This is part two of a five-part series in which we will be further unpacking the concept of relational poverty. This is the framework we use at CARE for AIDS to define and then address the poverty that our clients experience, and that we experience in our own lives as well.
The framework of relational poverty begins in the creation story. In Genesis, God establishes four key relationships when he creates mankind: human's relationship to God, human's relationship to self, human's relationship to others, and human's relationship to the rest of creation. In the beginning, these relationships were all perfectly balanced, which allowed for human flourishing.
As Genesis describes, sin enters creation, and each of these relationships shifts off balance. Our goal at CARE for AIDS is to facilitate restoration in relationships in these areas so that clients can ultimately escape material poverty.
This week, we will unpack what that looks like for the first key relationship: our relationship with God. This relationship is particularly important because when we aren't aligned and whole in how we relate to God, we often replace God's sovereignty in our lives with other things - work, self... all of the typical things we are prone to idolizing. As humans, we were designed to be part of God's kingdom, but when we don't seek God's rule in our lives (as the Lord's prayer guides us to seek “...Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done...”), we inevitably give something or someone else kingship. For many of us in the West right now, we may be experiencing relational poverty in this area because we can rely on ourselves for our "daily bread". Financial stability can lull us into the belief that we can be our own gods (more on this next week when we unpack relationship to self).
Many of our clients and others living in the majority world have developed a spiritual wealth in their lives that we in the West have never experienced. There is a spiritual grit that is developed through trials that we have cushioned ourselves against in developed countries. In times of crisis, we would do well to learn from men and women who have richness in their relationship with God. Men and women like our clients.
One of the things that is particularly cruel about HIV/AIDS is that the stigma associated with the disease can often rob our clients of their confidence in their relationship with God. Many are told that God is punishing them by giving them HIV, or that the disease is a curse that separates them from God's love. These beliefs create a crack in this key relationship for our clients, and it robs them of their spiritual wealth.
One of the ways we address this at CARE for AIDS is by partnering with local churches to host the program in the communities where we work. Spiritual counselors at each CARE for AIDS center help clients find their footing in their faith and help them see the truth - that their diagnosis is not a punishment from God and that nothing can separate them from his love. We work hard throughout the nine-month program to facilitate healing and restoration in each client’s relationship to God, and we on the American team have learned so much about spiritual wealth from our African colleagues and clients.
Take some time this week to reflect on this key relationship in your life. Are you experiencing poverty in your relationship with God? Where do you need healing and restoration in this relationship?
If our relationship with God remains broken, the other three key relationships will inevitably be off-balance, as we will explore in the weeks to come.
To do a deep dive into this subject, you can read more from our friends at the Chalmers Center or read their book, When Helping Hurts.