An Opportunity For Generosity - Eva Burrows

1929–

Here’s something interesting you might not have known: the Salvation Army, the Christian charitable organization that cares for the poor and homeless, is organized like the actual military, with both soldiers and officers. From 1986 to 1993, the general of the Salvation Army was Eva Burrows.

You might say she was born for the job. Her parents, Robert and Ella Burrows, were officers. Eva was eighth of their nine children, born when they lived in Australia. Her large family did not have a lot, but neither did the people around them. She never thought of herself as poor.

Eva went through a period in her life when she wasn’t sure she wanted to follow in her parents’ footsteps, but eventually she dedicated her life to the Salvation Army. After graduating from college, she entered service in the organization with the intent of becoming ordained and being a missionary in Africa. She worked in Zimbabwe for nearly twenty years, followed by a period of going from place to place, from England to Sri Lanka to Scotland to Australia to other regions. She worked with the poor in many, many countries.

In 1995, Eva began promoting a rather novel concept she called “Banking with the Poor,” sometimes known as microfinancing. When Jesus said, “The poor you will have with you always,” according to Eva, he was “indicating that those who have plenty will always have an opportunity for generosity in helping those living in poverty.” She encouraged banks to provide small loans to people who don’t have access to traditional banking.

At that time, participating in microfinancing wasn’t easy for individuals. Today, there are many online organizations that provide microloans to entrepreneurs all over the world who don’t have access to traditional loans. These loans help them start businesses and give them a chance to climb out of poverty. Anyone now has the “opportunity for generosity in helping those living in poverty” by investing a small amount in microloans, sometimes as little as twenty-five dollars.

A quick online search for microloan organizations will turn up several you can research to see if investing in microfinancing is a good way for you to help the poor. Next time you’re online, consider checking it out.

If you help the poor, you are lending to the LORD—and he will repay you!

Proverbs 19:17