Category Archives: Helping the poor

Honor and shame in the book of Genesis––#2: The honor of work

Global Christian mission, Helping the poor, Honor and shame, theology of work

honor and shame in the book of genesis2

This is the second in a series about honor and shame in the book of Genesis. You’ll benefit from reading this in your browser. I encourage you to read all the way to the bottom—where you will be rewarded with a video and movie trailer.

In our first post in this series, we examined Gen. 1:1—“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”. We considered the honor of God as Creator, summarized below. This summary serves as an essential foundation for this second post concerning the honor of work.

God is Creator-King, and creation is his temple. We see this plainly in Psalms 96–100:

  • God is King—enthroned, majestic, glorious, infinitely honorable (Ps. 95:3–6; Ps. 96:6–10; Ps. 97:1–2; Ps. 98:6; Ps. 99:1–5; Ps. 100:4).
  • God is Creator of the earth—and thus deserving of worship from all the earth: (Ps. 95:4–5; Ps. 96:1, 9, 11–13; Ps. 97:1, 4–5, 9; Ps. 98:3–4, 7–9; Ps. 99:1; Ps. 100:1).
  • The heavens and the earth are a temple—sacred space in which all peoples, nations—even all nature—rejoice together in worship of the Creator-King (Ps. 95:1–7; Ps. 96:1–13; Ps. 97:1–9; Ps. 98:1–9; Ps. 99:1–5; Ps. 100:1–5)

It is unmistakable—the heavens and the earth do not comprise a “machine” devoid of sacred honor; no, the heavens and the earth comprise sacred space—an honorific temple of the Most High God, the Creator-King!

The author of Genesis and the Psalmist agree on ‘the nature of nature’—the essence of creation: There is no separation between natural and supernatural, or between secular and spiritual. There is a unity between matter and spirit. Why? Because it was all created by a glorious God for a glorious purpose (Rom. 11:36).

Darrow Miller LifeWorkIn his book LifeWork, Darrow Miller says it this way:

Scripture does not divide existence into separate natural and supernatural, or material and spiritual, realms. The separation that the modern world tends to make is utterly foreign to the biblical worldview. It is doubtful that the people of the Bible could even have wrapped their heads around the way we tend to see our lives and the world now. The Bible reveals that God is Creator of both the heavens and the earth.[1]

Work as sacred honor

Inside of this sacred, most honorable framework for all creation, let’s examine what Genesis 1–2 says about work. Below are five observations.

  1. When God created, God worked. Notice the description in Genesis 2:1–2. “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.” God’s work in creation was to create highly ordered, “very good” (Gen 1:31), sacred space. We affirm that it’s not just the result of God’s work that is sacred (that is, creation); no, the work itself was sacred. God is holy; therefore, all of God’s work is holy—including the work of creation. Moreover, we see God pictured both as a craftsman (Gen. 2:7; 22) and gardener (Gen. 2:8). God himself is at work!
  2. God gave man work to do. Genesis 2:15 makes this plain: “The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” In the sacred garden of Eden, God gave man work to do. Since God made humankind in his own image (Gen. 1:27), it is a reflection of the honor of God that he gives man work to do in the garden—“to work it and keep it”. Man’s work is not the result of the Fall. Work is not a curse. No! For man to work is to live in the image of the Most High God! Of course, the Fall made work harder, more painful (Gen. 3:17–19), but in God’s original design, work is good, honorable, sacred.
  3. God gave regal responsibility to humanity through work. Notice the word dominion in Genesis 1:26; 28. “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’” The word dominion implies regal oversight and supremacy (Ps. 8:5–6, 145:13). Darrow Miller also says that dominion is tethered to stewardship:

    Because God is a working God, when he makes man in his image, part of what that means is that man is to work as well. We find in Genesis the first job description. The nature of man’s work is to have dominion (stewardship) over creation. This is not only the first job description but also the job description out of which all other legitimate job descriptions come.[2]

    Later in his book, Miller speaks of the link between a high view of humanity, a high view of work, and the unusual prosperity of nations influenced by a Christian worldview. Miller points to the scholarship of Jeremy Landes in The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor.

    So, the difference, according to Landes, was religious worldview: the dignity of labor, humankind having dominion over creation, history that is going somewhere, and a free market. Landes got the first three right but, in my opinion, got the fourth point backward. The high view of man was not a result of enterprise; it was the biblical concept of a high view of man—the image of God—which led to enterprise. Man is the secondary creator, innovator, inventor, and artist. It is these worldview elements and others that raised nations out of poverty.[3]

    Humanity is made by God in the image of God. And since God works, God also gives humanity work to do. It is not meaningless, dishonorable work. No, it is the grand work of having dominion with and under God’s kingly rule over all the earth (Gen. 1:26; 28).

