The truth about poverty in the city....

I am often asked to explain the way that I see poverty in the city. If you have been around me for more than about 30 seconds I have probably gotten on my soap box about the plight of the kids in the city. It is a very hush, hush subject.

The average American doesn't want to acknowledge that all poverty doesn't exist over a border somewhere. The average inner city family doesn't want to acknowledge they are poor. It is all about shame and hiding.

When you live in one of the richest nations in the world you begin to believe that you deserve to have more. You are forced to see what you don't have all the time, everywhere. It is on television, in our music, movies, billboards. Even our food industry is telling us how we deserve a "break" and the luxury of eating out. If you are in a place of "not" you feel like you need to pretend that you "have." It becomes this cycle of scrimping and digging and feeling like you are missing out. You come to live in "survival" mode. This breeds bitterness and resentment.

Just yesterday a Mom told me. "I feel like because I am good at pretending that I have it all together, everyone thinks I really do. I don't." In reality she didn't know how to pay her bills, the electricity was getting turned off, as well as the hot water. There was no food for the table. When we asked her about Thanksgiving, she broke down in how much more she had wanted to offer her family that wasn't there.

We struggle with true Thanks-giving in this country. The poor in many other nations have hope. They cling together and they look heavenward. That is all there is. I have so many friends who have been missionaries to third world nations and they all say the same thing. Those that put their hope in Christ smile all the time. Those without, really believe that they have. In the U.S. we put on the facade that we can have more... stuff. We think we need more when we really want more. We lose hope.

Yes, the public housing projects have satellite dishes attached to the outside. None of them are turned on though. The network offered a deal. A deal no one could afford. The people said yes. We have nothing else to distract us so I deserve better television. For a month of free it was turned on. Then it was turned off. No one bothered to come around and collect the dishes.

I have been in households where one apartment runs extension cords to the neighbors to have their lights on. I have a couple of friends who can't recall ever having hot water at home. They always had to boil it to have hot water. Hot water was a luxury. I personally know how to flush a toilet using a bucket of water, because I was taught how to by someone who has lived with their water turned off. There is food at the start of the month, sometimes. But, there is little to no food at the end of the month. I know the families that eat at the soup kitchens. Being homeless is not always as simple as sleeping on a street or in a shelter. Sometimes, it is about moving from friend to friend and sleeping with your whole family on their floor. You own a bike and it is stolen. You sleep on a mattress on the floor that someone pulled out of the dumpster. You have never owned a set of sheets. You talk about how a nice soap set is something you dream of owning. You have never been spoiled at Christmas time. Sometimes it is easier for your Mom to just not really have Christmas. It hurts too much that she can't give you more. We think Christmas is about what presents we bring.

It comes down to this. Pretty much everything that makes you simply "fit in," is an indulgence to you. In the end all of your time is spent pretending that you are existing like everyone else. The cruel part is that you feel as if you can never admit this to a living soul. Your neighbors are living as you do, and you rely on each other. But, the first moment that something goes crazy you stab each other in the back. You are hungry. Your children are hungry. You spend all of your time putting on a smile while never really smiling. You go to church to get some hope, but it feels like everyone there just tells you if you had more faith it would be better. You have tried to have faith. Your belly is still empty. It feels like you can't get it right. You try to get it right but miss the relationship with your Savior. So what does it hurt to sell a couple of pills on the side? You don't have to sell your body you can just become an "escort."

The shame piles on and you have no one to share it with. A large tax check comes in and you rent a large television. You NEED a large television. At least you will have it for a month or so. You really need a job. You can't find one because you don't have a real address. The frustration grows. You are angry. You toughen up. You teach your kids not to cry. They need to fight. They deserve more.

What we are horrible at in America, is admitting what we really need. We deserve nothing. We deserve death. None of us are good enough. What if we really learned to share one another's burdens? What if we really took the words of Galatians 6 seriously? "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." What if I could somehow really come to see how it is to REALLY live in community. What if the words of Acts chapter 2 jumped to true life?

"They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

It isn't just about the giving. It is about the receiving and then giving. What if we admitted that we had a need? What if it didn't feel awkward and stunted when we admit our need? What if as Americans we could see that not all of us have? It isn't so far away. It is right under our noses. There is a depraved heart in need of a Savior. This is a Savior that promises to take care of all our needs. Sometimes,often, those needs are met through the hands of his people. If we could admit that their is poverty and that we are poor I think it just might change.....