Stand at the Gates: A Call to Christian Manhood
Rob Pacienza
Jesus calls us to engage the poor, not just with resources, but with our lives.
A recent IFC survey found 63 percent of Protestant evangelicals want to demonstrate Biblical compassion to those outside the church (whether they are poor or not). And as we see with food pantries, paying bills, government welfare, and warming shelters, we tend to equate that compassion with relief-oriented programs.
Yet to truly practice redemptive charity, the church must take a closer look at God’s design, digging out its implications in how we care for the poor.
As seen in the Garden, his design for humanity involves relationships and stewardship. Adam and Eve walked with God, fully known by him and each other. Following his command, they stewarded the land and exercised dominion, experiencing the joy of life by his design.
Though marred by sin, our redemption through Christ restores us to that design and should inform how we live our lives—including how we walk alongside the poor.
My colleague, Dr. James Whitford, recently addressed that question in his recent article, published in a special report by the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics and The Washington Times, entitled, “What It Means To Flourish Like a Watered Garden.”
It’s a question that’s been around a long time. Over generations, philosophers have chased down its meaning. Augustine believed it came from the intimate relationship between man and God and the true happiness that resulted from fellowship with him and others.
As the centuries passed, that understanding changed—shifting to individual, experiential satisfaction as the cornerstone of flourishing.
Conversely, scripture offers a clear vision of flourishing: “The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail” (Is. 58:11, NKJV). Whitford explains that earlier verses in Isaiah show God’s promise of flourishing depends on how we treat one another, in particular, how we extend ourselves to the poor. Thus, modern-day Christians are right to once again see our work as stewardship of our relationship with God and others.
If scripture reveals that we are made in God’s image, we should mirror him in cultivating truth, beauty, and order in the world.
If scripture reveals that we are made in God’s image, we should mirror him in cultivating truth, beauty, and order in the world. Further, if God intends humanity’s work to be inherently relational (and therefore worshipful), the poor must understand that applies to them, too.
The work of their hands, whether buying groceries for their family or earning enough to pay their monthly rent, is an opportunity to experience the joy found in stewardship. However, when we prematurely step in with well-intentioned relief to “save the day,” we can unintentionally rob them of that joy.
We see this principle in the gleaning laws of Leviticus 19. Israelites were instructed to leave the corners of their fields unharvested so the poor could enhance their dignity and worth through harvesting. How large the corner should be was left up to the landowner, allowing him to exercise generosity beyond the letter of the law. In this way, God combined law and freedom, ensuring care for the poor while allowing the giver to engage relationally and voluntarily.
In a sense, that design is still applicable today. God still calls his people to create work opportunities for the poor that lead them toward self-sufficiency and allow them to experience the joy of stewardship.
Since redemptive charity is relational, it’s driven by real people, not distant or unengaged programs. Too often, we default to drive-through opportunities or “no questions asked” charity. Yet true, effective compassion seeks the dignity of the other person through knowing and being known. It is a reciprocal relationship where we look someone in the eye, learn their story, share our own, and walk with them toward flourishing.
Redemptive charity is also vocational, meaning we “leave the corners of the field” by engaging the gifts and capacities of those we serve. Although simple, transactional relief is necessary at times, it is far more important that we create meaningful opportunities for people to earn what they need.
Helping others flourish is helping them discover the joy found in living by God’s design. By replacing one-way, transactional charity with the relational stewardship of their resources and abilities, we can engage their dignity, help them experience their worth, and partner with God in leading them to be what God intended them to be: a precious and unique expression of his heart and character, i.e., a one-of-a-kind portrait of the Imago Dei.
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