A True Charity Christmas
By Hannah Hull published in the Joplin Globe on 1/8/17
It was a great success. Every one said so. The Christmas dinner was delicious. We had turkey, ham, sweet potato casserole, stuffing, mashed potatoes with turkey gravy. There were presents for everyone; more than they could carry! There were decorations, cookies, carols, presents and food. Yes, the Christmas Eve celebration at the homeless shelter was a great success. What more could anyone ask for the day before Christmas?
As my husband and I gathered our things to leave the shelter and head home for the holidays, we saw a young man walk past us. He was headed for who knows where to do who knows what, so we smiled at him and said cheerfully, “Merry Christmas!” His blood shot eyes looked right through us as he shouldered his threadbare backpack, which was now full of Christmas goodies from the recent celebration. His mouth quivered a little as he mumbled, “There hasn’t been a good one yet.” With that, he walked away, leaving us silent and confused. Never been a good one yet? But what about what we just did? What about the food and the presents and the songs? Wasn’t that as good of a Christmas as it gets?
It wasn’t until later that night, as I sat around a table filled with family and laughter that I realized we hadn’t given him Christmas at all. He didn’t want presents or food. His need wasn’t for carols or cookies. His real need, the need of his heart, was to feel like he belonged, like he was part of a family.
This young man reminded me that True Charity isn’t about meeting the surface needs, it is all about getting down to the heart of the issue. When we look at poverty, it is tempting to see only the surface issues and miss the bigger picture. It is tempting to look at the homeless and say the problem is “they don’t have a house.” The response to this surface problem is, “give them a house.” After all, “a housed person isn’t homeless.” It is tempting to see someone who is hungry and think food is the answer. It is tempting to see someone holding a sign that says “homeless, anything helps” and think money is going to solve their problems. But all of these solutions attempt to fix only the surface of poverty, not the root cause.
True Charity isn’t about filling a superficial need, it is about filling the most important need. Did that young man need food? Sure. Did he need the socks and gloves we gave as gifts? Sure. But he will need those things again tomorrow, and the next day and he will still have no way of providing them for himself because no one dared to explore the deeper issues of a broken family and feelings of abandonment.
Poverty is more complex than a house, or a meal, or money. Poverty goes far beyond what a person might lack physically. It is a lack of experience, emotional maturity, spirituality, skill, education, family, support systems and a host of other things a person needs to succeed. Poverty is complex because people are complex. It looks different for each person. As compassionate people who want to serve the poor, we must be very careful that our charity is getting to the root problem. We must look beyond the superficial to the broken heart within and engage that heart with compassion. We must all strive toward effective, True Charity.
Join the Initiative today.
Hannah Hull
Regional Director of True Charity Initiative
