Toxic Charity: How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help (And How to Reverse It)

by Robert D. Lupton

employee loyalty and pride in the company. The compassion industry is almost universally accepted as a virtuous and constructive enterprise. But what is so surprising is that its outcomes are almost entirely unexamined.

Giving to those in need what they could be gaining from their own initiative may well be the kindest way to destroy people.

Again and again we are finding that when it comes to global needs in organizational development and human development, the granting of money creates dependence and conflict, not independence and respect.

I observed, too, how quickly recipients’ response to charity devolved from gratitude to expectation to entitlement.

It takes courage to stand up publicly against an institution whose mission is compassionate, especially when the community position sounds so self-serving. Unless, and this is a big unless, the community-development vision includes a healthy mix of smaller institutions that complement community growth.

The Christian Community Development Association (ccda.org) is a national movement involving thousands of dedicated, frontline “troops” who—somewhat like a service corps—have moved into neighborhoods of need, engaged in collective action with their neighbors, confronted destructive influences, and turned entire communities around.

Betterment programs do make a difference. Yet, as important as these services may be (essential, some would say), serving people is distinctly different from developing people.

Betterment vs. Devolopment