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Why should biblical Christians care about the physical well-being of their neighbors? We know that poverty will always be with us and that our physical bodies are less important than our spiritual lives. Still, Southern Baptists are at the forefront of hunger relief, disaster relief, clean water initiatives, and other responses to human need. There are some good reasons why our commitment to biblical authority and the doctrine that flows from it will lead us to a more constant commitment to the relief of human suffering.
For one thing, we don’t depend on our own perception of another person’s value. Some responses to famine, for example, have been successful or not depending on the poignancy of the victims. Such pleas may also depend on making the potential givers guilty for being well-fed and rich. Charity based on these appeals will be spotty, temporary. Christians know that people are valuable because God has ascribed value to them. That’s the most exalted thing we can say of ourselves; we are in God’s image and the objects of his love. Our response to these truths will not be based so much on our feelings.
The quickening of the Spirit in our lives also gives us the supernatural ability to love people we would otherwise take little notice of. We love people because God enables us to love them. Understanding that love is more than a feeling will cause us to do something helpful. We are different because our lives have been transformed; we behave differently for this reason.
A biblical understanding of stewardship tells us that all we have is for God’s glory. We are therefore open to his leading when he wishes to use us to serve our neighbors. There is no, “I’ve done my share,” thinking when we see God as the source and owner of everything. America is the most generous nation on the planet because a biblical view of life is hardwired into our culture. As this biblical influence wanes, so will the generosity of our nation in general. This should not be true of Christians.
We are not only enabled but also commanded to love our neighbors. Again this means more than just feeling kindly toward them. Jesus identified our devotion to him with the way we treat the hungry, naked, and otherwise helpless people among us. Obeying Christ is an act of the will for the redeemed person. Helping our helpless neighbors is a concrete way we can express gratitude for our salvation.
Unlike our more liberal or non-religious fellows, biblical Christians care about the whole man. Some have suggested a kind of immoral equivalence in the way that liberals neglect direct evangelism and conservatives neglect social ministry. This does not bear up to a second look.
Liberals may, by their own testimony, equate missions and social ministry; but conservatives are committed to feeding the body and the spirit. Florida pastor and SBC President Bobby Welch recently shared a story I think is typical. He came across two retired men with chainsaws in a neighborhood ravaged by wind damage. They were worn out and apparently not accustomed to the heavy work involved in removing downed trees from living rooms and bathrooms. Red-faced and shaking with exertion, this freelance chainsaw crew happily told Welch of all the people they had shared Christ with. They were happy to help people reclaim their homes; they were even happier to direct them to a permanent home in Heaven. They loved the whole person in each neighbor they helped.
Southern Baptists’ response to Iraq’s devastation also tells something about how our faith leads us to respond to others’ needs. By one count, our people collected, bought, packaged, and delivered nearly 2.5 million pounds of food to Iraqi families. A sticker on each box bearing the Arabic text of John 1:17 was the most overt witness included with this relief effort. Some liberals protested the inclusion of a scriptural message, by the way.
October is the month we emphasize hunger relief in the SBC. Our World Hunger Fund is an amazingly good deal. Promoted by the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, the North American Mission Board, and the International Mission Board, this fund is primarily disbursed through the mission boards. This means the administrative apparatus, distribution network, and relief workers are already in place with the 10,000 missionaries Southern Baptists support. Thus, every dollar designated for this fund goes to relief efforts.
Here’s what that does in a typical year. More than 200 overseas projects, using over $6 million, are addressed annually with our hunger relief funds. These projects may include clean water projects, medical assistance, training, and hygiene ministries. In the U.S., hunger relief funds will help churches and church-run community centers provide food for homeless people, victims of natural disasters, and those in poor neighborhoods who just don’t have enough. Divorce remains a leading cause of poverty in our country, so women experience hunger at a much higher rate than men. Millions of children are hungry in our own country. The needs are great and thousands of workers are in place. We can make a difference with our gifts.
According to the ERLC, a gift of $20 per month can either support one child through another relief organization or provide clean water and food for scores of people through our own relief network. There’s really no comparison between the efficiency of our network and that of others. We’re big enough, organized enough, and dispersed sufficiently to be the best choice for Southern Baptist churches that wish to help with world hunger relief.
Unfortunately, our own response to hunger needs waxes and wanes, depending on what’s in the news.
