HELPING WITHOUT HURTING: WEEK 1

Poverty:
Not what We Think?

The way we understand poverty informs how we act to alleviate it. Poverty is complicated, and it can be difficult to discover the root causes amidst the symptoms.

Poverty is also very much a spiritual issue, which is why it is so often referenced in the Bible. In fact, we all personally experience poverty, in different ways.

What Is Poverty?

Four Broken Relationships

Poverty can be understood as a set of broken relationships, as outlined by Bryant Myers.  All of us experience brokenness in these relationships in different ways:
Poverty is the result of relationships that do not work, that are not just, that are not for life, that are not harmonious or enjoyable. Poverty is the absence of shalom in all its meanings.
-- Bryant Myers, Walking with the Poor

Relationship with God

  • Lack of belief/commitment to God.
  • Idolatry: Placing our security, trust, and belief in false gods.

Relationship with Self

  • God-complexes: Believing we are in control, provide our own security, or don't otherwise need God.
  • Low self-esteem: lack of dignity and hope.

Relationship with Others

  • Self-centeredness
  • Exploitation and abuse of others

Relationship with creation

  • Loss of sense of purpose
  • Laziness / workaholics: unhealthy relationship with work
  • Poor stewardship and use of resources

Material Poverty in the United States

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As Christians our responsibility is not merely charity to temporarily alleviate some of the worst ravages of poverty.  In fact, Americans in particular are very generous in this regard.  But our responsibility goes beyond that.  If we are people of means, we have a responsibility to use those means to spread wealth and opportunity to areas and people who would otherwise be untouched by prosperity.

We shouldn't be debating whether Christians are obligated to do this, we are.  We should be debating the best means of achieving it.  As modern Americans, when we hear such talk of economic equity we rightly get nervous about top-down government enforced economic schemes that benefit government more than people.  But that does not mean we can just tune out the discussion altogether.
-- Pat Archbold
Read more at the National Catholic Register