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109 
Bloem, Book Review 

Book Review 

 

Shrewd Samaritan: Faith, Economics, and the Road to 

Loving Our Global Neighbor  
By Bruce Wydick 

 
Reviewed by Jeffrey R. Bloem 

  
 

 
 

Nashville: W. Publishing Group, Thomas Nelson, 

2019. $26.99 

 

Being a Shrewd Samaritan means living in the 

tension of a paradox. On the one hand, we are called to 

be compassionate, as highlighted in the Parable of the 

Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37. On the other hand, 

we are called to be responsible managers of material 

resources, as suggested in the Parable of the Shrewd 

Manager just a few chapters later in Luke 16:1-9.  

What does it mean to live out this paradox as 

Christians who aim to serve and love our global 

neighbors? This is the question at the core of Bruce 

Wydick’s latest book. 

The first two chapters of the book introduce the 

concept of a “Shrewd Samaritan.” The first describes 

Shrewd Samaritans as people who “are motivated by 

feelings of compassion and a yearning for justice, but 

their actions are guided by careful reflection that is 

centered on the well-being of the other” (16). The 

second chapter introduces six stages on the “road” to 

loving our global neighbors as people in progress from 

ignorance about global poverty to effective service. The 

six stages, or “six i’s,” are (1) ignorance, being unaware 

of the needs of our neighbors, (2) indifference, 

becoming aware but not responding in any way, (3) 

idealism, responding to needs in ways that obscure 

complexities, (4) investigation, humbly reflecting on 

assumptions and actions, (5) introspection, learning 

from inevitable mistakes, and (6) impact, making a 

meaningful and cost effective difference in the lives of 

our neighbors. Although the title of the book suggests 

this is a “road,” in practice, movement between each of 

these stages can be fluid and non-linear—for example, 

by repeatedly responding to idealism with investigation, 

introspection, and efforts to achieve impact.  
The second part of the book presents a sort of 

crash-course in understanding the causes and 

consequences of poverty, in both low- and high-income 

countries. These three chapters cover topics such as the 

role of geography, culture, and institutions in causing 

poverty, distinguishing between inequality and poverty, 

and discussing various factors that can lead to the 

presence of poverty traps. This part of the book could 

be well used in an introductory undergraduate course 

in international development studies. 

The third part of the book summarizes the latest 

research on the effectiveness of various popular 

international development interventions. For 

development practitioners, this is perhaps one of the 

most helpful contributions of the book. Wydick distills 

technical jargon and econometrics, and presents the 

most credible empirical findings in a clear and engaging 

way. Wydick’s review of the latest evidence might be 

controversial—out of a five-star ranking system, 

microcredit gets two stars, business training programs 

get three, and early childhood education and health 

initiatives get four—but the discussion is supported by 

some of the best research in development economics. 

The referenced research could contribute to a 

wonderful syllabus for an advanced undergraduate or 

graduate development studies course.  

The final part of the book lays out a framework for 

becoming a Shrewd Samaritan. The discussion in this 

section could pair well with Roland Hoksbergen’s book 

Serving God Globally: Finding Your Place in 
International Development (2012), as they both express 

the need for a diverse group of people with a diverse set 

of skills to effectively serve and love our global 

neighbors. Wydick defines six different roles, in no 



Christian Relief, Development, and Advocacy 1(2),  Winter 2020 

110 
Bloem, Book Review 

particular order: investigator, giver, advocate, creator, 

director, and practitioner. None of these roles is 

mutually exclusive, of course, but describing the work 

and responsibilities of each is a helpful reminder that it 

is not only through our jobs that we can love and serve 

others. We each have gifts and are most effective when 

we work together. 

The concluding chapter, entitled “The Seventh i,” 

presents the crucial last step in becoming a Shrewd 

Samaritan. The first six i’s, beginning with ignorance 

and ending with impact, could be quite 

indistinguishable from a secular model of effective and 

evidence-based international development. In fact, the 

core tenets of the so-called effective altruism 

movement—championed by avowed atheist Peter 

Singer (Singer 2016)—seem to align well with the first six 

i’s of the Shrewd Samaritan. Effective altruism can be 

characterized as an unsentimental view of charitable 

giving, seeking to maximize social benefits in the most 

cost-effective ways. The seventh step, identification, 

diverges from effective altruism and, in some cases, 

runs in the opposite direction. This final step occurs 

when we shift from a perspective of sympathy to one of 

empathy when engaging with our global neighbors.  

This break from a philosophy that could be 

characterized as effective altruism is, in my view, the 

core contribution of the book. It sets the book apart 

from what already exists and defines the parameters that 

drive the tension of being a Shrewd Samaritan. For the 

Christian development community, the book calls us to 

be appreciative of the work of researchers in elite 

research universities and institutions. For the secular 

development community, the book calls for increased 

appreciation for the role of relationships that support 

the God-given dignity of all people, no matter their 

country of origin, socio-economic status, or academic 

pedigree. 

For investigators, being a Shrewd Samaritan may 

lead to intentionally praying for the individuals and 

families represented in the data files stored on my 

computer. Although I may never meet many of the 

individuals who make up the data points, they are more 

than dots on a plot or cells in a spreadsheet. They are 

children of God, created in His image.  

For a giver, being a Shrewd Samaritan could mean 

partnering with an organization. Wydick has done 

research on Compassion International and offers it as 

one example. This partnership could aim at both 

making a meaningful impact (see Wydick, Glewwe, and 

Rutledge 2013) and building relationships through 

letter writing and perhaps even traveling to spend time 

together.  

For an advocate, creator, director, or practitioner, 

being a Shrewd Samaritan may imply spending time 

reading the best research about what works and what 

doesn’t work in improving outcomes of interest. It may 

even encourage the investment of resources into 

evaluating the effectiveness of a specific organizational 

approach to addressing a given development outcome.  

There are many cases where impact and 

identification work well together, but these concepts can 

also conflict with each other. If the book does have a 

weakness it might be that it lacks practical advice about 

managing the implied trade-offs between impact and 

identification. When these principles conflict, how 

should a Shrewd Samaritan act? Although specific 

answers to this question will almost certainly be context-

dependent, this broad tension is at the heart of the 

book. The Gospel calls Christians not only to be aware 

of this tension, but to live it fully. This means Christians 

should be motivated by feelings of compassion and 

longing for justice, but we also need to reflect on our 

actions, learn from mistakes, and support effective 

partnerships. Said differently, “… to act justly and to 

love mercy and to walk humbly with you God” (Micah 

6:8, emphasis added). This is the paradox of being a 

Shrewd Samaritan. 

 

References 

 

Hoksbergen, Roland. 2012. Serving God Globally: 

Finding Your Place in International Development. 
Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.  

 

Singer, Peter. 2016. The Most Good You Can Do: 

How Effective Altruism Is Changing Ideas About 
Living Ethically. New Haven: Yale University 

Press.  

 

Wydick, Bruce, Paul Glewwe, and Laine Rutledge. 

2013. “Does International Child Sponsorship 

Work? A Six Country Study of Impacts on Adult 

Life Outcomes.” Journal of Political Economy 

121(2) 393-436. 
 

 

 

 

Jeffrey R. Bloem is a Ph.D. Candidate at the University 

of Minnesota in the Department of Applied 

Economics. As part of his research, Jeff works with 

Christian development organizations by supporting 

the evaluation of a variety of programs. 

 

Author email:  bloem.jeff@gmail.com   
 

 

 

mailto:bloem.jeff@gmail.com

