Poverty and Personal Responsibility
March 12, 2006 · Print This Article
“Preach the gospel everyday; if necessary, use words.” ~ St. Francis of Assisi
I think today’s discussion was possibly the strongest and most thought proving yet. We began with a nod to keeping things practical with a focus on poverty. Then, after a brief discussion about difference between urban and extreme poverty, local vs. global issues, and the three faces of poverty: Financial, Cultural, and Spiritual, we began to unpack our thoughts.
From the sufficiency of God, to personal responsibility, to the presence of the Kingdom, I believe I heard the entire room start to apply all of the concepts we have been discussing in this group to tackle such a complex issue in a most balanced and dare I say “holistic” way. I know say it every time but I truly enjoy every minute of it and the health of our discussions gives me great hope for this ministry.
“Indeed our age is, for good or ill, immersed in the social problem.” Reinhold Neibuhr closes his great study on Christian politics and ethics, Moral Man and Immoral Society, in saying:
“…In the task of that redemption the most effective agents will be men who have substituted some new illusions for the abandoned ones. The most important of these illusions is that the collective life of mankind can achieve perfect justice. It is a very valuable illusion for the moment; for justice cannot be approximated if the hope of its perfect realization does not generate a sublime madness in the soul. Nothing but madness will do battle with malignant power and ’spiritual wickedness in high places.’ The illusion is dangerous because it encourages terrible fanaticisms. It must therefore be brought under the control of reason. One can only hope that reason will not destroy it before its work is done.”
I plan to follow this post up soon with some thoughts, stats, and resources on poverty.
Without a vision, the people (and our goals) will perish. We should dream, put those dreams to paper, and expect God to do more than we could ever imagine.
Hos 4:6; Prov 29:18; Hab 2:2; Eph 3:20
I’ve thought a lot about the conversation we had Sunday and the many issues raised. And one in particular - this issue of entitlement. Especially when thought of in the context of the poor. Nothing seems to evoke such feeling - mostly anger - about the ‘entitlement’ poor people feel about their need for various resources. It is interesting, because don’t we all feel entitled to some things? Why do we feel entitled - or it’s our right - to drive SUV’s in an age of gas shortages? Or use plastic that damages our environment? Or buy too much food that a lot gets thrown away each week? I could go on and on. Maybe each of us needs to think about all the ways we personally feel ‘entitled.’ If we can understand this in ourselves, maybe we can begin to understand it in the poor,who are the recipients of entitlement programs that do not begin to meet their basic needs. For example, the small amount of income a disabled - physically or mentally - person receives from disability is not enough to pay for a decent apartment to live in. The same for a family. Rents are very high in Chicago and the ‘cheap’ apartments are in abominable repair. Maybe that’s an advocacy area - applying pressure on slum lords to provide decent housing. But then, I’m going off on another area that needs addrssing from a justice standpoint…