Poverty is an issue that effects families, economies and communities of all colors, creeds and religions all over our world. Whether ecountered and endured here in the many disenfranchised regions of The United States of America or overseas where cold, hungry refugees are hudled in tents and blankets at closed national boarders, the effects of poverty and the outcomes of this bad tree’s ugly roots has proven to bear alot of bad fruit in our collective societies.
At core poverty can be to blame for many dire situations like malnutrition, sickness, abortion, unemployment, homelesness, addiction, violent underground cash economies… The list can go on and on as to how poverty, like a plague, infects and destroys the well being of many a good peoples lives.
“Get a Job” being the long given answer from hard working middle-class people may have in times past been the quick go to answer, as if this was all that ever had to be done to end all of our worlds earthen woes and struggles but as time marches on and more and more people are being faced with less economic security, higher costs of living, inflation, unemployment, lower wages and less good jobs with benefits being available many are sadly starting to see and feel the pangs personally themselves of what it must have been like for so many, for so long, having to live in the reciprocity of poverty themselves.
Just a taste of real hardship, can be enough to deepen ones capacity for compassion.
And although there are many organizations led by good people that have come together in a shared hope to try and tackle and help people who are caught in the middle of this dreadful and heart breaking plague, the problem, as with any organizaion is that all leaders are often found out to be flawed human beings with issues and debatable and conflicting stances and viewpoints themselves.
In other words, for anyone who says “Up” there will always be another somewhere to say “Down”. When someone says “We should go more right” there will always be another saying “No, let’s go left” and thus creating the space and oppurtunity for any organizations work to be scrutinized and devalued by others.
“Synics with no better plan” is what I like to call all the Negative Nancy’s and Sour Sally’s that sit high on their thrones of judgement doing nothing but bad mouthing the actual work that others in good spirit are attempting to accomplish.
Now, throw in an organizations need and competition for funds to make a living and further on their good works and the attacks hurled at one another’s work and process can become down right mean, vicious and at times, even false and slanderous.
We have seen it everywhere, crossing the whole spectrum of our words religions, polotics and often even found in the ways we put each other down to make ourselves feel better about ourselves.
Rooted perhaps in personal insecurities, jealousy, the love of power and money, whatever the bad soil may be, one thing is for sure, that all such mudslinging and evil mockery is never rooted in real genuine love.
“My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.” ~ Colossians 2:3-4 (The Apostle Paul writing to believers in 62-63 A.D.)
Following The Way of Love and earnestly desiring The Gifts of God’s Holy Spirit to lead us along The Way, The Way of Our Lord Jesus, really is the answer we should all be giving one another as Christians wanting to fulfill The Will of God in our lives. Encouraging each other and spurring each other on toward good deeds and works that will further demonstrate and show God’s Love in action and proove to the world whose we really are and of whom we trully trust, believe and belong.
We are people of Our Lord Christ Jesus, born again of The Spirit of God, to be known by others not by our judgements and ridicules but rather to be known in all of the world by our genuine love.
Let this be our anthem and song! Christians known all over the planet to be a people that encourage and build each other up, supporting one another in our heart felt faith based works, not ones who tear each other down and try to compete for anything, that is all ours when God trully is our unexhaustible source.
Followers who know that there is trully nothing impossible with Our God and that there is no need to compete with each other for any earthen funds when Our God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills can speak to anyone at anytime concerning your good life and work.
We are believers in a God who can take 5 loaves and 2 fish and feed thousands…
So when we are tempted once again to simply say “Get a Job” when looking at someone who is suffering the sad ravishing effects of trauma and poverty in their life and in the world abroad, perhaps we can start by imploring each other with some higher and more sound council and advice, like “Is there anything I can do to help, while we all are learning how to still ourselves and seek Jesus for God’s ultimate plan and will for all of our lives…”
~ Stay in Love and always seek The Lord for your next move.
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