am i the only one that is growing more and more uncomfortable with calling people who don't have a lot of money, possessions or means "the poor" "the needy" or "the broken"? i have begun to develop a strong distaste for terms that neatly place a group people into categories that are pretty demeaning if you think about them.
what i have found to be true is that whenever we feel as though we have arrived at a place where we can segment and label the people we “serve” we have just then lost our ability to serve with integrity and faithfulness.
the more we are able to objectify a person or people, the more likely it is that we, in some sense, believe ourselves to be above them. even in our well-intentioned efforts to serve others, we are often caught up in the labeling game. we say, “i serve the poor and needy” or “i care for unwed mothers” or “my church has a great ministry to the homeless.” but what we often forget is that it is not “we” who are the blessed, the heirs and the happy, "they" are.
the objectified and labeled are the ones who inherit the kingdom. we are their servants in the most humbling of senses.
so, do we love our neighbor, or do we place them in a category that will allow us some space to make ourselves superior to them?
in short, our service is rendered powerless, because we are far too powerful. to serve is to humble yourself, but it seems to me that we do a much better job of humbling those who have already been humbled by life than we do ourselves. in fact, we often praise ourselves for how much we have lowered ourselves! we give awards to humanitarians and social workers, because we have made ourselves the object of our service.
it's about you and it's about me. it's not REALLY about the people we "serve".
we (myself included) call these folks “the poor” “the hurting” “the broken” or “the needy.” but until we see them as princes and princesses in the kingdom of God, we will continue to fool ourselves into thinking that it is they who need us, when it may be more true that it is us who need “them.”
-dave-
3 opinion(s):
can i get an amen?! AMEN
Though I rarely saw you when I lived in the states, I still miss you and Jen quite a bit. Thank you for these words and for your example. I pray for you guys often.
How uniquely individual you are my brother...in that you see the Truth. In my experience it seems that mostly people want to tell you to "be blessed" and they like to promise you their prayers, but they don't want to be a part of that hands-on work. I follow Jesus, will always, I hope I can see us all equal.
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