The Poor"I came to the [inner] city to serve those in need. I have resources and abilities to clothe the ill-clad, feed the hungry, shelter the homeless. These are good works that our Lord requires of us. And there is blessedness in this kind of giving. But there is also power that allows me to retain control. My position as a helper protects me from the humiliation of appearing to need hep. Even more sobering, I condemn those I help to the permanent role of recipient. When my goal is to change people, I subtly communicate: Something is wrong with you; I am okay. You are ignorant; I am enlightened. You are wrong; I am right. If our relationship is defined as healer to patient, I must remain strong and you must remain sick for our interaction to continue. People don't go to doctors when they are well. The process of 'curing,' then, cannot serve long as the basis for a relationship that is life producing for both parties. Small wonder that we who have come to the city to "save" the poor find it difficult to enter into true community with those we think needy. 'It takes everyone of us to make His body complete, for we each have a different work to do. So we belong to each other, and each needs all the others' (Romans 12:4,5). I need the poor? For what? The question exposes my blindness. I see them as weak ones to be rescued, not as bearers of the treasures of the kingdom. The dominance of my giving overshadows and stifles the rich endowments the Creator has invested in those I consider destitute. . . . The community into which Christ invites us is one of interdependence. We are called to mutual sharing and the discovery of gifts Christ has concealed in the unlikeliest among us. And to those who consider themselves leaders, our Lord offers humility -- the salvation of the proud that comes from learning to receive from the least, who are the greatest in the kingdom" (p.6-7). -- Theirs Is the Kingdom: Celebrating the Gospel in Urban America by Robert D. Lupton | 
