Park Cities Presbyterian Church (PCA)

Eyes fixed on the perishable

Where are our hearts in acts of mercy?

By Tom Neuhoff

Published May 1, 2010 in Witness

This academic year, the elementary-age children engaged in two service projects designed to provide particular goods to those in need.

In the fall, the children collected boxes of hot chocolate to add to the non-perishable goods boxed by PCPC to be distributed all over the city to ministries that serve the poor.

This spring, the children collected various toiletries (soap, deodorant, toothpaste, and toothbrushes) to be delivered to the patrons of Union Gospel Mission and Center of Hope.

The incentive for the children each time was extrinsic, including an ice cream sundae party in the fall for the grade level that brought the most hot chocolate and a candy buffet in the spring for the grade level that brought the most toiletries. Sugar motivates, so the thinking goes. But I hoped the children were motivated by greater reasons.

Having been narrowly defeated by the third graders in the fall and missing out on the ice cream sundae event, I was determined not to let my fourth graders down this spring. So, I decided to spread the burden to the children’s neighborhoods. The fourth graders handed out notes to their neighbors indicating they were collecting soap through our church for Union Gospel Mission and Center of Hope and simply asked the neighbors to place the soap outside their front doors the following Saturday for collection.

Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory

Well, the results were terrific, and the fourth graders won the victory and received the prize of the candy buffet.? But was it a victory, really? In a sense, yes. But in a larger sense, not at all. What was the heart motivation behind it all? I was motivated by a sense of competition, not by a desire to serve the poor. Many of the children fed off of that and were similarly motivated by the desire to win and the desire to stuff their pockets with more candy than they could eat in a month. In fact, the result was horrible for my fourth- grade son. He hoarded his candy from his siblings, putting it out of their reach, almost treating it as an idol. His focus was on the candy, not on how he had contributed to the betterment of the lives of others in our city who need help or how the gospel was displayed through his service. So what could I have done differently as a teacher?

How to really win

First, I could have shared a little more in a note to the neighbors about our mission and why we are to serve. I could have quoted some scripture giving them the real reason for our service.

Second, if we really wanted to provide as much as we could to Union Gospel Mission and Center of Hope, I would have shared the idea of getting the neighbors involved with the other classes. The more items all grades collected, the more people we could have served.

Third, I could have focused more on the people who would be receiving the toiletries, their plight, and their need, rather than on our little potential jackpot of ice cream and candy.

Fourth, I could have conveyed all these sentiments to the children in my classroom and pointed them in the direction of Christ and His service and self-sacrifice out of love for His people rather than out of love for self.

As I have thought more about the people on the receiving end of our gifts in the fall and in the spring, I have thought about their lives and what it may have felt like in their hearts to receive a new toothbrush, new toothpaste, deodorant, and an actual bar of soap. We take such things for granted. However, we would not have to go very long without them before realizing how precious and valuable they are. Thinking about the meaning of something that to us is so small but to them is so big makes me realize how I approached the entire project looking at how I could be successful rather than how I could help make someone else’s life a little better.

For the patrons of Union Gospel Mission and Center of Hope, opening a simple Dopp kit full of items that make their lives a little better means a whole lot more than being able to open more candy that I really don’t need anyway and being able to have bragging rights over the other classes because my class found a way to beat them. Hopefully, next time, I’ll have different goals in mind, and I’ll think more about the recipient of the gifts we give than about what is in it for me.