Book Reflection - Compassion, Justice and the Christian Life
Part Two

Alright, I have three more things to add to finish the reflection on this book by Robert Lupton. The first is a quote speaking of our responsibility as followers of Jesus to advocate for the poor. This is very much connected to one of the themes from my reflection on the first half of the book. He states,
"How then do we care for those in need without doing them harm? Social policies over the past four decades have taught us that programs intended to help can rather quickly become entitlements, and entitlements engender unhealthy dependency. Our challenge, then, is to couple unconditional kindness with appropriate opportunities that foster one's growth toward full potential. The gestation time will vary widely. Some will surprise us with their strength and quickness. Others will disappoint us with their lack of motivation and slowness. But all must assume full responsibility for their own rate of progress or regress" (73).

Another point that hits home for me personally and is something I have experienced in previous full-time ministry opportunities is in a section Lupton writes about a series of questions and expectations that ministers/recipients of support have for their donors/supporters. The seventh question is, "Are you more concerned with measurable results than being faithful? Quick fixes generally don't last. Poverty develops over generations and it will take time - decades perhaps to undo its effects. Immediate results are wonderful, but long-term commitment will win the day. Can you live with sporadic and incremental changes?" (88). I have struggled with this exact thing and have had many conversations with other missionaries about their experience with this on the mission field. This is a major difficulty for many missionaries. Even in writing my monthly newsletters I have struggled with what to write to share what good things are happening, but remain truthful in how ministry can often (more often than not) be painfully slow and not appear to be gaining momentum at times.

Finally, I have one critique of Lupton, specifically in his reaction to gentrification (if this is a new word, click here for a description). I have seen with my own eyes the destructiveness of gentrification both in LA and in Portland. Lupton calls for gentrification with justice where neighborhoods house both low- and middle-income feel welcome to live. He states that, "economic viability is the only thing that will build and sustain a healthy community" (90-91). He continues in saying that there also needs to be re-development of these areas to build housing to draw in young professionals. Lupton has a very idealistic vision of the whole spectrum of low- to high-incomes living together. I would love it if this was possible, but Lupton fails to give any examples of this taking place though. I have seen first-hand how these young professionals will force the hand of an all-to-willing city government to evict and force out low-income individuals and families because the young professionals want to live in a "safe" and "clean" environment where povery does not exist. Of course I generalize, but this is extremely common. I desire for this to take place, just as Jesus promoted the Kingdom of God here on earth where the two greatest commandments of loving God and our neighbors are lived out in the lives of all humans, but the reality is this is far from the present case.

* With that being said, I will be continuing these reflections in the coming weeks. Thanks for reading.