this was an incredibly challenging chapter for me, mind expanding first to read the comments of the poor frmo the Voices of the Poor book. I so am typical of the North American Christian audience he describes as focussing on the wrong thing--material needs, and not seeing poverty in terms of the shame, the inferiority it produces the powerlessness, humiliation fear hopelessness depression social isolation and voicelessness. Help me Lord, I am so poor myself in seeing the world as You see it.
comment on pg54--if we treat only the sumptoms or if we misdiagnoses the inderlying problem we will not improve their situation and we might actualy make their lives worse. Lord I know I have been guilty of this even in our mercy ministry, help me find your ways.
his explanation of poverty as it relates to the four relationships each of us were created for--relationship with God, with ourself, with others, and with the rest of creation. This was such a shift in thinking for me as I thought about poverty differently now, frmo the standpoint of what every person was created for, making all of us poor in some relationship or more. it places me on an equally needy basis as any other person in the world. I do not see myself that way Lord. Help me.
on pg 60, is an amazing chalenging paragraph--we are not brining christ to poor communities, He has been active in these communities since the creation of the world, sustaing them by his poewrful word. how do I see kennedy project, WaterGut, or under the Tamarind tree outside Mon Bijou below my house as part of what reflects the very hand of God. Lord, open my eyes to see.
It was interesting to me when the author admitted that helping the poor helped him feel like he pursued a noble cause, etc (pg 65). I, frankly, would rather sit in my comfortable house and pretend the "poor" didn't exist. Helping would take me out of my comfort zone, knowing I couldn't ever completely solve the problems (torment for the task-oriented perfectionist). Plus, what do i have to offer? I don't know how to DO anything--what do I have to teach anybody anything to help themselves out of their situation? Still...there is always that nagging voice in my heart telling me I have been given so much-what am I going to do with it?
it was so challenging to me in this particular chapter that the issue for the pooor was much more about the loss of their dignity, the shame attached, the powerlessness, where for me as a materially stable person, I see poverty in terms of material need and when I intervene I think of intervening in that way which further strips of dignity. How Lord, can I contribute positively to the restoration of dignity of every person I meet, regardless of their real or perceived economic differences and need?
My dear wife, Cindy always wants to get right in there and meet the material needs of whatever "poor" person she meets, whether homeless man on the street or someone she meets. Then she smacks them on the head with God. I feel (and she and I have had "discussions" about this that it only temporarily feeds them and then makes them feel worse when faced with an awesome God they can't live up to. I'm looking forward to the rest of this book to see if we can find some balance and some way of really helping the materially poor that also builds them up in Christ...
this was an incredibly challenging chapter for me, mind expanding first to read the comments of the poor frmo the Voices of the Poor book. I so am typical of the North American Christian audience he describes as focussing on the wrong thing--material needs, and not seeing poverty in terms of the shame, the inferiority it produces the powerlessness, humiliation fear hopelessness depression social isolation and voicelessness. Help me Lord, I am so poor myself in seeing the world as You see it.
ReplyDeleteIF you SPEND YoURSELVES on behalf of the poor....
ReplyDeletecomment on pg54--if we treat only the sumptoms or if we misdiagnoses the inderlying problem we will not improve their situation and we might actualy make their lives worse. Lord I know I have been guilty of this even in our mercy ministry, help me find your ways.
ReplyDeletehis explanation of poverty as it relates to the four relationships each of us were created for--relationship with God, with ourself, with others, and with the rest of creation. This was such a shift in thinking for me as I thought about poverty differently now, frmo the standpoint of what every person was created for, making all of us poor in some relationship or more. it places me on an equally needy basis as any other person in the world. I do not see myself that way Lord. Help me.
ReplyDeleteon pg 60, is an amazing chalenging paragraph--we are not brining christ to poor communities, He has been active in these communities since the creation of the world, sustaing them by his poewrful word. how do I see kennedy project, WaterGut, or under the Tamarind tree outside Mon Bijou below my house as part of what reflects the very hand of God. Lord, open my eyes to see.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to me when the author admitted that helping the poor helped him feel like he pursued a noble cause, etc (pg 65). I, frankly, would rather sit in my comfortable house and pretend the "poor" didn't exist. Helping would take me out of my comfort zone, knowing I couldn't ever completely solve the problems (torment for the task-oriented perfectionist). Plus, what do i have to offer? I don't know how to DO anything--what do I have to teach anybody anything to help themselves out of their situation? Still...there is always that nagging voice in my heart telling me I have been given so much-what am I going to do with it?
ReplyDeleteit was so challenging to me in this particular chapter that the issue for the pooor was much more about the loss of their dignity, the shame attached, the powerlessness, where for me as a materially stable person, I see poverty in terms of material need and when I intervene I think of intervening in that way which further strips of dignity. How Lord, can I contribute positively to the restoration of dignity of every person I meet, regardless of their real or perceived economic differences and need?
ReplyDeleteMy dear wife, Cindy always wants to get right in there and meet the material needs of whatever "poor" person she meets, whether homeless man on the street or someone she meets. Then she smacks them on the head with God. I feel (and she and I have had "discussions" about this that it only temporarily feeds them and then makes them feel worse when faced with an awesome God they can't live up to.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to the rest of this book to see if we can find some balance and some way of really helping the materially poor that also builds them up in Christ...