Money, Sacrifice, and Institutionalism

Last night I had a great night playing Settlers of Catan with my old roommates Jeremy and Charlton at Charlton's place he shares with his wife Theresa in Pasadena. After playing a rousing game (it was anyone's game at the end, which made it more exciting) we got into an interesting discussion concerning our discipleship among the poor. I had mentioned briefly a conversation I had had with two other friends about how we should interpret and live out Jesus' imperative to "give to everyone who begs of you," in Luke, and different ways that may look like. I shared some stories about my experience with the homeless of LA, and how, though most of the people who asked me for money were drug addicts, there were still some who I helped financially who were legitimately in need for food or other necessities. Just yesterday, as I was just about ready to hop on the elevator to the gold line train station, I was stopped by a young black man about my age who asked for help--a buck or two to help him out. I pulled out my earphones, and looked him directly in the face, seeking to engage him on a deeper level, and I found out that he had recently come to LA, and was dealing with the criminal justice system--in and out of jail, and was currently homeless. After a couple minutes I decided to give him five dollars from my pocket, and he was extremely grateful, gushing about how difficult it was for him here in LA and how he would sleep on the trains and avoid the skid row area because it was unsafe. We ended up talking for almost thirty minutes after I gave him the money and some granola bars, and I believe that the act of trusting him with money, not just with food, helped him to open up more with me and we actually had a relatively deep connection. Hopefully he calls me back later (I gave him my phone and email address). Although in the past, I've been burned by people who have fed me stories just to get me to give them some cash for drugs, who ran off as soon as the money was in their hands, I have come to believe that even if the majority of people who ask for help may be struggling with substance abuse doesn't mean that we should never give financial help to those who ask for it.
Anyhew, the discussion led us to discuss the merits and defects of giving to Christian nonprofits as opposed to directly giving to people in need. My friend, Charlton, expressed to us some of his frustrations in working at one of the Christian homeless rescue missions downtown. He is one of the IT staff there, and is often asked to produce reports and to crunch numbers for the other staff. He mentioned how much money he sees going into the basic upkeep of the shelter, rather than into the programs they are seeking to help the homeless with. It seems this is the basic problem with institutions in general--what was started as something good and helpful to people sometimes becomes a monster that requires the sacrifice of time, money, and energy in work that has little of anything to do with simple acts of service to the poor. My other friend shared about how he has learned from his ministry in a young church plant in the neighborhood of Lincoln Heights, a low income neighborhood of LA that has it's share of gangs. He mentioned how difficult it is to be wise with giving in their context as well. The family that they have given the most financial help to has ended up being the family who is least interested in following Jesus, but still wants to stay in contact with the church because of their financial help. My friend mentioned that he believed that they were being faithful to God's call in giving the money away, and had spent much time in prayer, seeking God's direction. It was simply a reminder that a simple giving of money away to the poor is not as easy as it sounds. I also shared a story of Jackie Pullinger, who is a missionary to the slums of Hong Kong. An aquaintance of hers, a prostitute came to her in desperation because she was being sold into sex slavery due to her large debt she owed, and needed a large sum of money to pay off her debt. Jackie prayed about it, and believed God was asking her to give up her most prized possession, her violin (or clarinet, I can't remember what instrument) that she used to play in the Hong Kong symphony. Although it was a very difficult sacrifice for her (she had long lived by faith, trusting God for her daily needs, and the instrument was the only thing of value left that she owned), she was obedient to God's leading in her life, and sold the instrument to buy back the girl from her "owner." The gang boss told her that it was a futile thing for her to do, because the girl would eventually go back to her old ways sometime down the road. Although Jackie knew this could happen, she also knew that just like Jesus died for the world, knowing not all would accept His sacrifice for them, so also would she sacrifice her prized possession for the girl without knowing whether the girl would truly change or not. Similarly, I have come to the belief that giving and love should not be based on our limited knowledge of the worthiness or unworthiness of the person recieving or love or gift. We all are so much in need of grace. I close with a quote from Kahlil Gibran from his poem The Prophet in a section called "Giving."
You often say, "I would give, but only to the deserving."

"The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pasture.

They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish.

Surely he who is worthy to receive his days and his nights is worthy of all else from you.

And he who has deserved to drink from the ocean of life deserves to fill his cup from your little stream."