Godly endeavor

Q&A | Poverty fighter Darrow Miller says a change in attitudes about labor would work wonders in developing countries | Marvin Olasky

Handout

Darrow Miller, a 27-year veteran of Food for the Hungry, is co-founder of the Disciple Nations Alliance and the author of several excellent books including LifeWork: A Biblical Theology for What You Do Every Day (YWAM Publishing, 2009). In it he shows well the importance of battling dualism and the sacred-secular dichotomy so that we can appreciate the biblical theology of vocation and see how vital it is to economic development in poor countries.

Q: Where did you grow up? In the suburbs of West Los Angeles. I was a beach boy and a lifeguard. Did a lot of body-surfing.

Q: What happened when you were 19 and went with a work team to Mexico? It changed my life. For the first time in my life I saw poverty. I had seen pictures of poverty but had never seen poverty. Pulling into Mexico City we drove through a slum. I saw kids going through piles of garbage and people living in houses made out of trash. I could not imagine that anyone had to live like that. God used that to shake me. I couldn't have told you then that I'd be working for Food for the Hungry for 27 years, but I knew I had to do something about it.