True Charity: Replacing Flypaper with Freedom

By Mike Melin

Charity, as commonly practiced here in the United States, has lulled us into a complacency that providing a continuing supply of food, shelter, and clothing is about all we can do to help the poor. But hunger, homelessness, and a hundred other human conditions are just what come out of the butt-end of poverty. We need to move around to the other end of the beast and take a look at what we are feeding it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mike Melin
• Release date: Nov 28, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301623198

Mike Melin

Mike Melin is a life-long businessman, having owned and operated a furniture factory for many years. Currently, Mike and his wife Sherrel operate a small insurance agency. Mike's true passion is encouraging other people to take their own next step of faith in their relationship with God. He and his wife are the founders of Melin Ministries, Inc., a teaching ministry dedicated to helping people apply the Word of God in a very practical way to their daily lives.

Book preview

True Charity

Replacing Flypaper with Freedom

by Mike Melin

Copyright 2013 Mike Melin

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Published by Stone Gap Press

P.O. Box 2152

Joplin, MO 64803

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter One: The Agenda

Chapter Two: Bait and Switch

Chapter Three: Defining Poverty

Chapter Four: Defining the War

Chapter Five: Understanding the Enemy

Chapter Six: Winning the War

Chapter Seven: True Charity in Action

Summary

Introduction

Poverty is a nuisance to the conscience. Why do professional fund raisers use pictures of children, bellies swollen and covered in flies, to persuade us to part with our money? Because it works…. And when we part with our money or a little bit of our time, we feel better for a while. Yes, we feel better for a while—sometimes a long while. But sooner or later, no matter how determined we are to not look, some manifestation of poverty will just slip through and cause another flare‐up of the conscience. And so goes the cycle of soothing a guilty conscience—as it has gone on for a long time.

Most of us simply tolerate this cycle. After all, why should we do any more than we're already doing? Fifty percent of some of us are already subsidizing fifty percent of the rest of us through various tax schemes. And whenever we set foot in a government office it's easy enough to notice walls plastered with posters offering help and resources to those in need. Surely this is not our problem. Everywhere we go it seems like somebody is already on top of it. Even our churches are continually hitting us up for our offerings and our time, to help with the poor.

But for some of us, these flare‐ups of conscience are beginning to develop into a rash on the inside that can't seem to be scratched away. I am suggesting that this itching is the result of an infection coming from man's twisted view of charity. So if you find yourself continually being irritated by the way our nation deals with poverty, then take a few minutes to consider that relief can come and will come only from a demonstration of true charity.

Chapter One

The Agenda

My job is to offend and to stimulate. Not you personally… I am thankful for your heart to help the poor. My intention is to offend every destructive or worthless mindset—yours or mine. My intention is to stimulate productive and constructive mindsets that actually make a difference—in you and in me.

Where does this guy get the chutzpah to challenge the system? What's his platform? I hope that's not what you're thinking, because I want you to be sold on true charity based on your own experience—not mine. But if it is…. I spent many years employing the working poor for the entry‐level positions in my furniture factory; I had daily opportunities to help them with their personal struggles, caused by or contributing to their poverty. And for the last few years I've been building relationships with the poor at our local Gospel Rescue Mission by teaching them the principles required to move out of poverty.

What do I personally stand to gain if I do sell you? If I sell you and enough other people to begin to make a real difference in helping people out of poverty, I do have a few things to gain:

The poor could move out of poverty and become tax-payers rather than tax-consumers. My tax burden could be less, leaving me with more income available to give or to invest at my discretion—not somebody else’s.

The poor could have the resources necesssary to bring their ideas out into the world. What great music, or products, or inventions, or books, or businesses are trapped in poverty and will never see the light of day?

The poor could step out of