I once heard the story of a young woman who received a small amount of money from a well-meaning relative to start selling food in her neighbourhood. She had been struggling for years, and the money seemed like a lifeline.
She bought a few supplies, started selling, and for the first time, something began to change. All too soon the initial money ran out, and she returned to the relative. Another contribution came. Each time there was a crisis, someone rescued her.
Guess what? It began as compassionate support but slowly became a pattern. She was surviving, but she was not becoming more capable. Eventually, the relative could no longer provide the money. What surprised me was how unprepared she was. The help had kept her afloat, but it had never taught her how to swim.
When I heard the story, I found the phrase, “Give a man a fish and you feed him a day; teach him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime,” compelling. Pondering the story, I realised that the statement carries a deeper connotation than the simplistic way we sometimes use it. For instance, if someone is hungry, telling him to learn fishing while he goes to bed hungry is not wisdom. Sometimes, immediate relief is the most humane response.
However, I also understood the need to look deeper when the same crisis keeps returning. The truth of the matter is that if I continue solving the same problem without helping address what produces it, I may be treating the symptom while leaving the wound untouched.
This is where my understanding of goodwill began to mature. I can buy someone’s meal today, but I can also ask whether they need help finding work. I can pay school fees, yet I can also encourage education, mentorship, and skill development.
That story taught me how to distinguish between relief and empowerment. Relief responds to the immediate pain. Empowerment increases a person’s capacity to handle future challenges. Both are important but more than anything else, we should know when relief suffices and where empowerment is needed.
Our Lord Jesus didn’t only feed people; He also taught, restored dignity, challenged thinking, developed disciplines, and entrusted responsibility to others. His ministry was not about creating people who would continually return to Him for another miracle. He prepared people to carry something forward. That makes me rethink my own generosity, too. I have come to believe that the highest form of charity is not only meeting a need but helping create people who eventually meet other needs in their world.
Ultimately, I see goodwill differently. I do not want to measure goodness only by how much leaves my hands. I want to ask what remains after it leaves. Did it restore dignity? Did it create capacity? Did it strengthen confidence? If I can help someone today and also contribute to their ability of helping themselves tomorrow, then my goodwill has travelled beyond the original gift.
Ready to turn goodwill into action?
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