
The real answer? It’s complicated.
It is the same for families who are experiencing hardship. It could be a tough season in their life, or a lack of financial education, or poor mental health, or trauma, or many other reasons – or, most likely, a mixture of many.
If a child is born into a family in poverty, it’s difficult for them to break out of the cycle. Poverty can then follow a family for generations as children have issues with mental health, physical health, education, organisation dependencies and many other things.
In the book When Helping Hurts, Corbett and Fikkert state four different beliefs people may have that cause poverty and the alleviation strategies that follow.2 Although these may not be harmful strategies, without the right understanding, these strategies could be doing more damage than good.
If we believe the primary cause of poverty is a lack of knowledge, then we will primarily try to educate the poor.
If we believe the primary cause of poverty is oppression by powerful people, then we will primarily try to work for social justice.
If we believe the primary cause of poverty is the personal sins of the poor, then we will primarily try to evangelise and disciple the poor.
If we believe the primary cause of poverty is a lack of material resources, then we will primarily try to give material resources to the poor.
Poverty shouldn’t be seen as just lacking materially. For those facing poverty, there can be a loss of meaning, purpose, and hope. The World Bank define poverty as a “pronounced deprivation in wellbeing”.3
How we understand wellbeing is then going to influence how we act when helping our neighbour.
Do we naturally sway to education, social justice, evangelism or generosity? All four of these practices are great, but how do we get to the core of the issue that leads to poverty?
Through relationship.
These are three words that are so easy to say and so hard to do, but will change the world.
Sure, it’s a bit idealistic. And poverty is so big that we think, What can one person do? Well, what can one person do? Love your neighbour. As we truly love people, we will see what the leading cause of poverty is for them and be able to lovingly work with them amidst it.
The most exciting thing about this? As we invite others into our lives, we learn about them, about us and more about God, whilst restoring someones meaning, purpose and hope.
We will always have the poor with us. And our relational God is already working among them, inviting us to lovingly join him as we work to restore the world back to him.
If you would like to help children who are in poverty, look up organisations like Christians Against Poverty or Kids Can. You could even help at your local youth group. Helping relationally doesn’t have to cost us financially. We just need to be willing to lay our lives down for others.
As another option, if you or someone you know is in a place of financial hardship, the Anglican Care Committee may be able to provide assistance through a grant. Please email me if you would like more details regarding this.
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
