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Poverty

07 Thursday Sep 2017

Posted by laceduplutheran in Health, Humanity, Society

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

churches, Know Nothing Party, material, New Deal, politics, poverty, Washington, wealth

Poverty.  The word brings to mind many things for many people.  Often it brings to mind mess and trash – both in the literal sense, but also in terms of how people are viewed.  Poverty is destructive to lives and societies – and very costly.  Not just in terms of dollars, but way beyond that.

Which is why alleviating poverty is so important.  Yet, we have been trying to alleviate poverty for so long that no one remembers when we started.  And we’ve had varying degrees of success.  Although right now it seems as though we are struggling with alleviating poverty.  We don’t have current stats – only data from 2015 and earlier (You can see that here).  However, basing it on observation, conversations, and a whole lot of non-scientific data, I’m willing to wager that poverty is on the rise in the US in recent times.  One of the things that I’m basing this on is the fact that there is a lack of emergency housing in the region of the country I reside in.  There are waiting lists and have been for a few months now.  That’s not a good indicator.

Often we look to the government for solutions to our problems.  Or some will say, never mind the government, the churches and non-profits should do it.  The problem with this is that it’s an all or nothing approach – and it doesn’t work.  Alleviating poverty has to be a multiple faceted approach incorporating many different elements – because there are many aspects to poverty that need to be addressed.

One of the challenges to alleviating poverty is agreeing on what poverty is.  Yes, there is the official definitions – but those focus entirely on the material needs that people have.  If poverty were entirely material, then we would have solved it long ago.  We’ve spent more money on trying to alleviate poverty through material means than anyone thought possible.  It would have been cheaper to just transfer wealth directly from the rich to the poor and be done with it.  Except a transfer of wealth, on its own, just doesn’t work.

That’s because if you only deal with the material, you’ll never actually alleviate poverty.  I received a call from a person who had an eviction notice.  The person needed $500 to stay in their home.  When we talked with the owner of the property, we discovered that the person had resided at the property for 44 months and was late with their rent 17 times.  Giving this person money to stop the eviction wouldn’t have changed anything for this person ultimately.  It would have bought them more time and it would have dealt with the material need, but it wouldn’t have alleviated poverty in any real way.  in fact, we would have been enabling this person to continue to see being late on rent as normal with no need to change.

Could we have done something different – probably, but only so far as someone wants to change and improve their life.  You can’t force change to happen on people.

We live in a political climate right now where one political party is attempting to recreate the Know Nothing Party of the 1850’s and the other party is stuck in the New Deal of the 1940’s.  That’s not leadership, and it doesn’t bode well for people who actually want to escape poverty.

There are fresh ideas out there, but it’s hard to get any spotlight when all the air in the room is used up to cover what our politicians say and think and tweet 24 hours a day – as if Washington DC were the center of the universe.  It isn’t and here’s the reality – new ideas don’t come out of Washington, DC.  The state of the two political parties should be evidence enough of that reality.

If we are going alleviate poverty, then we need to think differently about it and act differently too.  We need to take a look at poverty in a given context and not make an assumption that poverty looks the same everywhere.  We need to build partnerships between government, leaders, non-profits, churches, and communities – so that we can work together to touch the many different aspects of poverty.  We need to see people in poverty as people, not as statistics.  We need to look at long-term commitments from those in poverty and those who are helping.  We need to look beyond the material to see poverty as more than just the lack of money or stuff – it is spiritual, it is mental, it is emotional.  Let’s move past the ideas of the past and towards new ideas.

Life outside of Windhoek

01 Friday Sep 2017

Posted by laceduplutheran in Travel

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Tags

Namibia, poverty, Windhoek

As we headed outside of Windhoek, we saw what real life was like for some Namibians.  Some looked pretty normal for us.

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Normal things were going on.

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And then the further we got from downtown Windhoek, the more we saw the lingering effects of colonization (from the Germans) and apartheid (from the South Africans).  It’s a reminder that Namibia has only been independent for 25 years and even though it has made great strides, there is still much to do.

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Poverty is a real issue here.

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The buildings in the picture above are images of people’s homes and some shops.  Yes, people live in these structures.  With no running water or electricity and dirt floors.  That is a part of the reality of Namibia.  It’s a sobering sight.

