Home > Work > Toxic Charity: How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help (And How to Reverse It)
1 " Giving to those in need what they could be gaining from their own initiative may well be the kindest way to destroy people. "
― Robert D. Lupton , Toxic Charity: How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help (And How to Reverse It)
2 " Mercy combined with justice creates: • immediate care with a future plan • emergency relief and responsible development • short-term intervention and long-term involvement • heart responses and engaged minds Mercy "
3 " When we do for those in need what they have the capacity to do for themselves, we disempower them. "
4 " The money spent by one campus ministry to cover the costs of their Central American mission trip to repaint an orphanage would have been sufficient to hire two local painters and two new full-time teachers and purchase new uniforms for every student in the school. "
5 " Food in our society is a chronic poverty need, not a life-threatening one. And when we respond to a chronic need as though it were a crisis, we can predict toxic results: dependency, deception, disempowerment. "
6 " Never do for the poor what they have (or could have) the capacity to do for themselves. "
7 " personal involvement offers the best way to determine if our charitable investments are being put to good use. "
8 " Giving to those in need what they could be gaining from their own initiative may well be the kindest way to destroy people. We mean well, our motives are good, but we have neglected to conduct care-full due diligence to determine emotional, economic, and cultural outcomes on the receiving end of our charity. Why do we miss this crucial aspect in evaluating our charitable work? Because, as compassionate people, we have been evaluating our charity by the rewards we receive through service, rather than the benefits received by the served. We have failed to adequately calculate the effects of our service on the lives of those reduced to objects of our pity and patronage. "
9 " corporation (CDC) would have to be formed. It would "
10 " Because, as compassionate people, we have been evaluating our charity by the rewards we receive through service, rather than the benefits received by the served. "
11 " developing the dependency-free zone is the real challenge. "
12 " • R&D is vital. • Invest in success: sound business principles also are good principles for responsible charitable investing. • Focus on your passions. • Investigate the best practices of those in the field to determine what works. • Create a prototype to test new approaches. • Record the process. • Document the findings. • Tweak the methods. • Replicate successes. "
13 " Why do we persist in giving away food when we know it fosters dependency?” “Because it’s easier! "
14 " parity is the higher form of charity. "