When I read the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 in Matthew 14, I deeply relate to the disciples. They identified a need, showed compassion for the hungry people, and wanted Jesus to fix the situation.

We do this as well. We learn of a troubling situation, drop to our knees in prayer, and ask God to intervene as only He can. After all, what can we do that is more powerful than prayer?

But in this instance, Jesus had another solution: “You give them something to eat.” They were perplexed. They had nothing to give, and the cost of purchasing food for everyone would be way outside of their budget. What in the world could they do?

What they did not realize was that Jesus was inviting them out of their fear and scarcity mindset to one of abundance. Rather than seeing the scarcity of the moment, Jesus invited them to see the not-yet-visible abundance of the kingdom of God. As it says in Matthew 14:20, “They all ate and were satisfied.”

Churches often have food pantries as a way to help people in the community who are experiencing poverty and are struggling to feed their families. These food pantries prepare bags of groceries and hand them out to the people who come needing food. Our church’s food pantry used to be like this in former days when it operated under another name. But it filled me with questions, and I was disturbed by the answers I received.

Question: Why do we bag the groceries for them instead of letting them shop for what their family will eat?

The answer I got always began with: Because the children will run around unsupervised… start pushing buttons on the copier… destroy the pantry.

Question: What if we put something in the bag that someone is allergic to or no one in the family will eat?

Answer: “They should be grateful for what they get.”

Question: “If I went to the store for you, would you want me to pick out what you get, or would you send me with a list?”

Answer: “I would send you with a list because I am PAYING for the food.”

Question: “Why do we buy school supplies to give away, even though we don’t know exactly what they need?”

Answer: “It’s the way we have always done it.”

Question: “Why do we buy Christmas presents to give away instead of giving them gift cards?”

Answer: “We like to put all of the presents on stage on Sunday morning. It is encouraging to our church to see the generosity among us. Besides, if we give them gift cards, we don’t know what they will do with them.”

Here is the problem with this mindset. When we operate a ministry in this way, it becomes about us. We do things the way we want, for our convenience, and to feel good about the work we are doing. We see ourselves as the givers and the families we serve as the takers. We are the rescuers and they are being rescued by us. This is a dangerous perspective, and not at all in line with the work of Jesus.

Instead, what if we began by asking questions like: 

• How can we model the love of Jesus?

• How can we be in a mutually beneficial relationship with our neighbors?

• What do they need that we can provide?

• How can we provide it in a way that preserves their human dignity?

• How can they help us? 

As the Outreach Minister at Highland Oaks, my responsibilities include our food pantry… but when I started, I had never directed one before. So I decided to visit other food pantries, particularly those that were taking a different approach. I also met with Larry James, who at that time was the President and CEO of CitySquare in Dallas. Larry shared a story with me that has been burned into my brain ever since. 

Years before CitySquare, Larry was the minister at a church in Dallas with a traditional food pantry. He asked similar questions of those volunteers, such as “Do you offer the recipients the opportunity to volunteer in the food pantry?” The response he got was a resounding, “No!” When he asked why, he was told, “Because they will steal the corn!” What I never forgot was his response: “Better stolen corn than stolen dignity.”

Our food pantry, a ministry of Highland Oaks Church of Christ in Dallas, is now called Hope 4 Lake Highlands. We want our neighbors to have a different experience because part of having compassion for others is putting ourselves in their situation. Compassion begs the questions, “How would I feel if I could not provide food for my family?” and “How would I want to be treated if I went somewhere and asked for help?” 

At Hope 4 Lake Highlands, Jesus’s solution “You give them something to eat” looks like this:

A representative of the family, usually the mom, comes once a month and shops with a regular grocery shopping cart. They go up and down the aisle, taking what they need for their family. A personal shopper (a trained volunteer) walks alongside them, getting to know them and bagging their groceries for them, like grocery stores used to do. 

We use a language of generosity: Choose the canned goods your family likes. Take the fresh produce your family will eat. Take the clothing your family needs.

We want their experience at Hope 4 Lake Highlands to feel like they have just shopped in a small, family-owned grocery store, except that everything is free.

Everyone leaves with a grocery basket full of food they have chosen for their family. They also leave feeling that they are seen, known, and cared for. We introduce ourselves. We call them by name, ask about their family, and listen as they describe their health issues. It is not uncommon to see pockets of volunteers praying with a family as we learn of a cancer diagnosis or some other personal tragedy. 

Because we are intentional about being in relationship with the people we serve, many of them want to give back. We have a neighbor who shows up every month with a box of whatever he got the previous month that he didn’t get around to eating because, in his mind, somebody else might need it. We have another neighbor from Colombia who cooks Colombian dishes and sells them. Every month, she will bring a hot dish for those of us working in Hope 4 Lake Highlands as a thank you. There is one neighbor from Myanmar who gives the best hugs. She will wrap me in a bear hug and lean back as far as she can, my feet dangling. It was a little awkward at first, but I like it.

Every summer we distribute Walmart gift cards that have been donated by the church so that the families can purchase school supplies for their children. Not only is this a financial blessing to them, but choosing to give gift cards allows these parents to have the dignity of providing the school supplies their children need.

We do the same thing at Christmas. Every family receives a Walmart gift card for each school-age child so they can have the dignity of providing Christmas for their children. I know other churches choose to provide toys, as we used to do. But I cannot imagine how it would feel to be unable to provide Christmas for my own children. In this way, the gift cards are a gift to the parent as well as the child. The parent experiences the joy of buying Christmas gifts for their own children.

Sometimes, like the Apostles, we have a fear and scarcity mindset, thinking that we don’t have enough to do what God is calling us to do. But by faith, we can view problems as opportunities to see God at work. 

So, I challenge you: ask God how He wants to use you to do His work, because His ability to do great things is not limited by our resources. He is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine.

Open our eyes, Lord. Forgive us for our fear and scarcity mindset. Fill us with your compassion. Use us to perform your mighty miracles. And thank you for being so patient with us as we continue to learn what it means to be your hands and feet. We are abundantly blessed, Lord. May we abundantly bless others in Jesus’s name.

Amen.