Tag Archives: welfare

Broken

24 Tuesday Apr 2018

Posted by in Church, Health, Humanity, Theology

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Many of us sit in comfort in our homes of multiple thousand square feet, with our nice lawns measured in either a fraction of an acre or in multiple acres.  We have nice vehicles that are pretty reliable.  We have our well-paying jobs that pay us enough for our necessities as well as for the nicer things in life.  We enjoy our vacations.  We enjoy the health we have.  We sit down in the evenings and enjoy entertainment.  And have no worry or thought that tomorrow will be any different.  Why should we?  We have what we need and many of the things we want.  Is everything perfect – of course not.  But really, we’re doing pretty well.

And many of us have no clue about another population that exists in our midst – usually just down the road.  It’s a population that survives day-by-day.  A population that lives day-by-day.  A population that is constantly worried about what they will eat and where they will lay their head for the night.

This isn’t a lazy population.  They aren’t living in luxury off of welfare.  In fact, many don’t receive welfare, or what they do receive isn’t enough to make much difference in their lives.  They aren’t going to the grocery store to buy lobster.

Many in this population work full-time.  Are you surprised?  They work full time and they don’t make enough to cover housing and the other necessities of life, like food, cosmetic necessities, feminine products, things for their kids, clothing, health care, and transportation.

They live in anxiety – it is a constant blanket that covers them each night.  Only this blanket doesn’t provide warmth and comfort, but rather dis-ease.

Many have animals that they care for. Before you spout off about how these poor folks shouldn’t have animals because they can’t take care of themselves, realize a few things.  These animals are often the only ones who offer these people actual love.  These animals are the only ones who keep many of these people going to the next day – their animals give them purpose for going forward instead of giving up on life completely.  Their animals are there for them when no one else is.

Many of the people I have come across lately are women.  Their significant other left them – often left to fend for themselves and their children.  Their men just up and left, some never to be heard from again.  In some cases, that’s an improvement – at least they aren’t suffering domestic violence any more.

Our society is broken.  There is no other way to describe a society where there are homeless women left to fend for themselves.  We aren’t great – we’re broken.  And for many, there is no recognition that society is broken.  If it doesn’t affect you directly, then there isn’t a problem.  The only problem with that belief is that the belief itself is broken.  What happens to one in a society, impacts the rest.  I know this because I’m willing to bet that as you read this you are felling some kind of emotion – maybe guilt, maybe anger, maybe motivation, maybe a combination of emotions.  At any rate, you’ve been impacted without being homeless yourself.  Your emotional state has been affected.  And that’s just a small impact – tiny actually.  But it’s a start.

Can we agree that we have a problem?  That it’s a problem that we have people who are working full-time and can’t afford housing?  Can we acknowledge that our society is broken – at least in this regard?  Can we agree that something should be done?  And not just throw money at the problem?  Or just focus on the material?

Can we agree on just that?  Once we agree to that, can we figure out what to do as a society?  Can we move past the empty rhetoric of politicians and campaign slogans and propaganda?  Can we actually deal with the problem?

I don’t want to live in a broken society.  Correction: I refuse to live in a broken society.  As Christians, we are called to participate in the unfolding of the kingdom.  I take that call seriously.  I pray that you do too.

Food stamps vs. food boxes – it’s more than about food

15 Thursday Feb 2018

Posted by in Church, Humanity, Theology

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I read an article in Fortune magazine about the Trump Administration that started like this:

The Trump administration wants to overhaul the longstanding food stamp program, replacing it with a box of canned goods that it has likened to Blue Apron—a high-end meal kit service.

Source: http://fortune.com/2018/02/13/food-stamps-blue-apron-americas-harvest-box/

On the surface this doesn’t sound like a big deal.  If you’ve never had to be on Food Stamps, then you probably buy into the idea that people on Food Stamps abuse the benefit by buying beer and lobster, etc.  You’ve probably heard horror stories about this.

Here’s the main stated reason why this is being done:

Mulvaney claimed that the change would allow the government to save nearly $130 billion over 10 years, as it would lower government costs because it could buy the products at wholesale prices.

It’s about the money.

I would argue that it won’t save money in the long run.  The biggest reason is something I can’t quantify or point to direct evidence.

This gets into bigger issues than just feeding people.  If that’s all it were about, then great, let’s do it more efficiently and save money and get people food. The only problem with this line of thought is that nothing is in a vacuum.  Feeding people isn’t just about making sure they get food.  We have to look deeper.  Why is someone in such a situation that they need assistance in feeding themselves?  It’s not a nice, simple solution to this problem. But we Americans are really good at just throwing money at a problem and thinking that if we solve the material want or lack, then all will be well.

Except that is not the case.  The reason why government will never be able to solve hunger is because it refuses to see a person or family holistically.  It refuses to acknowledge the non-material parts of a person.  You can’t solve hunger or poverty or violence and focus solely on the material.

There is more to a person than the food they eat, the house they live in, and the job they get paid to do.

There are things that are not tangible too.  Things that we can’t measure or control – but we can influence or create an environment where the non-material is allowed to grow and flourish.

The biggest flaw with changing the food stamp program to a boxed meal isn’t the fact that the food will be less healthy – that’s a material issue.  That’s measurable and there is truth to that.  There won’t be fresh fruit, veggies, or meat.  It’s the fact that families in poverty are in poverty because, for one thing, they have limited choices.  When we take away a family’s or a person’s choice in what they will eat, we are not empowering them to make choices for themselves.  We are making them more dependent on others to make choices for them.  Meanwhile we feel good about providing the material things they supposedly need – regardless of what they want or really need.  We are dictating to them how they are to run their lives.  The effects of this are not good.  When someone’s choices are limited or they lose all their choices, it doesn’t turn out well for that person or family.   That is not how someone moves out of poverty.  That’s how they stay trapped in poverty longer.

This isn’t an argument to say that the food stamp program is great and works perfectly.  It doesn’t.  It doesn’t work effectively because it also is solely focused on the material need and ignores anything outside of that.

One of my all time favorite books is called “When Helping Hurts,” by Scott Corbett and Brian Fikkert.  Here’s how they describe poverty:

Poverty is the result of relationships that do not work, that are not just, that are not for life, that are not harmonious or enjoyable.  Poverty is the absence of shalom in all its meanings.

pg. 62, “When Helping Hurts”

And their answer to what to do about it:

Poverty alleviation is the ministry of reconciliation: moving people closer to glorifying God by living in right relationship with God, with self, with others, and with the rest of creation.

pg. 78, “When Helping Hurts”

If our only goal is to make sure that people have enough material things, we will never relieve poverty or hunger or any other challenge we face because they problems don’t exist in a vacuum and go beyond the material.

There is more to people than just the material.  And as long as we ignore this fact, we will not really be helping people.  And we will all suffer the consequences as a result.

This is the opportunity for the church.  We aren’t government agencies, and we aren’t like other non-profits.  We should certainly work with these organizations – they can provide things that churches can’t.  But churches can do things that government and non-profits can’t or won’t do – touch on the non-material side of life.  We can touch a person’s spirit, their reason for living, their broken relationships, and offer resurrection – transformed life.  That is what makes churches unique.  We have the best news in the history of the world – a message of resurrection and transformation.

I’m willing to bet when we share this message, when we live out the message, when the message is communicated through the material help that we provide, then people will want more.  They will want to hear more.  They will want to be a part of community that lives our resurrection.  They will want to experience resurrection.