The grace of dignity

This past weekend, I participated in a discussion about the role of Christians in serving our communities. God has called all of us to serve the needy. But who, exactly, is needy?

As part of our discussion, attributes of the needy were highlighted—those who are poor, widows, orphans, hungry, sick, left out, lonely, lost, confused, discouraged, etc.

It is a long list! Because when we view the needy that way, everyone on the planet falls into the category at some point or another—needy comes in all different packages.

This can make the call to serve the needy feel overwhelming. A few people in our group basically said, “I really want to help serve the needy. But I am only one person—with a limited amount of time and money. How do I respond to all those in need?!?”

Someone else in the group pointed to Jesus’ example—He healed and helped the needy, but He didn’t help everyone in the way that they thought they needed to be helped. He also took time out to refuel and refresh himself in God’s presence and in the presence of close friends.

As I thought more about this topic later, I reflected on Christ’s example and how I can better serve the needy in my own world. I realized that no matter how much (or little) time or money I have, I can always choose to extend something I’ll call “the grace of dignity” to others.

The grace of dignity may sound lofty or superspiritual, but really, it’s about seeing people as people—not as tools for getting what I want, annoying objects in my way, or frankly, not seeing them at all.

How do we extend the grace of dignity to others?

Extending the grace of dignity is not necessarily about giving people handouts (in fact, that can sometimes take away from the dignity many desperately need).

Sometimes, extending the grace of dignity is simply acknowledging a person's presence—eye contact, a smile, introducing yourself and asking his/her name (and remembering it)—something that tells the other person “I see you.” It's focusing on the other person--if only for a few moments--minus the cell phone, iPod or eyes that wander toward distractions. This type of care doesn't really take a lot of time or money and is easily dismissed--but it is extremely important to those you come into contact with.


Other times, extending the grace of dignity means listening (really!). This tells the other person, “I not only see you, but I believe that as another human being, your thought is worthy of my attention and respect. Your story is worth hearing.”

Beyond that, sometimes extending the grace of dignity DOES involve contributing financially to a person or cause and/or putting love in action through service.

Let the balancing begin...

I think ultimately, it's about balancing doing and giving. It's not enough to say "I'm giving $X each year to help the needy" without DOING anything to extend God's grace to others. But likewise, I don't think it's Biblical to neglect blessing others financially through GIVING when you are able. Both are essential if we are going to share God's love and grace to a world in need.