  4. God gave humanity the honor of providing for oneself through work. In Genesis 1:29, God speaks to humanity, “…‘Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.” God does not say, “I will feed you.” Rather, God says in effect, I am providing plants, fruit and seeds by which you can make gardens and develop agriculture—and out of your work you will have the food to sustain you. God provides the resources for humanity to provide for themselves. This is nothing less than the honor of providing for oneself through work under the kingship of Creator God.
  5. God gave creative work to humanity. In Genesis 2:19–20 God gave man the distinction of language—distinguishing man from the rest of the animals. And with that language came the responsibility of creative work: “… And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. …” Darrow Miller calls this “making man a word maker” and a culture-maker.

God established man’s dominion over nature by making man a word maker. Part of the image of God in us is our ability to reason, make words, and understand created distinctions. As man follows God in using language, he is separated from the rest of creation as the maker of culture.[4]

I asked my wife Daphne, how does honor overlap with the truth of God as creator? Daphne is a piano teacher and a great cook. She said something like this: Whenever you create something you just feel good. Whether it’s a work of art or a piece of music or a meal—creating is inherently honorable. And the honor one feels is even greater when people you love also enjoy what you have created.

The point is simple: God gave work to humanity—work that was regal, honorable, expansive, enjoyable—inside of God’s sacred creation. This is an incredibly high view of work. Work is about more than surviving. Work is about more than productivity. Work is about fulfilling God’s good purposes on the earth.

What does this mean for the mission of the church?

Here are a few principles that can be applied to the work of international missions—locally and globally. These principles have been stated by many others. I want to specifically connect these principles to the honor of work.

  • All work done to the glory and honor of God is spiritual work and sacred work.
  • Full-time ministers and missionaries are not more honorable—spiritually speaking—than any worker or professional who also does their work with all their might to the glory of God (Eccl. 9:10; Col. 3:23). We all stand equal at the cross, and we all have honor in our respective vocational callings.
  • Believers of virtually every vocation—and in their vocation!—are needed in God’s honor-sharing story of blessing the nations (Gen. 12:3, Acts 1:8) through Jesus Christ.
  • Providing good jobs to the poor and facilitating the honor of work can be integral to—and highly strategic for—making “disciples of all nations” (Mt. 28:19).

Five suggestions for resources concerning work, honor, mission

1) At Mission ONE, we’re engaging in a Missional Business vision with our international indigenous ministry partners. Learn more here, and watch a one-minute video.

2) Read a book on the theology of work. Darrow Millers’s LifeWork—mentioned above—is a comprehensive treatment on the subject. Two other books, much shorter, but compelling in how they tie together business and missions, are:

3) Attend a conference on Business As Mission. The BAM Conference is in Los Angeles, September 16–18.

4) Watch a video. The 5-minute video below by Skye Jethani is excellent—“Recapturing a Theology of Vocation”. Click here to see it in your browser.

5) Watch a movie: Poverty Inc. is on Netflix and Vimeo. It’s an amazing documentary—so worth watching! On the one hand, this film shows why traditional forms of charity often do more harm than good—while dishonoring the very people and communities who are being “served”. On the other hand, the film amplifies the honor of building businesses and providing good jobs through small to medium sized businesses. This is vital in fighting poverty and transforming communities around the world. Watch the trailer below (or in your browser):

Poverty, Inc. from Brainstorm Media on Vimeo.

1. Miller, Darrow; Newton, Marit. LifeWork: A Biblical Theology for What You Do Every Day (Kindle Locations 665-668). YWAM Publishing. Kindle Edition.

2. Ibid., Kindle Locations 3591-3593.

3. Ibid., Kindle Locations 5049-5053.

4. Ibid., Kindle Locations 2207-2209.

Case history and essay about honor and shame in Latin America, by Mark D. Baker

Helping the poor, Honor and shame, Quotes, articles & books related to cross-cultural partnership, ,

I recently read this essay, “The Saving Significance of the Cross in a Honduran Barrio” by Mark D. Baker, Associate Professor of Mission and Theology, at Fresno Pacific University. The essay incorporates a case history which…

  • defines the behaviors of machismo, marianismo, and humilde in the Latin American context of Honduras,
  • describes in compassionate detail how these entrenched behaviors and attitudes in a very poor community are an endless cycle of sin and shame, and
  • explores the ways that the Atonement of Jesus Christ—his work on the Cross—beautifully brings healing from sin and shame to followers of Jesus Christ.

I am grateful that Dr. Baker has given me permission to put this on my blog and include it in my list of resources. This 18-page essay touched my heart—it’s really worth the time. You’ll discover how the saving work of Christ on the cross not only saves people from the guilt of their sin; the cross of Christ can also transform the values and behaviors of people ingrained in a cycle of poverty and shame—into more authentic loving, forgiving, gracious, confident—indeed, honorable—human beings made in the image of God.

