The War on Poverty

The “War on Poverty” which has been fought here in the United States since the 1960’s is far from over. After trillions of dollars spent to wage this war, we are no closer to having poverty defeated than we are to watching pigs fly. I think the Chicago Cubs have more of a chance of winning the World Series that the US has of ever defeating this societal nemesis. Merriam Webster online dictionary gives one definition of “POVERTY” as “the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions.” Just debating that will send us down a rabbit hole I have no intention of entering. But the synonyms for “poverty” are listed as “scarcity” and “dearth.” For something to be “scarce” is to have “want of provisions for the support of life.” To be “dearth” is to lack supply. In any case, poverty does not just apply to economic means. When Jesus said, “The poor you will always have with you,” (Matthew 26:11; Mark 14:7; John 12:8) I think he was not only speaking of the poor financially. While they are included in this, I really feel Jesus was making a broad statement including poor in health, emotional well-being and spiritual well-being among others. Being poor includes anything that causes dearth (a lack) that holds people back from living the abundant life that Jesus came to give them. (John 10:10) Jesus came to alleviate “dearth” and bring abundance.

I am sure when Jesus pronounced that there would always be the poor among us, many of his hearers focused only on the economic aspects of what he was saying. For a long time, I did too. In Jesus’ day, his hearers would assume that being poor meant the person lacked the blessing of God for some sin or sins which they had committed. Being rich was a demonstration of God’s blessing upon them and an attestation of their righteousness. Well, we can just look around today and see how false that view is. Very few of the rich in our times even try to pretend they are righteous much less give credit for their material well-being to God.

A problem arises from the standpoint of the Church. The Church has acquiesced to the misguided notion that a government hand-out is actually charity. With that mind-set, the Church (big “C”) had abdicated its responsibility in helping the poor. When I say poor here I mean all of poverties aspects: financial, spiritual, physical and emotional and all the others too numerous to name. Knowing that we will always have people - the poor - to minister to because Jesus said so, we (the Church) need to engage – or re-engage – in our calling. Our mission, our calling, our ministry, should be the same as that of Jesus. Jesus announced his mission, his vision and his purpose – all statements or slogans “good” churches have and need – by reciting the words of Isaiah the prophet. Quoting from chapter 61, verses one through three, Jesus said: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19) In essence, part of Jesus’ ministry was to help overcome financial, physical, emotional and spiritual poverty in those he ministered to. 

It is a small point that is often overlooked and seems almost contradictory. But notice that he does not claim that he will end poverty altogether. Jesus knows there are some who will never accept his message and his prescription for their own healing. Preaching the good news to the poor doesn’t alleviate it, just as government largesse doesn’t alleviate it. In this area, I agree with Ezra Taft Benson who wrote: “The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature.” Jesus isn’t worried about our “socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions” - one definition of poverty - that we have or do not have because those will not last. Our abundant life is not found in the phrase, “the one with most toys wins!” 

The obvious question becomes, if we will always have the poor with us, why should we try to help change their circumstances. Always is a long time to fight such a consistent malady. Why waste our time if we are never going to win? The simple answer is that Jesus told us to. The New Testament gives examples of the early church doing it. God reminded Israel over and over again not to neglect the poor and needy. When we help out, pitch in, offer assistance, we are engaging in the ministry of Jesus. We get a chance to minister like Jesus did to people like those to whom Jesus ministered. In this way we get to live out his calling which is our calling. We will not win the war on poverty, but God willing, we can bring people to the place where they can be transformed in a way like Ezra Taft Benson wrote about. The government is not the entity that can bring about this type of transformation. Only Jesus Christ working through the power of the Holy Spirit in his church can.

Jesus said we would always have the poor with us. They even inhabit the Church. There are many within the Church who are impoverished in some form or fashion. Too many within the Church suffer some dearth and are not willing to allow Jesus to help alleviate it from their lives, not willing to enter into that abundant life he came to give. There is a myth about St. Paul that he once healed a blind beggar. The man stands up, looks around and promptly rips out his eyeballs. The man knew how to be a blind beggar. He didn’t know how to be a sighted person. He reverted to the known because this new unknown reality was way too scary for him. He was comfortable being dependent upon the kindness of others. It had worked sufficiently until this point. Now, his need for being dependent was gone. His opportunities for “making it” were completely different. The prospect of having to rely on his own resources scared him back into a dependent mode. This poor fellow chose dependence instead of abundance, a life of relying on charity rather than a life filled to overflowing with the fullness that only Jesus Christ brings. 

The enormity of the problem, the impossibility of the task, does not diminish or negate our call to do what we can and pitch in. Not every congregation has the wherewithal to be directly involved. But again, the call is still present. It reminds me of a story about thousands of starfish stranded on a beach. A little boy was walking down the beach throwing beached starfish back into the water. Someone commented to him that it was such a big task he could not expect to make a difference. The boy picked up another starfish, threw it back in the water and said, “I made a difference for that one.” Then he moved on to the next. If Jesus call was to deal with the poor, and he passed that call onto us, then we must do it. We need to meet the various poverties head on with all of the power and authority Jesus gave us. We may not defeat poverty but we can make a difference, one starfish (or person) at a time. It is impossible to win a war without engaging in a battle. So Church, let’s get busy. It is what Jesus wants us to do.