Righting Social Concern: Stop Helping People

Helping people is good, but you have to stop helping them at some point. You'd probably see this as you mature, or at least I did when I learned more from life. I used to help people with almost everything when I had the opportunity, but later I saw I never really helped them. I just became their helper and they acted as my boss. Naging katulong nila ko.

You know what I mean?

Photo by dylan nolte on Unsplash.

Most folks don't seek your help to learn things and do it themselves the next time around but to have you do it for them perpetually. They have zero interest in learning it. Doing it for them the first time is like signing up to be their helper forever. They'd start relying on you to do it, and later even making it your obligation to do so.

Actually, I love helping people as long as they give their best shot learning how to do it themselves. I love that. When you see them learning from you and doing it themselves later, you know you've really helped them. There's impartation, which is what makes helping meaningful. Dependence just adds more burdens on the dependable. 

Instead of helping people, I offer ideas. It's also helping, in a sense, but at least you're not directly involved. If the guy seeking help tries the idea, then I might help a little bit with suggestions or tips. I won't tell him what to do but mention how I would do it---or how I did it. It would all be verbal help. No actual demo. 

Well, if I see genuine interest and dedication, I may give a demo and even do the task with them. I think this was why Jesus carefully handpicked disciples. He wanted followers and doers, not those who just wanted help.

Jesus Didn't Do Things for People

Jesus didn't do for people what they needed to do for themselves. He helped them a lot, but they had to actually do or get the things they needed. Those who needed healing had to come to him or search for him and beg, and radically believe that the miracle had already happened. Their faith (not his faith) needed to trigger the miracle. Thus, he declared, "Your faith has healed you," when it happened.

He died for our sins, but we have to believe it for ourselves and give up a lot of things God tells us to give up. He will not do the believing or giving up for us. We need to decide to believe and give up things. The same with taking up our cross daily and following him. Our sins are forgiven by grace, but God cannot confess it for us. 

I see church pastors doing everything in church. They (feel obligated to) do the visitation, follow up, bible studies, counselling and encouragement, pray for the members, clean the church facilities and grounds, mow the lawn, greet birthday celebrants on FB, buy bible study and Sunday school materials (to make teaching easier for lay teachers) and invite non-believers, among many others. They think they help the church when they do this themselves.

I appreciate pastors who delegate work by training church folks do things by themselves so that they later lead bible studies, do miracles and healing, drive out demons, preach the Gospel and make disciples, observe communion in their homes, start cell groups in their homes, baptize new believers they disciple, lead prayer meetings, etc. I admire pastors who train people get teachings directly from the Holy Spirit---get supernatural revelations from him from God's Word---instead of relying on bible study and Sunday school materials.

I believe that everything in ministry should be done by God (because only God can do his work), and this means Jesus in us is doing the Father's will. The Father himself will not do his own will for us. We have to do it ourselves, but not really us but Christ in us. It should be Jesus in us doing it, not our own efforts, ways, strategies, plans or bright ideas. Pastors should teach and train their people in this.

The Holy Spirit will help and empower us, but he will not do for us what the Father wants us to do. Holy Spirit empowerment comes when we let Jesus do the work in and through us, and I mean each believer in church.