I'm Offended!

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?”