Questions About Poverty
by Curtis HoneycuttRight now we’re brainstorming our next justice seminar at Grace on January 23…it’s about poverty.
We need some input from you.
What are some questions you have about poverty?
What are some misconceptions you’d like to have cleared up?
What don’t you understand about poverty?
What frustrates you about poverty?
What do you want to know about poverty?
Your comments will help us shape the next justice seminar. Thanks for your collaboration!
December 14th, 2009 at 9:22 am
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December 14th, 2009 at 11:33 am
James 2:5 (NIV) says “Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?” In context, it’s a plea to esteem the poor and not show favoritism to the rich.
In practice, it means that we should consider the poor in our church body to have not just equal opportunity to engaged in the abundant life, but perhaps a better opportunity to do so than the financially independent!
So what I want to know is, does that passage resonate with the poor? Is it true? If you asked the poor “Do you believe in your experience that you are chosen by God to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?”, what would they say?
December 14th, 2009 at 11:54 am
The most fascinating and convincing facts I’ve learned about poverty was being confronted with statistics in a sociology class about how generational poverty works, and how upward class mobility, especially for minorities, is nearly impossible. Talking about what the “cycle of poverty” *means* and why “working harder” doesn’t always solve the problem might be helpful. Systemic prejudices exist, even if they’re not in the law.
Misconceptions: Why are people *stuck* in poverty? Why can’t they work harder like everyone else and “make it”?
December 15th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
how about “who determines ‘poverty’?”
January 14th, 2010 at 9:32 pm
Obviously the question of poverty is a deep one. Many times those who may be at the federal poverty levels have grown up for several generations in this cycle and may not have had a parent or teacher to aspire them to live differently. And not everyone living in poverty is unhappy. I think what we have to look at is the negative effects poverty has on a family in order to say that it is a problem. I may choose to live on much less money than you, but if I have a roof over my head, food to eat, and some form of healthcare, that may be okay with me. But, if it effects my children in a negative way and I am either not able to get a better job due to lack of education or have been raised to believe that welfare will take care of me, that is a problem. So many times in my occupation as a counselor I see folks who use drugs or drink and have electricity and water turned off in their homes. They go from food pantry to food pantry in order to eat because they sold their food stamps. I know this is only a minority, but for those people, they are living in poverty due to their drug problem and it involves a whole system of people in the community to show them a different way. It takes a lot of love, prayer, and spending time with folks to show them there is a different way, if they choose it. Then there are the unfortunate people who live in poverty because they are out of a job or don’t have the skills to make a living wage. Sounds like a great seminar and certainly beneficial for the church to tackle. Very complex.