Do No Harm: We’re All Poor

You’ve met the sweet young mom standing on the corner with her child and given her a blessing bag. What do we do from there? Well, let’s back up even before you roll down your car window. Before we can even begin to work with those in poverty, we must understand a crucial truth.  We must spend some time looking inward. We are all created by a loving God but we are all poor and broken in some way. 

Yes, you read that right…. you are poor and broken. How’s that for a great way to start out the second part of the Do No Harm Series.   But it is true and sometimes, as we all know, the truth hurts. But I’ve also read that the truth can set us free… (John 8:32)

While their poverty is mostly visible for all the world to see, my poverty is usually hidden and disguised well (most of the time). Steve Fikert, the author of When Helping Hurts explains it through 4 broken Relationships that we each have. 

1. We all have a broken relationship with God (thanks Adam & Eve).
2. We all have a broken relationship with self.
3. We all have a broken relationship with others. 
4. We all have a broken relationship with creation.  

So where are you broken? Where are you poor? We can’t begin to help and serve and love others in a helpful and gospel centered way until we acknowledge our own poverty. 

Spend some time today seeking to acknowledge and understand your own poverty. 

If you have a broken relationship in one (or more of these areas), how can you seek to restore it today? 

If you missed the previous post on Being Prepared, take a minute to read it here!