Negative Effects of Outside Cash
About the Author
Ben spends most of his time working with underprivileged kids in Tijuana, Mexico, encouraging them to continue their education. He's an unofficial member of Iglesia Bautista Monte Horeb, which runs the elementary school, Centro Pedagógico Didaque.
A few articles back I wrote about an ex-fundraiser. In the article I wrote:
We were discussing the balance of positive and negative effects of ‘outside’ money. Essentially, how do the receivers of outside money react to whatever they’ve been given after a given period of time?
A keyword in the above sentences is “balance.” I didn’t elaborate on this at the time, but it deserves attention, because there are positive and negative effects of outside money.
I read a book two years ago about a missionary who had worked in the Philippines. He developed a piece of equipment that eased and increased the production of rice. The effect was astounding on many levels. First, the economic situation of the rice growers skyrocketed. No more malnourishment. Dirt floor huts turned into multi-level homes. The people were suddenly lifted from the sulking poverty that had entrapped them. Second, spiritual byproducts were born. With more time away from grinding out basic necessities, the local people were freed up to study God’s Word and participate in evangelistic outreaches. People’s spirits were raised, churches grew, Bible studies were started, and many accepted Christ as a result.
The missionary began speaking at missions conferences around the world, and many were genuinely impressed with his ingenious invention that produced economic gains resulting in spiritual growth.
However, as this missionary was making the conference rounds, he began to receive word that things in the Philippine village were falling apart. Bickering over who was entitled to what became abundant. This caused feuds among families that divided the church and eventually brought Bible studies and any sort of evangelistic outreach to a halt. Once Christ was completely “out of the picture,” members of the village began suing others in hopes of locking in their share of the profit.
What started out to be goodwill and a very creative idea turned into bitter financial and spiritual bankruptcy.
July 20th, 2006 at 9:23 pm
But what went wrong? Where was the balance out of whack? What could have prevented the problem?
Was it the fact that the missionary left the work prematurely, before the people were grounded in the Word?
Was it that the people yielded to temptation, fell into the trap of loving money, and sinned, which is so easy to do as scripture points out.
1 Tim. 6:6-19, Heb. 13:5, Matt. 6:19-21, Prov. 30:8-9
We are all responsible before God to obey Him.
Should the missionary have given the initial help? I think so.
M
July 21st, 2006 at 6:41 am
Interesting thoughts Ben.
At the left margin the first letter in each line is cut off. Can this be adjusted?
July 21st, 2006 at 2:44 pm
For those using Internet Explorer, sorry about the margin error. It should now be fixed.
July 21st, 2006 at 3:12 pm
Good question. I’m not sure what went wrong. The book took a different direction after the Philippines example.
The passages you listed are all insightful regarding the love of money. Did the locals in the village fall in love with money? I’m not sure. Maybe it’s that clear-cut. But I don’t think I have the answer for sure.
What happened is that something went wrong out of wholesome intentions. I agree with you that the missionary should have given the initial help. However, we can never know what someone’s going to do with that help or aid. Think of the parable of the Lost Son, or the Ten Healed of Leprosy. In both accounts, those who received did not initially react positively—especially with their lack of gratitude toward the giver.
Regarding this article, I don’t think I wrote a fair and balanced account of issue. A series of articles is in the lineup.
July 23rd, 2006 at 7:49 pm
I have heard some good things about micro business loans in mission situations that seem to do a good job providing accountability for the new entrepreneur as well as a source of income that can support families in impoverished areas. Have you run across this? I wish I had a link but I just remember people talking about it.
July 25th, 2006 at 2:47 pm
Todd H,
Believe it or not, I was in the dark about micro-credit loans until 3 years ago. A friend dropped down into Tijuana for the afternoon and filled me in on the idea. And it’s huge worldwide! And has been functioning for at least a couple of decades. Many of the organizations boast impressive results, largely with women. Men have faired much worse by comparison. I’ve seen TV specials documenting the process in India and South America. I’ve also read a few magazine articles about its success—as well as a few of the once “non-profits”, now turned big business.
Recently, the pastor I work for met with an entrepreneur interested in starting it up in Tijuana. Supposedly, it’s not done here (at least on a large scale). I’m super skeptical of its success on the border. But it will be fascinating to track.