I hurt!
I live in a community of hurting people and I hurt for those who are hurting. I hurt for those who seek some kind of hope through yet another inappropriate relationship, I hurt for those who have had yet another child removed from their care, (I hurt for that child!) I hurt for those who get into huge debt because they feel that possessions will bring some sense of satisfaction to their lives, I hurt for those suffering from addiction of alcohol and other drugs. I hurt when children are suffering from family breakdown, when they are growing up without any sense of hope, when they are made out (often by people who should know better!) to be nobodies, when they are labelled as 'compulsive liars' or 'compulsive thieves.'
I am not talking about statistics here, I am talking about individuals whom I know and love.
And I am in no place to judge - I have fallen short of God's best on much of the above.
Perhaps that is why I hurt for the lost.
That is my sole motivation for facing ridicule for offering something better. I know that the only way these beautiful(!) people will receive the healing they need is through a transforming relationship with Jesus first as Lord then as Saviour.
Jesus said:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to preach the good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom
for the prisoners
and recovery of the slight for the blind,
to release the oppressed
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour. Luke 4: 18 -19
Comments
" On the Cross Jesus did not glory in his death – he felt the pain of humanity and separation from God (the price of sin) – yes.
"he didn’t bore us, telling us how caring and how loving he was." - he didn't bore me when he said that this was out of love eg "As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you" ..."love one another as I have loved you". His motivation for stating that he loves and hurts for those who are lost was pure.
Christian usage of words:
Cynicism = An uncomfortable truth
Sarcasm = A comment or argument that might just have some weight but I’ll call it ‘sarcasm’ and dismiss it in a puff of self-righteousness and self-assurance.
When you give, don’t let the right hand know what the left hand is doing... (cf. Matthew 6:3) – anything else is just vanity and pride. If you can’t learn this lesson then you’re in the wrong job – those who tell us how good they are, how caring they are, are often just emotionally masturbating to heal their own hurts and meet their own needs - using others to try and sort out the inner mess of their own lives – using others to make themselves feel better about themselves.
I’ve met some inspirational Christians – what sets them apart is that they don’t think they are special, they don’t think they know best and they don’t bore the world with self praise. You have to start with humility and since this CAN’T be known by the person being humble (if we take pride in our humility then we are just fools wallowing in self praise) it seems like a thankless task – but that is where the grace is to be found.
On the Cross Jesus did not glory in his death – he felt the pain of humanity and separation from God (the price of sin) – he didn’t bore us, telling us how caring and how loving he was. Think on this... It might do you some good.
From a Christian perspective what helps the poor and marginalised? One of the advantages of faith-based or voluntary organisations that stay outside ‘contract’ culture is that they are able to be independent and innovative in their manner of working. One thing I like about one independent Christian community centre is that it requires users of its services to demonstrate they are wanting to change their lives. Those who can’t do this aren’t denied access to the centre’s facilities, however they do have that access restricted.
I think this is a model we should adopt in ALL our social and health services. If people don’t provide evidence that they are helping themselves then they should have access to services or benefits limited or stopped. I was born and bred on a dog rough council estate, I was raised in a house with lots of domestic violence, I was fostered as a child and left school with no qualifications; yet I have never been out of work and after a late start went on to gain a degree (admittedly from a poly but a degree nevertheless – and the best of my year), a masters and PhD (the latter two from a Russell Group university). There’s nothing special about me, except I had ambition and thought being out of work shameful. Many people leading marginalised lives need a kick up the a*se; not TLC! Many are skilled when it comes to being cunning and manipulative – they just need to channel that intelligence to better purposes!
The model noted above appears to be a means of doing this - but it has one substantial drawback: if someone happens to mention they are interested in Jesus, then sanctions are less likely to be applied. Those doing the ‘caring’ have their own agendas – wanting to bring someone to Christ can mean turning a blind eye to the fact they could be fostering dependence – and it is fair to say that ‘do-gooding’ can have its own rewards for the ‘doer’ that can eclipse the best interests of the recipient – even the most caring person can be seeking their own rewards... And using and manipulating people to feed their own ego – in the process creating dependence and blurring the boundary between reasons and excuses. Even when Christians are paying – there is no such thing as a ‘free lunch’... – there is always an element of Quid Pro Quo...
The vast majority of people using such services don’t become Christians – though many prosper for sound sociological reasons – once vicious habits are tamed and life regulated then they reap the rewards. We see the same result with people who convert to other religions or traditions. ‘Faith’ can make people lead more regular and productive lives – the ‘faith’ itself seems to make little difference.
Hats off to you Neil in your work – I’ve worked with troubled families, excluded children and the mentally ill. I prefer either A&E work or end of life care (my specialisms) – at least if you’re dying, you’ve something to moan about! The welfare state needs a massive shake up. Are faith-based initiatives the answer? They have their place, but I think their effect is limited. A glance at the USA tells us this. There the welfare state is much smaller and more punitive, there is a high level of religious belief, church attendance and faith based organisations employed in welfare – yet the US (particularly in the Bible Belt) leads the world in social problems: divorce, teen pregnancy, violent crime etc. are much higher than elsewhere in the developed world. The Scandinavian model of ‘reciprocal’ citizenship seems to work much better. There are no easy answers and no doubt faith based welfare has its role, but there is no evidence to suggest it is better than other services: there are good and bad examples of faith-based welfare, just as with any other welfare provider.
Sir Martin Narey makes the valid point (and he should know what he is talking about) that there are a third fewer children in care today than there were 30 years ago.