But the really fascinating thing about these images is what is not in the picture – trash.  Even though people are poor, they aren’t trashy.  That’s a lesson for any of us to learn.  The poor aren’t treated as trash here.  And they don’t see themselves as trash either.  I don’t have any evidence or data to support this statement but here goes – I think the level of trash that lies around the streets, especially in poor areas (regardless of what country) is an indication of how the people in that community are viewed and see themselves.

Some thoughts on Pope Francis’ comments on poverty

18 Thursday Jun 2015

Posted by laceduplutheran in Church, Humanity, Politics, Theology

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Catholic, Christian, Christianity, communism, politicians, politics, Pope Francis, poverty

I’m torn when it comes to Pope Francis.  I want to like the guy, but I have trouble just about every time the media covers something he says.  Something just doesn’t sit right with me.

For example, this story appeared two days ago.  It’s about the Pope’s comments on poverty.

Christian poverty is that I give to the poor what is mine, not just what is left over, but even that which I need for myself, because I know that he enriches me,”

I get the idea and agree to a certain extent, but I’ve got some issues with the whole “theology of poverty.”

The headline of the article states – “Pope Francis: Handing over wealth to the poor is Christianity – not communism.”

The headline struck me as a bit odd. When I read the story, there are no quotes from the Pope about communism.  When I read the comment section, just about every comment ended up being either a political statement, or a general statement of support couched in politics, or something like this – “great idea – let the church and its riches go first.”

The Pope has made statements in the past about homosexuality, climate change, creation, and even atheists maybe going to heaven, among other things.  When I think back to the reactions, they always seem to be the same – people respond with political-oriented statements that suggest the Pope supports their side of the issue or label the Pope in a political fashion.  I’ve been watching this and each time, it just doesn’t sit well with me.  I can’t place my finger on it.

Maybe it’s the same feeling I get when I hear politicians and political figures make statements.  Having worked in the world of politics I can say honestly that there aren’t many politicians that impress me.  Most of their speeches are full of platitudes designed to rally the supporters with nice fluffy and patriotic terminology designed to make people feel like the politician really cares about everyone else.  In a sense, the Pope has given these types of statements plenty of times.  It’s not so much that he is saying anything new in substance, but rather, he’s saying the same thing the Church has taught for a long time, but in a different way that makes it sound like something new and different is coming.

Then again, I’m not one to just dismiss the leader of the largest Christian denomination on the planet.  I think he’s got some good qualities too.  His own personal actions speak louder than words to me.  He lives a simpler life than previous popes.  He has gone to serve the poor.  He’s reached out to the disadvantaged.  He’s done some great things.  I like that about him.

Maybe that’s the issue for me.  Speaking vs. actions.  It’s easy to give a speech.  Yes, I know that public speaking is a huge fear for many people.  That’s not what I’m talking about.  It’s easy to make a public statement.  In fact, so often, I’ve seen people make statements about whatever topic of the moment is in the headlines.  People make statements, they post comments on social media, maybe even go to a rally or sign a petition and think “I care and I did something.” Sorry to break it to you – no you didn’t.  Yes, you took a few moments of time to show some support, but you really didn’t do anything to change the situation – there was no giving of yourself.  Because human words can’t change things ultimately.  It’s the actions that actually change things.  Only God has the power to speak something and cause it to change.

And so I remain torn when it comes to the Pope.  He’s personally a great role model for how to live and act.  But I’m not crazy about his statements – they sound too much like any other politician I’d heard before.

Then again, maybe I just don’t like the way the media “reports” on statement by the Pope.  I have to remember that the media is a business too. It makes money when it gets advertisers.  Advertisers want to know that people are seeing their ads.  The best way to see ads is to make the news sensational and controversial – you get views that way.

In the meantime, I’ll keep listening and watching the Pope.  I think its good for me to be uncomfortable at times and to ask why I’m uncomfortable with certain statements.  Sometimes the uncomfortableness is because of some of the things I mentioned before.  But sometimes, the uncomfortableness is something deeper – it’s a signal that there’s something that needs to change in me and I may not like that.

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laceduplutheran

laceduplutheran

I believe that God, church, and theology are approachable, enjoyable, and relevant for everyone. I write about this a lot because people need to hear it. So many people feel lost, hopeless, alone, and are searching for identity and meaning. I'm an ELCA Pastor (Lutheran) who has a background in politics, business, and the non-profit worlds. I take churchy theological ideas and words and communicate them in everyday language that people can understand, in ways that relate, and show that God, church, and theology matter a great deal. Oh, and it doesn't have to be boring either - mostly because it's the best news ever!

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