Picturing Theology

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P i c t u r i n g T h e o l o g y

Empowering People for Freedom, Wholeness, and Justice (continued)

who are responsible to implement the decisions. All decisions must take into consideration the local context and the unique people, relationships, and project conditions that are present. • Wages should be fair. When development work involves employment, the employee should be compensated equitably in relation to their contribution toward the success or profitability of the project. • Training programs should include teaching on the importance of stewardship and giving. The need for people to give to God, to others and to their community should be made explicit in the development process. Each person’s self- identity as a contributor should be reinforced and the intrinsic connection between receiving and giving (Luke 6.38) should be established. Development emphasizes that each person should be trained and equipped to achieve their potential to be self-sustaining and self-directing. Creating or nurturing dependency undercuts the deep human need to be a co-creator with God in using our gifts to honor him, and finding our significance and place in the world. Dependency can occur from either end of the people-helping relationship; the developer can create a sense of his or her own indispensability which leads to dependency, or the trainee can easily refuse to progress and grow on to interdependence and depth. Dependency pollutes the process of authentic development by creating unhealthy relationships which damage the trainee’s initiative and self-motivation. Implications • Trainees must be required to demonstrated initiative. The basic rule of thumb is “Don’t do for people what they can do for themselves-even if it means that the project (or training) will go slowly” (Hoke and Voorhies 1989, 224). When too much is done for the people 6.3 Development work must discourage the inclination toward dependency. Explanation