Impoverished

The word 'poverty' means many different things to different people. The rich think it's preventable and the poor see no end in sight. Some feel that they are "poor" because they can't buy everything name-brand and others feel that they are poor because they struggle to feed themselves from day to day. Some come into poverty as the result of a bad drug habit, others loose their jobs as a result of the current economical situation and others are born into it. Upon hearing the word poverty, some think of the man from downtown that pushes around his worldly possessions in a shopping cart and others think of the commercials they see on T.V. about the malnourished children in Africa and other third-world countries. And then there are those that live in extreme poverty: those that every time it rains, have to rebuild their "house" because the rain washed the mud away; those who in order to survive must break every rule they've ever been taught and go against all of their morals and values on a daily basis; those that with jealously, watch their children die from curable or preventable diseases and wish that it was them instead because their physical pain is so unbearable.

When politicians and economists talk about poverty, who are they talking about? Solely the extreme cases or all levels of poverty? What is the standard that must be met in order to be considered one in poverty? Most importantly how do they plan to "solve" this problem?

All of these questions have been asked, discussed and debated time and time again, but the idea of poverty cannot be confined to such characteristics.

I have had the opportunity to interact with and live among people in extreme poverty in other countries and I have seen first hand the effects of poverty. In seeing and talking with these people face-to-face, it is difficult to judge them and put them into a category. Everyday more people die from lack of simple necessities such as food and clean water, two things that most people take for granted. In books such as Common Wealth where the "curing" of poverty is contemplated, I feel that the people themselves are forgotten. In order to save them from poverty, we must first know who they are. We as Americans or any other nationality, throw our money at them and expect it to all get better. We must interact with them, teach them, respect them and help them through the process side-by-side, "When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien... If one of your countrymen becomes poor and is unable to support himself among you, help him as you would an alien or a temporary resident, so he can continue to live among you" (Leviticus 23:22; 25:35).

As Christians Christ has asked us to help the poor and serve others. While we should continue to work in this area until His coming, does that mean that one day the world will be rid of extreme poverty? Unfortunately, I do not think so. Is it possible? Yes. But is it probable? No. We may be able to help our national and international neighbors and lower the number of those plagued by poverty, but to completely eliminate it is not a likelihood. There are not enough people or local resources to be able to overcome such a thing. It is also the case that many people living in poverty, no matter how many times they are dug out of it, will stay consistent in their habits and not be able to be taught how to live otherwise.

From an economic point of view we also see that the time, people, resources and money that are available are not enough to make any significant difference. In order to have more resources available people around the world would have to get a lot more generous.

Mean while, we should not sit back and give up knowing that we can't singlehandedly save the world. We must continue to put forth effort and do what we can as individuals to fulfill the mandate of service set to us by Jesus Christ.