Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy. Proverbs 31:8-9
“While poor people mention having a lack of material things, they tend to describe their condition in far more psychological and social terms than our North American audiences. Poor people typically talk in terms of shame, inferiority, powerlessness, humiliation, fear, hopelessness, depression, social isolation, and voicelessness. North American audiences tend to emphasize a lack of material things such as food, money, clean water, medicine, housing, etc.”
Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert in When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor . . . and Yourself (Chicago: Moody 2014) 51.
The poor, as I get to know them, actually don’t want a handout that creates a dependency. If you ask them, they don’e want white knights to ride in and do things for them. They want a hand up. They don’t want to be voiceless. They want a voice.
As you may recall, when I was in Ukraine before the war, 11 out of 11 groups testified, “Teach us how to get free of dependency on Western support. We love Jesus but no one taught us how to be self-sufficient.” I hear similar messages all over the world.
Part of the reason I believe God led us at GTP to roll out the Palmful of Maize vision was to give them this voice. To have the poorest of the poor send a message to planet earth: “We don’t need your handouts, we need a hand up.”
It reminds me of the Macedonian man in the vision in Acts 16:6-10. He did not say, “Send us money.” He did not say, “Come do it for us.” He was standing and begging, “Come over and help us.”
Your giving to GTP sends help, gives the poor a voice, and results in self-sufficiency and generosity. Want to learn more about this important topic related to generosity, read my CLA blog that released on Wednesday: Turn Dependency into Discipleship.