Matthew 5:5
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Luke 2:52
And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
If we are going to impact the lives of those in poverty, we need to start off with getting wise. In most cases those of us in the middle class show up in the culture of poverty, and we try to “fix” these people. We arrogantly believe that we can tell them how to live their lives and share with them what worked for us and somehow that will solve all of their problems.
Imagine if I go to the eye doctor and she runs me through a battery of tests and has me look through assorted instruments. I tell her all of the things that are wrong with my vision. She looks at me knowingly and then hands me her glasses. Odds are not in favor of us having the same eye prescription, so my vision is unlikely to be fixed by her efforts. She might say, “Oh, maybe you should try harder, or maybe study some more.” She might give advice to try to get those glasses to mystically correct my vision. In frustration, she would say, “Well, they work for me so it’s your own fault.”
Wisdom requires us to get to know those that we want to help. Visit them in their homes or in their homeless camp. Listen to their stories. Wisdom requires you to sit and get to know them. Ask questions and discover what makes them tick. Look for hopes and dreams and ask them to describe what life might be like if they fulfilled some fraction of those hopes and dreams. Seek to know if that dream job, dream home, and dream family became a reality, what would that feel like?
Over time you might even be able to ask them what steps they would need to take today so that maybe they could move in the direction of their dreams. This is where your experience might become relevant. Until you have taken the time to discover what is inside of them you have no right to try to help them.
Wisdom is also understanding that material poverty is rarely the real issue.
Wisdom is also understanding that material poverty is rarely the real issue.
In these conversations, they might try to convince you that winning the lottery or a pack of cigarettes or a bottle of their favorite booze will solve their problems. Many in the church feel that just giving them a meal or a stack of clothes will make it all right. For several years in Muskogee, a woman who was mentally ill believed that she was pregnant with twins. People kept giving her baby equipment. She did not need baby stuff. She needed, and still has a deep need, for relationship. But in America, we try to solve problems with our own eyeglass prescription. We throw money at the problem and figure that will solve it. When that fails, we declare that we need more money to solve it. Wisdom is knowing that money will never fix these people.
Wisdom is also knowing that they don’t really need to be fixed. They need you to love them, care for them and listen to their story. Many need you to love them enough to tell them that you believe in them and that instead of doing for, or to them, that you are willing to walk with them. That is what can make them want to change.
Be wise, poverty warrior.
