Stable Foundation

It’s tempting to measure poverty in purely economic or income terms.  To do this we have to assume the cause and effect of poverty is primarily material.  What I’ve come to realize over the past several years of working with low income families is that, while resources are mitigating, there are other more powerful issues at work.   

At Joshua’s Place (www.joshuasplace.cc) we spend a significant amount of our resources (both time and money) focused on the issue of stability.  Studies, and our experience, show the impact of instability in the life of child can be debilitating and lifelong.  While it is tempting to spend our focus on the immediate crisis’s that come to our door, true change comes as we advance the discussion from crisis relief into development and stability in the family.   To do this takes a commitment to looking beyond the presenting problems and immerse ourselves in the lives and stories of those in need.  It’s messy and complex and requires a long term commitment to a community of people.  If you want to talk about strategy and tactics, let’s have coffee.  There is much we’ve learned and much to learn.  But this post is not about direction but about inspiration.

 

I work alongside an incredibly committed group of leaders and volunteers.  Folks that spend hundreds of hours each year giving of themselves to the cause of showing God’s love to families that are struggling.   They tutor elementary age kids, pack groceries, deliver weekend food packs, teach financial literacy courses, mentor addicts, visit jails and hospitals.  They come from all walks of life, many themselves living below an arbitrary “poverty line”.  What binds us together is the love we have for Jesus and people and our deep desire to see the negative impacts of poverty alleviated.  It’s a lofty goal but we’re a stubborn group.   

We’re committed and focused but nothing hurts like a setback.  We know it is part of growth, but it’s hard to be personally invested and not feel the sting of a poor choice.  The examples are numerous and irrelevant, three steps forward and two steps back is still a step forward.  When we’re honest we have to admit that sometimes our hurt comes from personal expectations and maybe even some personal validation.  The hardest part of giving up our God-complexes can be letting God deal with the complexity.  But if generations are going to change, we have to be willing to accept the instability that comes with instability.   

In the gospel of Matthew Jesus told a story about stability.   He said:

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.”  (Matt 7:24-25)  

When we help people we want a stable house for them.  We want good plans, good materials and excellent construction.  These are middle class virtues that may predict better stability.  However, Jesus’ story is not about a stable house but about a stable foundation.  He goes on to site an example of a similar house built on sand that falls with a “great crash” when the storms come.  The difference, of course, is the stability of the foundation.  He is the foundation and the rock that we build on is one of grace.  Grace that is strong enough to sustain some flimsy material and a little of our unstable expectations.