There may be other things that can hurt a family.  All too often we see individuals who work very hard at finding others to help solve their financial problems.  Back to the dilemma of your decision of whether or not to help knowing there are children in the household.  Think about it….what kind of role models are we encouraging by supporting the continuation of generational poverty?  Sometimes sitting down with an individual and reviewing their money management skills will help more in making a long-term difference, not only for the head of the household, but for their children.  What a greater impact this can have instead of just writing a check.  Taking the time to work one on one with someone who is struggling sounds more like what Jesus has taught us….and isn’t this what Christians are challenged to do?

So, the next time someone comes to you asking for help, offer them a hand up.  Check with ACCESS Operation Second Mile caseworkers (caseworker@accessofwestmichigan.org)  and we can give you information and referrals to agencies currently offering assistance as well as suggestions for additional help.   If you were considering offering some financial assistance, we can make a note of this and hold this offer until all agency decisions are made.  ACCESS OSM wants work with you to be sure that helping is not hurting.

In order to better understand this statement, it’s important to remember that Kent County has many community resources.  Because of all the people needing help, these resources have set up strict criteria that define who can receive assistance.  If someone has an eviction or shut off notice, they can apply and have a good chance of getting financial assistance. 

So, back to your first meeting with  the person asking for your help.  You could fix this, write a check, even if it’s just for the minimum needed to keep the service on or the landlord happy,  and help this family move forward.  After all, isn’t that why your congregation has elected to have a benevolence fund?  But if you have stopped the crisis, by not having them apply for community funds, you have eliminated their chances of truly staring with a clean slate.  This help has also decreased your benevolence funds….money that could potentially have been used  to help the next person who sits across the desk from you.

Let ACCESS Operation Second Mile caseworkers help you to be good stewards of your limited benevolence funds.  If you don’t have a standard intake form, let us know and we can email you one.  Gather as much information as possible,  then, phone or email OSM caseworkers (caseworker@accessofwestmichigan.org) with the name, birth date, and last 4 digits of their social security number as well as a summary of what they are asking for,  and we can give you information and referrals to agencies currently offering assistance.  If you were considering offering some financial assistance, we can make a note of this and hold this offer until all agency decisions are made. 

ACCESS OSM wants work with you to be sure that helping is not hurting.

WZZM13 and ACCESS Poverty Simulation

If you were to break down what we are made of, in an effort to define who we are, you would end up with DNA.  According to Wikipedia, DNA is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms.  Each species has its own DNA, so that means that all humans share the same basic genetic instructions.  Almost all of our DNA—99.9 percent of the three billion “letters,” or nucleotides, that make up the human genome—is the same from person to person.  This would mean that, deep down, we are no different from the person sitting next to us.  The person struggling with health or financial issues could be us, but for the grace of God.  It also means that we all share the same genetic instructions as Jesus, the one who showed us, by example, how to give grace. 

This is an area I struggle with all the time.  Would Jesus give grace to someone who was ‘abusing the system’, or who felt entitled to help from others, or who wasn’t willing to make changes in their behaviors?  There are many examples in the Bible of Jesus giving grace to those who seemed to least deserve it, but there are also examples where Jesus allowed someone to suffer the consequences of their actions. There were 3 crosses on Calvary–Jesus didn’t use His power to stop the crucifixion of the robbers on either side of Him.  The crosses we bear are not always of our own doing, but Jesus also shared hope and forgiveness when He told one of the robbers that, because he asked for forgiveness, he would share a place in paradise.  God’s perfect plan has many ways of being revealed to us and in March 2009, scientists were able to reveal another mystery.  One of the essential proteins in the human cells is leptin.  Leptin plays a key role in regulating energy intake and energy expenditure.  Scientists were able to use a powerful electron microscope and take a picture of what this protein looks like…..it is made up of tiny crosses! All of our cells carry many crosses inside.  Our cells depend on this protein, these crosses, for energy. 

Within our cells, our DNA, each of us carries the same crosses.  So, no matter what we look like on the outside, we are all the same on the inside….where we end up just depends on which side of the cross of Jesus we are on.