Poverty

I've been thinking about poverty lately.

Maybe it's because I see it in the kids I tutor. Maybe because of the I'm-a-student-and-I'm-broke jokes.  Maybe there's no good explanation for this post.

All I know is that poverty is heartbreaking.

Physical poverty (a lack of money, resources, things that we would consider essential) needs to end. I always tried to use the infamous "but Jesus said that there will always be poor people, so, I mean, well..." when I was younger. NO! That's just not ok.

How can I claim to follow Christ if I'm ignoring needs that are blatantly calling my name? How can I pray that Christ's love would fill me until I overflow if I'm not willing to allow that love to influence the people around me? As long as there are people hurting, suffering, needing something that I can give, I won't be content with the situation.

I know that we can't eliminate poverty completely. I understand that it's simply not feasible. Things happen. But seriously, find a good organization and support them with $10 each month. Better yet, go volunteer there. Make a difference. Be the change.

Emotional poverty is even more jarring. I was talking with a young woman today who was sharing some of her experiences with me. I'll spare the details for the sake of her privacy, but my heart broke for her. The things she had experienced, the relationships that had gone horribly wrong, the repercussions she deals with on a daily basis. It was terrible. And these things aren't uncommon!

How can I speak to those things, that kind of heartache? I certainly picked up my fair share of scars during adolescence, but nothing compared with what so many people deal with. How do we love on people with unimaginable stories? How do we respond to the pain of others?

Last but not least, I see spiritual poverty nearly everywhere I turn. People searching for their Savior, but without any clue where to look. People turning hopelessly to paths that can lead only to death and despair. People who go through the motions of Christianity, but feel numb inside, never surrendering to God's overwhelming love for them, lacking joy and peace. People who think they need to clean up their act, to get it right, to have their life in a neat little bundle.

Those, my friends, are the people my heart longs to reach.

~2 Corinthians 8:9~

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.