Poverty & Haiti

Where does poverty come from? The obvious answer is a lack of money and resources. But move beyond that initial thought for a moment.

Where does poverty come from? Some folks might be inclined to think poverty is simply the result of laziness. No doubt there are plenty of lazy folk in the world, but laziness alone does not account for the vast majority of poverty.

Jesus said that we would always have poor people. And we do. We always have and it seems as if we always will.

But where does poverty come from? One of my friends says poverty stems from the wealthy and powerful who oppress whole nations of people. In many ways, I think he is right.

We are too easily satisfied with the status quo, our status quo of comfort and stability. In the meantime, more people than we can ever imagine are suffering in poverty so extreme that it also defies our imagination.

Earthquakes in impoverished nations like Haiti tend to make us think a bit. The televangelist Pat Robertson said this week that Haiti is suffering because the people made a pact with the devil. I think he is way off base. There are lots of innocent people in Haiti who are suffering simply because that’s where they were born. Earthquakes happen because we live in a broken world.

Does poverty ever occur because of evil? Absolutely. Often the wealthy and powerful tend to think more of themselves than others and in their selfishness, more sin is brought to bear and more poverty occurs. And the opposite is also true. Poverty can stem not only from the sin of others, but our own sin as well. For every inmate in jail, there just might be a corresponding family who is suffering not only the stigma of a crime, but also the economic ramifications of a loss of income. That might be an extreme example for some, but there are a lot of crying children even in America because Mom or Dad have lived or are living in such a selfish way that they must pay the cost in impoverished lives.

Can sin cause poverty? No doubt. The reality is, while we might argue and debate and dispute the causes all day long, people are suffering.

As Christians, we have an obligation of love and that means helping those less fortunate no matter the cause. Being Christ-like is to have a passion for the hurting and helpless–all those who suffer for whatever reason.

I hope you choose to give extra to help alleviate the suffering in the island nation of Haiti. I hope you choose to help the hurting in your own neighborhood.

God bless!
Les, Jr.

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