Why Should Christians Care For People’s Needs?

There are many Christian charities all around the world. Whatever criticism the Church may deserve, Christians have had a positive impact on the world.

There are hospitals, homeless shelters, soup kitchens, counselling centres, and many other programs designed to meet people’s needs. But what is the ultimate goal of this?

Specifically, for evangelicals?

I grew up in a liberal mainline church and we supported programs that helped people’s physical needs. I never wondered why. It was just logical to help people who needed that help.

In my early twenties, I joined a Pentecostal church. This was my introduction to evangelicalism.

I was taught at that church that as Christians, we had just one job: to get as many people as possible into heaven by telling them about Jesus. We should not get distracted by other things.

The idea was that everything on earth would pass away and only our eternal destination mattered. It seemed to make sense in that theological context.

I remember the topic of caring for the poor came up. There was some skepticism about it as that was what the liberal mainline churches were doing and they were not “real” Christians.

The conclusion was reached that we could care for the poor, but only if it was the means by which a gospel presentation would be made. The idea was that people would think that what they needed was food or clothes but what they really needed was salvation.

I can remember volunteering at a soup kitchen. The people were sitting at their tables. The food was ready and we could smell it. But no one was to eat until a person gave a gospel presentation and provided an opportunity for people to respond.

There is a certain logic to this. And I believed this.

For a while.

The problem is that this is not what is taught in the New Testament. When I read the Gospels and Paul’s letters, I find something different.

It seems as if the primary motivation for helping people is that it is the right thing to do. Charity is not a marketing gimmick so that we can convert people with a “bait and switch.”

The entire New Testament puts the focus on loving people. You could argue that the greatest act of love is to share Jesus. I agree that it is important that we introduce people to Jesus.

But when we go back to the New Testament, we find that the call to help people is not just to creat opportunities for evangelism. Please here me: I AM NOT CRITICIZING EVANGELISM.

One of the reasons I was told to not focus on caring for the poor and needy was that it was like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. It was just a waste of time.

And yet the Bible does not speak of this activity as a waste of time. It is the right thing to do and charity matters even if it only seems to affect the needs of this life.

There is some irony here.

If you only help people so that you can get an evangelism opportunity, people know it and they will be less likely to listen with any openness.

But if you help people with no strings attached and it is simply out of love, they will be more interested in why we do what we do.

What do you think? Is charity only to aid evangelism or does it have value in and of itself?