Major Concept: Poverty Alleviation, God-Complex, and Dependency
Gospel Connection: Genesis 2:7, Ephesians 2:8-10
then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Review of prior Sessions:
Definition of Poverty
Four Broken Relationships
Opening Exercise:
15 minutes
Read the story to the group.
Have them discuss the questions in small groups.
Have a couple share with the larger group.
Maria is a Filipina in her early 30s. She got pregnant and never finished high school. She lives in a tiny, one room house with her parents, several siblings, common-law husband and four children under the age of ten. With few skills and limited education and social networks, she struggles to raise her children in an environment characterized by widespread substance abuse, failing schools, high rates of unemployment, rampant violence, teenage pregnancy, and an absence of role models.
Maria has tried to have several jobs, but a number of obstacles prevented her from finding and keeping regular work. First, there are not decent-paying jobs for high school dropouts living in a squatter area. Second, there are child-care issues that make keeping a job difficult. Finally, Maria feels inferior and inadequate. When she tries to get training or a job and faces an obstacle, it is very easy to lose confidence and give up. She feels trapped and her friends and family often talk about “bahala na,” that they are destined to be poor and there is nothing they can do about it.
If Maria showed up at your church door next Sunday asking for help, what would you do?
How would you define success in your efforts to help Maria?
There are no real right on wrong answers, we just want to get people thinking
Reflection Question:
What is poverty alleviation?
Video:
12 minutes - Lesson 2
Reinforcement:
One of the biggest problems in many poverty-alleviation efforts is that they exacerbate the poverty of being of the economically rich – god-complexes – and the poverty of being of the economically poor – their feelings of inferiority and shame.
When combined with our material understanding of poverty, the results can be devastating. We may help improve people’s physical conditions – they may have clean water, repaired houses, or new classrooms – but the other, intangible aspects of their poverty are deepened.
Material Definition of Poverty + God-complex (non-poor) + Feelings of Inferiority (poor)
= Harm to both materially poor and non-poor
Review Questions:
1. Where do you see evidence in your life of the four broken foundational relationships?
2. What is Poverty Alleviation?
is a process in which people – both materially poor and not-poor – move closer to living in right relationship with God, self, others, and the rest of creation.
Poverty alleviation isn’t just about fixing their circumstances. It is about helping them discover that they are an image bearer and that they have tremendous value as a human being, that they are called to be a steward of their resources and opportunities.
3. What barriers do the poor have regarding access to church?
4. How can the church be accessible to the materially poor?
5. Think back to Maria. Given a these definitions of poverty alleviation, how would you define success in helping Maria?
6. Can you identify personal choices Maria would need to make, with God’s help, to move out of poverty?
7. What changes in systemic factors or circumstances – challenges Maria has no control over – would aid Maria in the process of moving out of poverty?
8. Do you tend to see material poverty as a result of individual choices or circumstances?
Gospel Close:
Review Gospel Connection verses
The only true way to fight against creating dependency and/or a god-complex is the Gospel.
Discuss how being created in God’s image gives people value.
Discuss how salvation being a gift from God humbles us.
How can we apply the phrase “I’m just one beggar showing another where to get bread.” to our work with the materially poor?
Pray
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