When Helping Hurts

The interns and I are reading a book which our parish nurse (who just got back from a second stint in Haiti) very much appreciated: When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert. These men say things which we have all probably thought about before but might not know how to apply practically in our lives.
The book suggests, for instance, that many Christians fail at relief type ministry. Its not that we don't do it - there are many examples of Christians stepping up to the plate and providing for the hurting - but that we do it too often. Let me explain.
In the minds of these authors, what we might call "social action" type ministry falls into three fields: relief, rehabilitation and development. Development is helping people grow more deeply in proper relationship to God, self, others and creation. Rehabilitation is assisting those who have faced a crisis to get back to where they were prior to the crisis (positive aspects only). Meanwhile, relief is meeting the needs of those who have just faced a crisis and cannot help themselves.
Far too often, when we meet someone in need, Christians take the easy route of quickly throwing that person a dollar, giving them a bus token or even buying them a meal. These authors stress that doing this causes more harm than good. They say that in such an instance we apply relief-type ministry to a situation which needs development or rehabilitation. Effective relief ministry is to be done seldomly, immediately (right after the crisis) and temporarily (only until they can help themselves again) (p. 110). Furthermore, they go so far as to say that we should never do something for someone that they can do for themselves (p. 115) - this causes an unhealthy dependence and feelings of inferiority in the broken and a pride or God-complex in those ministering.
The trouble is that it is so much easier to do relief ministry. Relief work can be done in a matter of seconds or hours while development or rehabilitation takes weeks, months or even years of walking side by side with the hurting.
I can be lazy about certain things and prefer in and out type work. And while that type of work is needed and valuable, there are many who won't positively respond to that type of service. Who are the hurting in my life who need more than a few short moments of my time?

Mental Wanderings - Balance to the Force

Another science fiction related query I've had is related to the role of Anakin Skywalker. It was said that he would bring balance to the Force. In my mind, bringing balance to the Force would mean that in some way the Light and Dark Sides would live in a sort of harmony - like the yin and yang. This is not what Anakin accomplished though. His defeat of the Emperor and his overcoming the power of the Dark Side in his own life led to a defeat of the Dark Side and the victory of the Light Side. Therefore, he did not bring balance to the Force, but a clear, one-sided victory of the Light Side.