Last time we explored some of the issues associated with a mass relief movement such as Hope for Haiti Now, and we talked about the need a true understanding of poverty or we may be sowing seeds of cynicism as well as ignoring long-term solutions.  Today let’s start to examine a definition of poverty. What is poverty?

Poverty is such a complicated problem of intricately interwoven and interrelated issues, the answer to this question can’t possibly be answered in an entire book let alone here. But, we can provide a simple guideline to get us started, and give us a lens through which we can examine the effectiveness of ministry efforts.

When you ask someone to give a definition of poverty typically you will hear responses about not enough money, food, or housing. However, poverty isn’t really about a lack of things.

Over the last 60 years more than $1 trillion dollars in foreign aid has been given by wealthy countries to promote development in Africa. And, that is just government to government aid. It doesn’t count the work of NGO’s and other non-profit relief and development agencies. Yet the per capita income in Africa is lower than it was 30 years ago and the number of people living in abject poverty has doubled over that same time.

While obviously it is a piece of the puzzle, clearly money is not the solution to poverty. If poverty was a lack of money or resources it would have been eliminated long ago. A lack of resources is a symptom of poverty, and while sometimes it is necessary to address the symptoms, especially during a crisis such as the Haiti earthquake, for a long term solution it is more important to address the underlying infection.

When you have a respiratory infection you might take cough medicine so you can sleep at night. But to get rid of the infection altogether you probably need an antibiotic. If we don’t understand bacterial infection we would never be able to successfully fight the illness. So, understanding poverty is important if we are going to try to help those in need.

Essentially poverty is two things. First, poverty is a lack of hope. There is a fatalism or poverty mentality that surrounds the poor. They are inundated with the message that they don’t matter, no one cares about them and there is no hope for the future.

Over time, anyone who has been overwhelmed by this message will begin to believe it, and will live their lives according to those beliefs. These people will never be in a position to take advantage of resources and opportunities afforded them because deep down they don’t believe they are capable or worthy of any help they are given. They’ve reached the point of saying, “What’s the use?”

Secondly, poverty is a lack of opportunities. You can build a school in a poor village and educate the children, but if there are no jobs it won’t alleviate the poverty of the community. But opportunities aren’t just about jobs. If disease or malnutrition is rampant in a community, then children will not develop physically or mentally enough to take advantage to any educational opportunities they have. Or there may be political, social or environmental factors that limit the opportunities of the poor.

To address the needs of the poor both factors have to be considered. In most places in the developing world it is necessary to combat both fatalism and provide opportunities. In most places in the developed world, including in the United States, there is very little lack of opportunities. However, there is still a fatalism that permeates poorer communities that needs to be addressed.

So, as we pour money into Haiti, or any area of ministry to the poor that the Lord has called us to work, we must, if we’re going to be good stewards and effective workers, ask ourselves are we helping create opportunities and are we bringing hope to the hopeless?

By understanding these two critical factors we can design our efforts to have the most effective impact to not only bring relief but to help release people to be all God intended them to be.

Next time we’ll look at some reasons some well intentioned overseas ministry programs don’t work very well, and sometimes cause more harm than good.

Response:

–Since we now know poverty isn’t about our financial situation, no matter what your bank account looks like examine your heart and look for signs of a poverty mentality.  You’ll recognize it by feelings or thoughts of hopelessness, thoughts that you are incapable, thoughts that no one cares.  Ask forgiveness for the thoughts, rebuke the lies and confess the truth.  Here are some verses to get you started:

Psalm 139:14

2 Corinthians 2:14

Jeremiah 31:3

Matthew 19:26

–Gratitude is an important antidote to a poverty mentality.  Make a list of the opportunities you’ve had in your life over which you can take no credit.  For example, because of where you were born did you have an opportunity to get an education? Learn a skill?  See a doctor? Avoid issues associated with malnutrition?  Learn about Jesus?