I had dinner with a group of our Indonesian staff members and met a new member of the local leadership team. She told me about her many experiences working with the poor before she came to work for our ministry, and I was truly amazed at all the things she had done.

I asked her to share her best advice for someone who wants to work with the poor, and she had four words for me:

“Bring an empty cup.

“Most people come to help the poor with only a full cup.

“Their cups are full of all the things they want to do for the poor, all the things they want to give to the poor and all the solutions they have for the problems of the poor. These things can sometimes be very good, but if people only bring a full cup, they can’t accept anything in return. They can give, but they can’t receive. They should bring an empty cup.”

I was humbled by her comment. How many times had I visited some of our church partners with only a full cup? How often had I spent time with the poor assuming that I had all the answers for their problems and that I was the only one who had anything to offer in the relationship?

As we talked, I began to realize that my heart needed to change about the work I was doing. While my intent had always been good, I had to admit that I thought the poor needed me more than I needed them. I have since come to appreciate just how much the poor can teach me if I come prepared to receive from them.

When I come with an empty cup, the poor teach me about the faith required to truly depend on God rather than for me to try to solve all their problems by reaching for my wallet. When I come with an empty cup, the poor teach me how to get the best use of the resources around me instead of wasting so much.

When I come with an empty cup, the poor teach me about the joy of giving to others even when I can’t “afford” to give. They teach me about the beauty of simple living, about the importance of relationships and human contact, and about finding God in the little things.

Working with the poor isn’t about doing things FOR them; it’s about doing things WITH them. Those of us in developed nations might have the financial and material resources, but the poor are often rich in spiritual and relational resources. This is no accident.

I believe that God has arranged things so that we can both benefit when we work together to address the needs of the poor, but it won’t happen unless we are intentional. We’ve got to bring an empty cup.

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If you close your eyes and think of Africa, what do you see?

Are you picturing dynamic leaders bustling about in business suits? Or are you picturing the “wretched of the earth”— men loafing, distended bellies and flies in the eyes?

Andrew Rugasira, founder of Uganda’s Good African Coffee, recently spoke at Willow Creek’s Leadership Summit and asserted that many us of harbor a stereotypical “basket case” image of Africa, that it’s all chaos and corruption and need.

Well, you might say, Africa seems in fact to be a basket case. There are men loafing and distended bellies and flies in the eyes. But that is not all there is to Africa.

There are also God-given rich resources and great potential. This question of our perception of not only Africa, but all of the developing world, is central to how we respond to the needs we see.

When we see the flies, we give handouts — which can promote the self-perpetuating cycle of dependence on the one hand and condescension on the other.

When we see potential, we focus on development.

According to Good African Coffee’s Web site, which promotes trade with the developing world rather than aid,

“Unless there is a radical shift in the way the world sees Africa, there is no foreseeable hope of ever reaching the Millennium Development Goals of universal primary education, poverty reduction and the elimination of avoidable infant deaths that were set for 2015.”

With this “basket case” view of the developing world, do we really believe it will develop … or do we somewhere in the back of our minds blithely check off giving as our “do good” opportunity, without reference to the end results? Checking our perceptions will revolutionize our response.

But besides this pragmatic reasoning for changing our stereotypical view of “the bottom billion,” we have a much deeper reason.

We are the Body of Christ.

Compassion partners with churches in the developing world — they aren’t our subjects or our charity cases, they are our partners. But beyond partnership, they are our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

In the first century, Paul advocated between the Macedonian, Corinthian and Jerusalem churches (check out 2 Corinthians 8-9).

The Corinthian church struggled with moral issues, being from a very worldly city, but they also were wealthy and wise and earnest. The Macedonian churches were poor, but full of joy and generosity.

How would Paul have wanted the various churches to view one another?

That the Corinthians would look down their wise noses at the poor and helpless church in Jerusalem? (“Here come those needy Jerusalemites, needing our money again.”)

Or that the Macedonians would judge those carnal Corinthians? (“Those Corinthians may have money, but they don’t have the Spirit like we do.”)

By no means! They were to view and treat one another not through the filter of their weakness or need, but as dear and beloved brothers and sisters in the faith.

Jordan Linscombe, Compassion’s Church Engagement Manager, says

“Partnership is important because we better understand others in Christ’s Body, ourselves and the One whose love brings us together.”

As we partner with our brothers and sisters in other countries, we have the opportunity to operate as the Body of Christ — each of us playing a different role, each learning from and being edified by the other as we draw closer to Christ Himself.

This isn’t our chance to be the heroes and saviors. This is our chance to be a family.

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And although you might not think that theories of international development have much to do with you, they certainly do.

We are compassionate and generous people, and when we hear about a need, we want to help! We want to do something! But our first reactions of how to help may not necessarily be the best ways in which we can help. So understanding how development happens is vital as we seek to do good in this world.

Here are a few things I’ve learned …

At Compassion we want to foster development, not dependence. We want to see long-term change so we don’t focus on shorter-term solutions, like food distributions. Instead, we focus on on equipping children and partners with the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes they need to take control of their own lives.

Ways we can foster development, not dependence are:

Allowing children and our partners to be active in shaping their futures, not passive receivers.

Childhood experiences teach children how they view themselves, and we can teach them to reflect on their experiences to learn how they can change their circumstances.

Limiting what is given away.

Even the poorest of the poor have much to give, such as time and energy. When we focus on just giving to the poor, we undermine what they already have to give rather than empowering them to seek solutions.

Do not do for others what they can do for themselves.

When we try to help a child or a family by doing something for them that they were capable of doing, it pulls the rug out from under them, in a way, sending a subtle message that they aren’t capable. Sweat equity is a great example — give people the opportunity to give what they’ve got to better their lives.

Focusing on partnership.

Relationships are two-way, not one-way. We aren’t the noble benefactors bending down to the helpless poor.

Our partners in the developing world have so much to offer. It’s not a relationship of givers and takers. We must treat and view them truly as partners, not as a means to an end. They aren’t just our outlet for a mission trip or a good story for our do-gooding release. They are people and partners.

Enable local ownership.

If you start a child development center in a community without a local understanding or vision, most likely it will fail. Local ownership is key in successful development.

Think of your own backyard. If a Belgian group came in and told you, “We really think you need to put in these new fancy water pumps, and we’re going to do it,” what would you think? (“Who are these weird Belgians and why are they telling me what to do?” is what I would think …)

Therefore, we have to develop initiatives jointly. Give communities an opportunity to have ownership by allowing them to be deeply involved in developing any engagement. They know their communities; they know their needs; they know their challenges.

So if you travel to see Compassion’s work, please go with an open heart, spend time finding out what our partners’ visions and dreams are. Maybe you want to help build toilets or a church building, but maybe that’s not what they need the most. Come alongside and partner with them. Be a part of their passion and vision for their communities.

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