I love Dr. Baker’s article because it teaches that when people find both their salvation—and honor—in Jesus Christ, it truly sets them free. I commend this article to you. Click here to read.

Real hope, honorable work for women in rural Kenya

Cross-cultural partnership, Global Christian mission, Helping the poor, Indigenous ministries, Ministry to women, Partnership with national missionaries, Stories and reports, Training
Mission ONE President Bob Schindler with one of graduates of the Kijabe Town
sewing class. “She gave a stirring testimony of how she got saved and learned
the vocational skill of tailoring through the class.”

Mission ONE president Bob Schindler just returned Monday from Kenya. One of the major reasons for going was to visit with Mission ONE’s long-time ministry partner, National Evangelical Outreach (NEO Kenya), led by Pastor Wilfred Githongo Kabiru and his wife Rahab. (Also, a major strategic mission partnership with NEO Kenya is in the works, and Bob was there to navigate the process.)

One of NEO’s newest and most successful projects has been a tailoring school for women, located in Kijabe Town. While Bob was there, the tailoring school celebrated it’s second graduating class. (See other pictures below.)

This tailoring school ministry has been rescuing women from the sex trade. These women are receiving hope for eternity through faith in Jesus Christ—as well as hope for today—through learning the trade of tailoring. The tailoring trade enables the women to earn a living honorably in order to avoid the sin, shame, and life-threatening hazards of living “on the street.”

Funding for this tailoring school came from a Baptist church in North Carolina. We praise the Lord that this three-way strategic mission partnership—between NEO Kenya, a generous local church, and Mission ONE—is resulting in a beautiful collaboration through Jesus Christ to bring hope to the hopeless. Praise the Lord!

Sewing class in Kenya through Mission ONE cross-cultural partnership

The second graduating class of the Kijabe Town sewing class,
National Evangelical Outreach, Kenya

What is “managerial paternalism?”

Competencies for cross-cultural partnership, Cross-cultural partnership, Global Christian mission, Helping the poor, Organizational competence, Quotes, articles & books related to cross-cultural partnership
Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert are the authors of this excellent book

From When Helping Hurts: Alleviating Poverty Without Hurting the Poor … and Yourself, by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert …

Managerial paternalism is perhaps the hardest nut to crack. We middle-class North Americans love to see things get done as quickly as possible. Relative to many other cultures, including many low-income communities in North America, we are prone to take charge, particularly when it appears that nobody else is moving fast enough. As a result, we often plan, manage, and direct initiatives in low-income communities when people in those communities could do these things quite well already. The structure and pace might well be different if the low-income communities undertook the project themselves, but they could do a good job nonetheless.

The authors then go into the reasons for managerial paternalism, and the alternatives. If you want to know more, you should buy the book!

At Mission ONE, we do not try to run our partners’ ministries in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. We do not tell outstanding indigenous Christian leaders how to manage their financial administration, how to delegate responsibility, how to do accountability in their culture, how to pursue their vision. We do ask, “How can we serve your vision?” We do require quarterly reports covering ministry progress, stories, prayer requests and financial disbursements. We do trust one another, not only as organizational partners, but as friends who serve the Lord together for God’s glory.

With these kinds of relationships between Mission ONE and our ministry partners in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, we avoid managerial paternalism. Want to know more about Mission ONE’s ministry partners? Write to me at werner@mission1.org.

What is “labor paternalism?”

Competencies for cross-cultural partnership, Global Christian mission, Helping the poor, Short-term missions
Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert are the authors of this excellent book

From When Helping Hurts: Alleviating Poverty Without Hurting the Poor … and Yourself, by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert …

Labor paternalism occurs when we do work for people that they can do for themselves. I remember going on a spring break mission trip to Mississippi while I was in college. I will never forget the sick feeling I had as I stood on a ladder painting a house while the young, able bodied men living in the house sat on their front porch and watched. I did so much harm that day. Yes, the house got painted, but in the process I undermined these people’s calling to be stewards of their own time and talents. It might have been better if I had stayed home for spring break, rather than to have gone and done harm.

This statement really hits hard: “I did so much harm that day.” I am grateful for the authors’ honesty and vulnerability. I wonder: How many non-poor evangelical Christians from North America are willing to admit that they “did harm” on their mission trips, despite their good intentions?

How many mission trips have occurred in which North American believers built a church for a community, while marginalizing members of the local church, local construction workers and small businesses?

Helping the poor and cross-cultural partnership is not simple. It requires training and learning from others. Thank you, again, Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert for your insights. God help us to avoid “labor paternalism.”

