CAN WE explain human behavior? CAN WE change how we help the poor? CAN WE save the world? Many people and organizations spend countless amounts of money and energy trying to do just that.
Every year, wealthy countries and donors ship billions upon billions of dollars in aid to the developing world. The money has not bought prosperity: Diarrhea still kills 1.5 million children annually. More than 210 million kids work when they should be in a classroom. Polio, which had once been eradicated in all but four countries, is spreading across Africa again. Some 2.6 billion people have no access to modern toilets. And more than 1 billion people did not have enough to eat in 2009, setting a new record. Why is the world in such dire straits when enough money is available to solve the problems?
How can vast sums of money not produce some tangible, measurable, sustainable result? In the under-developed world a lot of the money gets spent by well-meaning people with no idea what they're doing. Corruption in these countries runs rampant, therefore the vast sums of money from donors and wealthy countries is largely wasted.
Obviously, much of the money that goes to help the developing world is not being used effectively. But what's not so obvious is how all that money should be spent. That’s not to say there are not enough “projects” to suck up the money, because that’s never been a problem. The real question is what projects get funded, how are they funded, and what is the expected result. To transform the living conditions of 100 million poverty-stricken people in Africa, Asia, and Latin America you need much more than funding.
You must have a government in place that cares about solving the problems of its people. Don’t all governments want to improve the living conditions for its people? Not necessarily. The complexities in solving most problems in the developing world hinge on ethics. So called third world democratic governments aren't always ethical. Ethical standards must prevail in governmental leadership and philosophies for internal economic growth and human development. When the ethical standards of a nation, a government and even its peoples erode... poverty persists and increases.
Christian missionaries and relief organizations serve an important function in the developing world. They “stand in the gap”... supplementing the voids in ethical standards, values and policies that do immeasurable harm to impoverished peoples.
As long as the economic systems of the world controlled by a handful of nations, continue to operate as they now do, there will be no end to poverty and disease in countries of the developing world.
The west's lifestyle is directly linked to and sustained by the developing world, where millions of impoverished people work for pennies making cheap products that are shipped to economically powerful nations for price competitive consumption. No one in America, or Germany, or the UK or any other developed nation wants to pay for good and services manufactured at high costs. The economic engine of prosperous nations runs on the fuel of slave-like labor provided by the world’s impoverished peoples living in “developing countries”.
Missionaries and Christian relief and aid organizations help people with immediate needs, such as the many relief and restoration programs in earthquake devastated Haiti. Their work turns chaos and crisis into sustainable habits for establishing new life patterns.
Christian mission frequently works among the world's poorest citizens, in their villages and nations. Sometimes their evangelistic efforts are met with resistance and persecution, as is the case in many parts of India and the Middle East. However, in the face of and governmental opposition, it is the Christian missionaries and relief workers who are making “grass roots” level life changes that give people a chance at a better life. Add evangelism to the mix, and you have a formula that can create genuine hope for a better life and eternal future.
God desires that all people hear about Him and His promises. No one can “hear” if their utmost concern is daily survival. You can’t get peoples attention when they are oppressed, hungry or starving. You can’t get people to trust when governments ignore poverty and disease. You can get people to listen, when ethnic cleansing, war and brutality is a way of living for many people.
Let anyone who has ears to hear, let him hear. (Matthew 13; Mark 4; Luke 8) Jesus said that phrase several times in the Gospels, once at the conclusion of His parable of the Sower. Overcoming the conditions of poverty in the developing world requires two kinds of sowing and harvesting... one for real food to sustain physical life and one that sows the Word of God that can have everlasting benefits.
The act of sowing as depicted in Jesus’ parable is commonly associated with primitive farming methods, much like the ways of farming in the developing world. For just as Jesus told his disciples that the farmer goes out to sow his seed in order to yield a crop, so too do missionaries sow the Word of God in order that, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear’. Along with “casting the Word”, they teach practical farming methods –– fertilization, irrigation and installation of water purification systems. They establish schools and help with community organization. All... to make the lives of impoverished people easier. Then... they can “hear” attentively the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We must never forget.... in countries of the developing world, Satan has effectively promoted the greed and selfishness that devours basic ethical values. Once ethics and values are consumed by greed and corruption, the ensuing strife and poverty prevent people from hungering after the gospel. Heap upon a man enough problems, oppression and fears, and he will be contentedly enslaved to his poverty.
Missionaries are working hard around the world to “stand in the gap”... to be a bridge to hope and renewal... to help ease life’s daily challenges so that those they help will “hear the gospel”.
What can you do? Three simple things. Pray for missionaries and the work they do. Give financially to missionaries and the organizations that assist them in the field. Work with God's plan to help the impoverished peoples of our world.
