Welfare(n.)-aid in the form of money or necessities for those in need
Dependence(n.)-the quality or state of being influenced or determined by or subject to another
Since moving to Oakwood, I (Gage) think one of the biggest things that I've been blown away by is this culture of continual dependence. It's everywhere and is a factor in almost every aspect of the daily lives of the community. Don't misunderstand me, I wasn't ignorant of the overwhelming control that dependence has in under resourced areas, but it's a completely different ball game when you experience it on "ground zero" as you attempt to do life together with your neighbors (literally). Let me give you a scenario.
Background: Our church budget is structured so that the pastors don't take salary at The Church at Oakwood South. We all work outside jobs. So after rent and utilities, which are split between the church and The Jordans, 70% of the remaining funds go towards benevolence. For those unfamiliar with the term, true benevolence is coming to the aid of a person in need and providing resources for them in a way that helps the person holistically and comes along side them, not do it for them, in hopes that they won't be in this situation of need again. So a huge portion of our offering at the church goes to rental assistance, utilities, food, etc. This has become a well known thing in the community of Oakwood and so on a regular basis we get "benevolence requests" from community members. When a request is submitted, an elder from either Oakwood or Oakwood South goes and meets with the applicant to see how best we can serve this person holistically.
Scenario: Almost 100% of the time we come across a community member who's budget is tied to a government welfare check. Now, let me pause and state that there are certain situations where the person physically is unable to work for their income and needs this service to help make ends meet; Understandable. However, often times what we encounter is a family or a single mom or a young man who will request help. They are very able bodied but instead of having a job they receive a check for any number of reasons.
History: And before you rant to yourself as you read this about how this is Obama's America, you need to know your history that this system has been in place since the FDR administration (1930s-40s) in a widespread effort to bring a solution to a need they were unprepared for; The Great Depression. Unfortunately, as Dr. John Perkins states in his book With Justice For All, what was created was medicine to address the symptoms, but not a cure for the disease. Understanding that fact, this is a multi-generational issue of dependence we are dealing with. Laziness isn't always the reason they have their budget in chains. Some have never been taught how to fill out an application, learn a skill, complete an interview, etc. Some were taught at a very young age that they are "handicapped" with a number of illnesses and couldn't improve their condition even if they tried. This makes what a friend of mine shared with me the other day make way more sense. "You can't pull yourselves up by the boot straps if you don't have any boot straps."
Now back to the applicant...
This person needs help with their rent this month. This is the second request this year so by our policy we are doing financial counseling with them to see how they keep getting into this situation and what we can do to serve to (1.) not be in the same situation again (2.) have the resources necessary (education, more income, budget, etc.) to thrive and (3.) even grow into being an advocate for someone else in that same situation down the road. As we sit with this person and help them to make a budget, we are faced now with second "pimp" (see definition used at the beginning of the blog) in their lives: rent-to-owns. Not all of these establishments are bad, but some conduct business in such a way that the customer ends up paying 4x the amount for the product than it is actually worth. Now, did the store make the person buy that laptop or tv or washer, no. But, when you lack the "resource" that so many of us had and don't know how to save money, balance a checkbook, or build your credit you are forced to think that paying $50 a week for the next 2 years for a tv that you could buy at Best Buy for $250-300; and so another pimp is in their house.
I know what you're thinking, if you can't make rent you don't need a laptop. That's another blog.
Conclusion: I could go on and on about the fact that we are in a system that is built to keep people in dependence and dependence is now something left in the wills of the under resourced who are then pimped out by those who capitalize on the fact that they don't know any better. The point is this. Until we do the hard thing of putting our judgment about what we think this person's situation is like and get to know this person and realize that he or she may not even know they are in the chains of dependence, nothing will change.
Now, Christian, let me talk to you for a second. Those that are not of the household of faith can read this and think that's not really my problem. And while there are flaws with that way of thinking, we who bear the name of Christ can not do so and share in this thought. Let me remind you of what James, the brother of Jesus wrote:
11 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers.The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
We can't afford to think this way.
Now, Church, let me have a moment of your time. Is there room in your budget to come along side your brother in need. Is it not the fruit of a healthy, God glorifying church that there not be a needy person among you?(Acts 4:34) Or is your money tied up in overhead to the point that you can't hear the cries of the poor in the city because the speaker system, new building, etc.
Our city is in the chains of Pimp Dependence- brothers and sisters we need to come along side, build relationships and fulfill Isaiah 58:12.
Don't know where to start?
How about joining us here:
www.unitedforthecity.org
