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  1. dgreegor
    MI
    Age: 25-34
    Gender: male
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    Help the Poor...but don't hurt them
    February 26, 2014
    dgreegor
    MI
    Age: 25-34
    Gender: male
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    *I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

    When I heard about this book from a review by a friend I thought it would be a great resource to have. I was right. This book is a great tool on how to properly use aid when dealing with the poor. The solution is not to throw money at the problem but rather find out what is causing the poverty.

    Corbett and Fikkert do an excellent job of giving their foundation for helping the hurting: Jesus. Jesus came to earth and helped the hurting. By His example we should do the same. However, there is a way to do so without making this worse than before.

    The first thing is find out what type of poverty it is. Is it poverty by tragedy (hurricane, tsunami, medical reasons), economic environment (low income job, high cost of living) or lack of initiative? What the authors have done is show that each situation is not the same. It is the proverbial feed a man to fish, but make sure that there is a river in which to fish.

    What was addressed, that never dawned on me, was the mental and psychological battering that the poor are assaulted with that a middle income earner does not face. Thoughts of worthlessness, stupidity, hopelessness, and others plague the poor. These items must be addressed but the solution is not always to give financial aid. What then is the proper response? That depends on the cause.

    Sometimes the proper response is to give money but that such situations needs to be examined carefully. It may only be a one time need (i.e. car trouble, damages because of natural disasters, etc) and such needs may be solved by money. However, what about the situations like poor education, loss of a job, etc.? Giving money will not fix these problems but it is often used because it is one of the easiest.

    This gets to the heart of the book: overcoming poverty requires a long term approach. It demands time, energy, relationships, and perseverance. It requires getting to know the people who make up the poor, understanding their fears, dreams, thoughts, and worldviews. This is how to help without hurting: empowerment.

    This is a great book and should be on the shelf of anyone involved in ministering to those in impoverished environments. I highly recommend that every pastor, homeless shelter director, and missions organization get a copy. In fact, get more than one so you can lend out a copy or two. It will be well worth it.
  2. Robert
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    When Helping Hurts
    April 28, 2015
    Robert
    Quality: 0
    Value: 0
    Meets Expectations: 0
    Excellent resource for those who really want to see things change for the better in our society
  3. Fritz Longabaugh
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    When Helping Hurts
    February 10, 2017
    Fritz Longabaugh
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    This is one of the most influential books I've read in the last ten years. I refer to it all the time in my own speaking and writing and base many ministries on its insights. It's a must-read.
  4. Patricia James
    California
    Age: 55-65
    Gender: female
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    When Helping Hurts
    November 26, 2019
    Patricia James
    California
    Age: 55-65
    Gender: female
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    We did this as an all church bible study. It was eye opening.
  5. Robbie Pruitt
    Port-au-Prince, Haiti
    Age: 35-44
    Gender: Male
    4 Stars Out Of 5
    Being Helpful is Not Always Helpful
    October 22, 2014
    Robbie Pruitt
    Port-au-Prince, Haiti
    Age: 35-44
    Gender: Male
    Quality: 5
    Value: 4
    Meets Expectations: 4
    It has been said, The pathway to hell is paved with good intentions. Good intentions are not always good enough. In attempting to help others with our good intentions, we can actually do more harm than good. This is the issue Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert address in their thought provoking and challenging book, When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor . . . and Yourself.

    We must be thoughtful and intentional in the ways that we seek to resource those who are in need. As Christians we are called to be restoration agents in the world, but we are also called into intentional and loving relationships. We are called to healthy relationships and investment in people over projects. This is not always easy, but it is essential if we are to be truly helpful, without doing more harm than good. Due to the fallen nature of humanity and the world, even the very systems through which we try to help people are fallen and broken. It is not enough that we have to navigate our own fallenness, and the fallen nature of the people we are trying to serve and help, but we must also navigate the fallenness of systems, government, infrastructure, culture and the like.

    When doctors set out to do their call to serve the sick, their first rule of thumb is to First, do no harm. This is part of what is called the Hippocratic Corpus. As those who are called to serve others in need and to reflect the love of Christ, we too should practice, at minimum, First, do no harm.

    There is an old proverb, which states, Give a man a fish, and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime. The issue of truly helping someone, as Christians are called to do, is a complex issue. We must look at problems systematically and for the long term. A short-sided view of help, relief, is not as affective as looking at long-term solutions, which address systematic breakdowns. It is important to see beyond relief and to rehabilitation and restoration. Poverty alleviation is better than mere poverty pacification.

    Poverty and need is a relational and structural breakdown and is a result of sin. This sin has caused us to be fallen in our relationships with God, ourselves, others and creation. Helping people can be difficult as we navigate our own sinfulness and is further complicated through the fallen nature of creation and the fallen nature of those we serve. We should not do for others what they can do for themselves. We do not want to enable people in our helping them, nor do we want them to become dependent on our aide.

    Relief is a simpler and an easier solution than the larger investment of time and resources that it takes to do rehabilitation, development and restoration. Sometimes quick relief is appropriate, but often times what is needed and what is best requires much more effort, time and resources to help those in need when providing assistance. As Christians, our call is a high calling and should be focused on people and loving our neighbors in selfless service. We must consider others and engage the community.

    As Americans we can be tempted to move toward the quick fix. We can also be tempted to throw money at problems rather than time, thought and relationships. The importance of the book When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor . . . and Yourself cannot be overemphasized.

    Any person who is interested in appropriately meeting the needs of people and impacting the community and the world for Christ should read this book. Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert have identified and addressed the issues that lead to helping actually hurting the people we are trying to serve. They offer valuable insights and suggestions of how to navigate the complexity of helping, how to honor God in our helping and serving, and how to truly help those in need to move toward reconciliation and restoration.
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