Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about poverty and how we relate to it when we aren’t the ones experiencing it directly. One time I observed a group exercise in which a group of high school seniors had to decide how to disburse a certain amount of money, something like $10 trillion. I remember one of them saying, “Well, you can’t really do anything about poverty, so maybe we shouldn’t use a very big percentage of the total for that.” Poverty was not discussed again after that moment.
That certainly wasn’t the first time I had ever heard something like that. Conversely, I observe many people who talk about poverty constantly, eager to blame certain forms of government or ideology for poverty. It becomes an argument about power rather than solutions. The difficulty is that solutions aren’t simple by any stretch of the imagination. As we have seen, raising money to send to underdeveloped countries doesn’t solve problems of injustice, corruption, lack of resources, or natural disasters (among many other things) that can cause widespread poverty.
Poverty is so shameful and dehumanizing that it makes us uncomfortable just thinking about it. I have never experienced poverty, and just thinking about the situations that people are face on a daily basis unsettles me. I can’t imagine not knowing where my next meal will come from or whether I will have a place to live. Particularly in America, I notice how people will justify the poverty around them by making some assumptions about the individual. There is often an assumption that poor people want to live off the system, that they’re irresponsible or on drugs, that they’re living the consequences of their choices. In some cases, this may be true. Pity can certainly be just as useless and dehumanizing as these assumptions, so what’s the answer?
Psychologists tell us that our brains like to find the quickest path to a conclusion. That’s why stereotypes exist; our brain likes to categorize people because it’s less work. I don’t want to rely on these shortcuts as I observe the world around me. I want to view my neighbors as human beings with the potential to do good in the world. Each of us has the same potential for good and evil; a lot of people aren’t given the tools or confidence to pursue the good. This is not about removing personal responsibility. It’s about empowering people to rise up in dignity and have the ability to contribute to the well-being of themselves, their families, and the world at large.
I am challenging myself in this, to think about how best to love my neighbor. Maybe it’s not so jazzy to volunteer or work in my own community to help people. It would look cooler to go somewhere else, to travel the world doing it. And don’t get me wrong, I would love to do that too, and it’s not a bad thing. But how can I care about the person on the other side of world but not the one down the street? I think we often become ambitious about the great work we want to do, and we undervalue the people right in front of us. I believe we are to be responsible for our own communities first. Because our American culture is so focused on personal development and individual success, we have a tendency to make it about ourselves instead of about the people we claim we want to help.
I highly recommend When Helping Hurts by Brian Fikkert and Steve Corbett if you are looking for a biblical approach to poverty alleviation that values the humanity and potential of every person. This book has helped me to begin evaluating the complex reasons for poverty and how they differ from community to community and person to person. It has also helped me to identify my own pride and biases, explaining how our worldviews affect our poverty alleviation strategies. When we believe we have the solutions to all problems just because we are white, middle-class Christian Americans, what we actually have is a god complex. We believe people must simply emulate us, and this is arrogance and privilege. We must approach the poor with humility and humanity, recognizing that the best source for solutions is often found within the individuals who are living in the midst of the problems. We must help them tap into their own power and creativity; they will accomplish it better than we can as outsiders.
I recognize how complicated it is. But in my God I see a value for all humanity, with special attention reserved for the poorest of us. About half the world lives on $5.50 per day. These are our neighbors. Imagine what these people are capable of. They can often only focus on their most basic needs because it’s a matter of survival. If they were able to pursue higher goals, imagine what they could do. We must value and recognize their humanity, regardless of their race or background or socio-economic standing. It should matter to us that they are prevented from reaching their God-given potential because they lack their most basic needs.
Past Perfect 