Ode to how we "poverty"

What is poverty?

We define it in terms of "stuff." People don't have "stuff" or access to "stuff." Even the Church defines it as "stuff" so we give "stuff" to the poor.

We think poverty is materialistic, so by giving people whatever material thing they need we can help fight poverty.

Besides being wrong and short-sighted it does not work. Many think they are truly fighting poverty, but they are maintaining it at best.

But, this is, after all, how we "poverty."

And, after all, scripture tells us that clearly "the poor will always be among us" which leaves us duty bound to do something. I mean, anything really. Just something. Even Jesus hung out with the poor people so I guess we should, too.

This is how we "poverty."

OR--if we are REALLY serious about poverty we may even take a mission exposure trip. You know, one of those trips that have good intentions, but are really just poverty tourism in another part of the world, or even worse, in our own community as a church group signs up to serve dinner in The Salvation Army homeless shelter once because, after all, that is doing something.  We poverty tourism in our own community.

This is how we "poverty."

OR--if we are REALLY, REALLY serious and good Christians we will financially support someone or something else that is povertying in some way. Then, we can say, we have paid our poverty indulgences to God and can live in a clear conscience. Oh, Luther and the Church and the sale of indulgences! Nothing is new under the sun. We can even pre-pay our povertying.

Now, not all who do this are trying to short-change their Christian duty and I want to acknowledge that. There are many, if not most perhaps, who even financially support or serve in organizations because they truly want to get involved and to serve out of devotion to their Lord. This is great. They simply do not understand poverty.

Why?

Poverty is a mind-set. You can't just give "stuff" to change a way of thinking. If you give someone fifty food boxes with a smile and a "Jesus loves you" it may not mean much to them. It's not that those giving the boxes aren't sincere or that those receiving the boxes aren't grateful.

It's more than. It's feeling inferior to whoever is giving "stuff" because they hold the power and every time you "need" them you are reminded that you do not hold even the own power to care for yourself or your children.

It's feeling ashamed (although, some people adapt to this well and take on the mantle of entitlement).

It's feeling stuck and depressed in a cycle that you have no idea of how to climb out of or how you ended up there in the first place.

It's the lack of contact. Yes, you have received fifty food boxes from the same people but you know them and they know you just the same as the first time you came for a food box. Nothing has changed. It's like a dirty transaction. You don't know their story and they don't know yours--at least not much of it.

It's feeling humiliated.

It's not being treated with dignity.

It's social isolation.

It's voicelessness.

It's continual fear--the struggle.

It's hopelessness.

It is everything that is not Jesus. That is poverty.


To combat the mindset of poverty takes time. Lots of time. It is intentional relationship building. It is not doing for someone what they can do for themselves. It is realizing that giving someone a handout may do more harm than good. It's multifaceted and doesn't have easy answers.

It is easy to think, or perhaps even tell, someone that they should budget their money better. But it is an entirely different think to sit down with someone and teach them how to budget their money and then walk with them and hold them accountable to do it.

Relationships are key throughout the Bible. Our systems are bad because relationships are bad.

One writer says, "poverty is the absence of shalom in all its meanings."

People have a poverty of being. This includes the haves and the have nots, the Church and those outside the Church. We are mutually broken on both sides of the fence (why there even is an "us" and "them" is an entirely different topic--one that warrants its own merit some day).

We don't need to have "god complexes" (we are superior while they are inferior) to save people. We need to recognize that we are all journeying through life together. In fact, we do not need to save them. We need to focus on saving ourselves and, as an outflow of that communion with God, allow Him to lead us to relationships with others and let Him do the saving. We just get to be part of it.

This is why the poverty situation for some people does not change. She will still be coming for the food box. She's still broken. So are you. Until someone realizes it and does something about it, she will receive her smile and "Jesus loves you."