Kentucky
Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong? -James 2:5-7
That's what God taught me last week. I have spent my whole life thinking that bringing the poor up to the level of prosperity that I live in would be the greatest, most noble thing to do. But I have insulted the poor. True nobility lives in a mobile home and works in a coal mine.
That's what God taught me last week. I have spent my whole life thinking that bringing the poor up to the level of prosperity that I live in would be the greatest, most noble thing to do. But I have insulted the poor. True nobility lives in a mobile home and works in a coal mine.
posted by Ryan at Monday, March 19, 2007
4 Comments:
such a humbling experience, no?
it makes you forget everything you ever thought about the so called 'poor'.
but what makes them poor?
we might have more money than them....but thats about it.
wow.. great thing to learn.
i have a question.. do you know what it means to be/how to be "poor in spirit"? is that essentially humility? it's kind of puzzling me right now.
Welcome back!
I guess it depends on which poor people you're talking about/dealing with... I mean, not all of them are there by 'accident'. I know that some of the poor in my own town have conspiracy theories...
Tim, I'm not really sure what you mean. I don't think any poor people are poor by accident. There are many factors that contribute to the poverty that we see all around us, including the lifestyle that us Westerners seem to feel justified in living. Ultimately, everyone is placed where they are because God has put them there.
Aside from that, I think there is a difference between the poor people we see here in the GTA and the poor in Kentucky, or even Africa or some other impoverished nation. The poor that are around here are in that situation because of choices they have made, such as drug abuse. Of course, there are those who don't really have a choice, and I suppose that is why Jesus told us that we would always have the poor among us. Whether we like it or not, due to our human nature there will always be people who oppress others for their own benefit. There are those who make a choice in the matter, and also those who are victims of circumstance. When I was in Kentucky, I found that the main reason people were poor was because they had a lack of education, and were unable to better their situation through promotion. Illiteracy is a big problem, and often people drop out of school at 12 or 13 to go work in a coal mine, because their parents can't afford to support them. They are generally good, hardworking people, but unfortunately the work they do doesn't yield a whole lot of divenend.
In contrast to that, the poor I have met in Hamilton, at a place like Streetlight, often the problems that come up are connected to drug abuse, teenage pregnancy, parental abuse, single motherhood, etc.
Not that they don't have those type of social problems in Kentucky, I am simply speaking from my own personal experience, which is unfortunately quite limited.
I really don't know what to think about all this, I'm still trying to sort it out in my head, as I'm sure I will be for a long time. A word that keeps popping up in my head is 'dignity'.
It is a very complicated issue, and I think I have made far to many blanket statements in this comment already, so I'll stop now.
Sarah: I'm not sure...I've been mulling over that myself. I think it has many different conotations. It's a state of mind more than anything...a knowledge that you are a sinner, that you are no better than anyone, and that you need a Saviour.
I love how the Bible is so simple and yet so complicated at the same time.
Post a Comment
<< Home