It is curious that although the cognitive bias ‘things were better in the past’ is common, it seems endemic in much Christian thought at present. Evidently the Scripture: ‘Do not say, "Why were the old days better than these?" For it is not wise to ask such questions.’ (Ecclesiastes 7:10) has not been absorbed! In truth the welfare of children today is FAR better than it has ever been – certainly far better than when the churches were fuller and the Bible well known and there was an explicit Christian discourse in the daily and political life of Britain.
It is comforting to believe that we owe social reform and a more wholesome society to the work of Christians in our social and political life. Yet this raises a question few Christians or even wider society seem to have considered. For one, the vast bulk of social reformers were Non-Conformists, outside the established Church and some weren’t even Trinitarian Christians (e.g. Smith (1756-1835) and Roscoe (1753-1831) both major players in the anti-slavery lobby were Unitarians – Wilberforce built on their work – not vice versa). More importantly few parishioners have asked the question: ‘If Christianity is a force for social good, why was Reform needed in the first place, as society was at the time Christian in its worldview...?’. Obviously the answer is that Christianity aligned itself with Enlightenment thinking of the time– which it now often claims as its own (e.g. the rights of the individual, social justice, social welfare etc. – I’ve even heard Christians claim that they uphold free speech, when of course, for much of Christianity’s history it has done much to control people’s thoughts and beliefs and quash free speech – both Catholics and Protestants have had a penchant for burning people at the stake or worse). There are examples of social welfare in Christian thinking, however Christianity is not the exclusive author of these ideas – they are found in almost all religions and a good deal of ancient and modern philosophy.
Whatever, there is no evidence whatsoever that Christians are better or more able at caring for others or producing a more wholesome society. As noted elsewhere, the Bible Belt in the USA has the highest rates of teen pregnancy, divorce, single parent families, violent crime and murder (not to mention obesity, ill-health and misuse of prescription pain killers and a greater divide between rich and poor!) in the Western world. These are also areas of very high conservative Protestant church attendance and social conservatism – yet the society they produce is lamentable compared with our secular northern European neighbours.
No, what helps is just good old human compassion and the will to push for social change. I’ve seen many non-believers return to the social work office and cry at what they have seen – I know I have hurt. Christians have no monopoly on pity – and pity itself can be a species of emotional masturbation – getting off on the hurts of others – not to mention as a means of contrasting their lives with our own and thinking ourselves better than our neighbour. (Continued...)
Personally I think we should take a leaf out of Tuke’s book (a North Yorks Quaker who challenged how 18th century England cared for its mentally ill). He took the mad and put them to work on his farm, giving them meaningful occupation, routine, reward for good behaviour, self-respect and self-reliance. John Groom (a Clerkenwell Evangelical) did something similar in the 19th century for disabled women – tho’ his venture, like much innovative social welfare, soon became just another institution. The present welfare system (both state and voluntary provided) often encourages dependence. People claiming benefits should have to work, people having problems raising their children should have to attend parenting classes and show evidence of change. Street homeless people would be better living on a Tuke like farm (where 2 Thessalonians 3:10 (not a Christian idea in itself, but part of Grecian/Roman thought) should hold sway).
‘The transforming power of Jesus’ is a nice idea... And of course there is evidence that it works, but the numbers are small. Did droves of those using the Crypt become Christians and have their lives transformed? Yes it happened, but such conversions are few and far between. And was it Jesus that changed them? Or the fact they had something to believe in which imposed changes on behaviour that changed a person regardless?
Yes, there is a place for faith inspired social projects etc. but they have to be sacramental - the Church and her members have to wash feet themselves, rather than getting others to do the work and/or others (usually the tax payer) to pay for that work. How many of the large congregation of St George’s Leeds did you see in the Crypt on a daily basis? Until this lesson is learnt – that churches have to get their hands dirty rather than relying on ‘faith based charities’ or the state then claims that ‘social Christianity’ is a cure all are void, because it is illusionary and alas much of the resulting charity is vicarious - a handful (many not Christian) doing the work on behalf of others claiming the glory!
No wonder homosexuality and abortion (and to a lesser degree Evolution) are hot topics at present. They offer cheap righteousness – as they aren’t (for the vast number of pew filling Christians) personally costly. Whereas rolling up one’s sleeves and getting stuck in - and challenging one’s own use of money, power, ambition, lifestyle etc. would not be popular in many a church – particularly those of a conservative bent, where the message preached is often ‘it’s someone else’s fault...’.
It is odd, don’t you think, that given the economic crash, the immoral behaviour that contributed to it (both personal and corporate) and the fact that there are a disproportionate number of Christians working in finance that ‘Ambulance Chasers for Jesus’ (aka the Christian Legal Centre) has not brought any cases of conscience for bankers, lawyers or accountants being forced to do things against their Christian conscience? No, it’s just been those who have had to work with queers that seems to be the rally call for revolt and claiming the rights of Christian belief... (again Matt 5:11 passing them by... in the desire for self-importance and social standing – the very things Jesus preached against!). That says it all really and I offer it as a closing suggestion as to what is really wrong with Christianity in Britain today. Political Christianity is enmeshed in an ideological battle. You are getting your hands dirty Neil – but how many other Christians do in a typical congregation? Until the balance changes and until the bias moves away from cheap righteousness, blame, hate and scare mongering (cf. your previous post on SSM...) then ‘mission’ and ‘evangelism’ will have scant rewards and often just make converts into mirror images of their fellow parishioners... (cf. Matthew 23:15).