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What is poverty like? Think of your home, then follow this journey.
"We begin by invading the house of our imaginary American family
to strip it of its furniture. Everything goes: beds, chairs, tables,
television set, lamps. We will leave the family with a few old blankets,
a kitchen table, a wooden chair. Along with the bureaus go the clothes.
Each member of the family may keep in his 'wardrobe' his oldest
suit or dress, a shirt or blouse. We will permit a pair of shoes
for the head of the family, but none for the wife or children.
"We move to the kitchen. The appliances have already been taken
out, so we turn to the cupboards.The box of matches may stay, a
small bag of flour, some sugar and salt. A few moldy potatoes, already
in the garbage can, but be hastily rescued, for they will provide
much of tonight's meal. We will leave a handful of onions, a dish
of dried beans. All the rest we take away: the meat, the fresh vegetables,
the canned goods, the crackers, the candy.
"Now we have stripped the house: the bathroom has been dismantled,
the running water shut off, the electric wires taken out. Next we
take away the house. The family can move to the tool-shed.
"Communication must go next. No more newspapers, magazines,
books — not that they are missed, since we must take away our
family's literacy as well. Instead, in our shantytown we will allow
one radio.
"Now government services must go. No more postman, no more
firemen. There is a school, but it is three miles away and consists
of two classrooms.There are, of course, no hospitals or doctors
nearby. The nearest clinic is ten miles away and is tended by a
midwife. It can be reached by bicycle, provided that the family
has a bicycle, which is unlikely.
"Finally, money. We will allow our family a cash hoard of $5.00.
This will prevent our breadwinner from experiencing the tragedy
of an Iranian peasant who went blind because he could not raise
the $3.94 which he mistakenly thought he needed to receive admission
to a hospital where he could have been cured." (Economist Robert
Heilbroner in Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, by Ronald
J. Sider, p. 15-16).
A BILLION of our brothers and sisters live like this. They
are just like us with hopes and dreams, a desire to escape pain
and to live in peace and hope. They want a future for their children,
a bit of comfort in their old age. 
42,000 children WILL DIE TODAY from hunger and easily preventable
childhood diseases!
Can't we live more simply that more of them might simply live?
God's Word on Riches and Poverty
"But godliness with CONTENTMENT is great gain! For we brought
nothing into this world and we shall not take anything out." 1 Timothy
6:6,7
"But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need
and closes his heart against him, how can the LOVE OF GOD
be in him?" 1 John 3:17.
"Let the one who has two coats SHARE with him who has none.
And let him who has food do the same." Luke 3:11
"And God is able to make ALL grace abound to you, so that
ALWAYS having ALL sufficiency in EVERYTHING,
you may have an abundance for EVERY good deed." 2 Corinthians
9:8
"As you did it unto the least of these my brothers, YOU DID
IT TO ME." Matthew 25:40
How Can You Choose to "Forsake All" Materialism
and Truly "Follow Jesus" in Caring for Those in Need?
- Visit places of need — shelters, soup kitchens, countries
where poverty is evident. Then Jesus' heartache and passion will
become yours and you will be blessed.
- Ruthlessly examine your lifestyle for areas of excess. Remember
it is your brothers and sisters who are starving or are without
the Gospel.
- Begin to trim back those excesses — but in a joyful way,
with a great sense of purpose! Make a container from an oat box
into a piggy bank, pasting pictures of hungry people on it. Every
time you go without something you would normally buy, place the
money inside.
- Choose projects for this money that will motivate you to save.
Jesus specifically expressed concern for the hungry, for widows
and orphans, for the sick, for those in jail, for the strangers
in our midst (refugees and immigrants) and for those who are lost.
Your giving should primarily reflect those areas of need.
- Bolster your faith by reading stories of God's power to provide.
Be confidant that you cannot out give God. Know that tithe (10%
of your income) is only a minimum that God calls you to in giving.
Stretch your faith and sacrifice. Only then will your faith increase
and God will do miracles.
- Reject high interest debt. Cut up your credit cards until you
can pay them off at the end of each month. Refuse to buy things
on credit. Save instead!
- Have fun without consuming. Almost everything we call fun is
expensive. Learn to enjoy parks, games and sports that don't require
a lot of money.
- Shop the bargains! Buy the cheaper brands (many times the quality
is the same). Eat the "two-for-ones." Buy bulk. Shop the multitude
of second-hand stores (it may be humbling — but remember
you're doing it for those who can't even get enough to eat).
- Eat healthfully — grains, fruits and vegetables are pound
for pound cheaper than meats and processed foods.
- Laugh at the world's mad cry "More is Better!" Enjoy what you
have, be content, slow down and know that simply "Jesus is Better!"
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