That seems to be the trend today, doesn’t it? Everybody is offended by something. From Civil War flags to images of rainbows,
folks express the offense that they feel, and it’s never been easier to do
so. Social media allows us to voice our
feelings to a multitude of people in a single mouse click. Thanks (?) to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
and other such platforms, we can shout out to the world of our aggravation.
While I’m not often considered a “trendy guy”, I must tell
you that I am also offended (so I guess that makes me trendy, huh?) and I want
to share that with you. What is it that
ticks me off? Poverty!
I know that may sound strange coming from a man who has
dedicated his life to helping the poor, but allow me to explain, if only a
little. I’m not offended by poor people;
not in the least. I AM deeply offended
by the “power of poverty”. I work with people
every day who see themselves as being marginalized in society; folks who no
longer seem able to grasp the notion that God created them for a prosperous
inter-related life of caring for themselves and each other. I’m grieved whenever I sit with needful souls
who see themselves bound to government programs and humanitarian
assistance. Receiving such aid is not as
troubling to me as the way in which it seems to strip away any notion that a
reciprocal condition must emerge. Many (if
not most) folks take… with little thought to giving back. The power of poverty causes people to become
blind to the part that they are called to play in
remedying poverty for others.
This past summer I conducted an “experiment” in the area of reciprocal
living. After listening to scores of
people talk about the gardens they were planting, I placed a table on the front
porch of our ministry center and invited the hundreds of folks, who come to
receive free clothing from us, to share of their harvest with their neighbors
who could not care for a plot of their own.
I hung posters announcing the initiative, passed out flyers, and (yes)
even posted on Facebook. I “seeded” the
table with produce from my own garden, purchasing fresh veggies at our local
Farmers Market. The response was sadly
predictable. Only one other person ever
dropped anything on the table, and that contribution was a container of greens which
they had purchased at Kroger.
I’m not offended that the people who derive great benefit
from our Community Closets didn’t seize my vision for “taking care of one
another”. But I am VERY offended by the
Dark Power of Poverty that seems to have such a tight grip on so many wonderful
people. I don’t think that any of us
could do much better than to awake each new day with one thought on our minds; “What
can I do today to make a positive difference in the life of someone else in
need?”