What is “knowledge paternalism?”

Competencies for cross-cultural partnership, Cultural intelligence, Godly character, Helping the poor, Quotes, articles & books related to cross-cultural partnership
Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert are the authors of this excellent book

From When Helping Hurts: Alleviating Poverty Without Hurting the Poor … and Yourself, by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert …

All of us need to remember that the materially poor really are created in God’s image and have the ability to think and to understand the world around them. They actually know something about their situation, and we need to listen to them! This does not need to degenerate into some sort of new-age ,“the-truth-is-within-you” quagmire. Like all of us, the materially poor are often wrong about how the world works and can benefit fro the knowledge of others. In fact, a key trigger point for change in a community is often being exposed to a new way of doing something. But it is reflective of a god-complex to assume that we have all the knowledge and that we always know best.

Knowledge paternalism may be a particular temptation for Christian businesspeople from North America, many of whom are showing considerable passion for using their God-given abilities to train low-income entrepreneurs in the Majority World. This passion is a wonderful development and has enormous potential to advance Christ’s kingdom around the world. But the fact that a person successfully operates a software company in Boston does not ensure that this person has the best business advice for a highly vulnerable farmer living on one dollar per day in the semi-feudal institutional setting of rural Guatemala. Humility, caution, and an open ear are in order.

I appreciate the respect the authors show to the materially poor for the knowledge they do possess. This need for this is amplified when Christian leaders from North America enter into cross-cultural partnerships with Christian leaders in the Majority World, who as indigenous followers of Christ, usually have a clearer understanding—better knowledge—of how to share the love of Jesus and build God’s kingdom in their community.

The ideal in a cross-cultural partnership is to learn from one another and to learn together. This has the effect of deepening the relationship reservoir from which to pursue your ministry goals, and to work through inevitable misunderstandings.

For more on paternalism: What is “resource paternalism?” /  What is “spiritual paternalism?”

What is “resource paternalism?”

Competencies for cross-cultural partnership, Cross-cultural partnership, Cultural intelligence, Global Christian mission, Godly character, Helping the poor, Quotes, articles & books related to cross-cultural partnership
Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert are the authors of this excellent book

I have been reading When Helping Hurts: Alleviating Poverty Without Hurting the Poor … and Yourself, by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert. The authors argue that a common unhealthy practice of North American Christians toward the poor is paternalism. Note: Since I am reading this book with an Amazon Kindle, I am referencing the book using the Kindle reference system which is by “location” rather than by page number.

Avoid paternalism. Do not do things for people that they can do for themselves. Memorize this, recite it under your breath all day long, and wear it like a garland around your neck. (location 1690)

The authors have outlined five types of paternalism.

  1. Resource paternalism
  2. Spiritual paternalism
  3. Knowledge paternalism
  4. Labor paternalism
  5. Managerial paternalism

I am grateful for the work of Corbett and Fikkert in making these distinctions about the various kinds of paternalism. With this post, I am beginning to write my take on each of these “paternalisms.”

I define resource paternalism as the practice of providing money, materials or other assets to people or organizations who could otherwise provide it themselves.

Resource paternalism hurts the poor because it tells them indirectly that they do not have the ability to provide for themselves, thus harming their dignity as responsible, capable, creative persons made in God’s image. It hinders the development of the poor because it reinforces the idea that they lack the capability to address their own problems. Resource paternalism advances a worldview that contributes to the cycle of poverty.

Resource paternalism hurts the non-poor because it releases resources that could have been invested more wisely and effectively for God’s kingdom in other ways. Moreover, it contributes to a “poverty of spirit” on the part of the non-poor—pride and arrogance—failing to recognize that, in the words of Corbett and Fikkert,

… until we embrace our mutual brokenness, our work with low-income people is likely to do far more harm than good.

Can middle- and upper-class Christians from North America avoid paternalism, and rather, take an attitude of servanthood toward people in poverty—an attitude which recognizes “our mutual brokenness” and rejects a spirit of pride and superiority?

What do you think?

Excellent resources from Chalmers: "Helping the Church—Help the Poor—Help Themselves"

Competencies for cross-cultural partnership, Global Christian mission, Helping the poor, Quotes, articles & books related to cross-cultural partnership
The Chalmers Center at Covanant College has developed an outstanding ministry of training Christians for helping the poor in the most biblical and effective

I have finished reading When Helping Hurts: Alleviating Poverty Without Hurting the Poor … and Yourself, by Steve Corbett and Dr. Brian Fikkert. Steve and Brian draw upon decades of experience as practitioners, researchers, and trainers in economics and community development both in North America and around the world. They serve with The Chalmers Center at Covenant College. From what I have gathered from their book and their web site, their work and range of services is simply outstanding. I recommend them both to you.