SHORT COMMUNICATION 193
Poverty’s Two Faces
By
Roger Behra
There are two kinds of poverty that exists in the American culture, and both are quite evident on a daily basis. As one form of poverty is being treated, it leads to the second in many, many lives. So, for many people a losing situation keeps them embedded in some form or both forms in self-inflicted poverty of there own making. Any one of these two poverties has a very serious and damaging effect on lives and the American culture as well.
The damaging effect, that starts the ball rolling in MATERIAL POVERTY. Many people become victims of material poverty through no fault of their own making. Various uncontrollable circumstances, just plain bad luck, or both together can lead to material poverty. Others bring material poverty into their lives through squandering their opportunity to become educated through other bad judgment later in life, or through poor character and poor self discipline. Regardless of the reason material poverty rules in some lives, and it is rarely alleviated in most cases completely.
In America there is some partial help available. There is minimum quantity of goods and services that helps. But the unfortunate part is this. Material poverty is usually accompanied by SPIRITUAL POVERTY which is a much more debilitating kind of poverty.
Spiritual poverty is the kind of behavioral poverty that prevents the development of healthy families, work ethic, and self-sufficiency. And the absence of these guarantees band and uncontrollable behavior that includes violence, crime, drug addiction, alcoholism, prostitution, illegitimate children, single parenting, prison sentences, and no work ethic. Spiritual poverty is a very losing situation.
When material poverty leads to spiritual poverty God is absent from lives, and that severely compounds the situation. Rarely does anyone recover. Only the power, graces, and blessings of God can rescue them. Christian living and solid core values are not in progress, so God is not part of their lives. Therefore, He is not asked to help, and that is the most powerful help available just for the asking. When God is not in people´s lives, the door is wide open for bad things and Satan to walk right in. And that happens much sooner than much later.
R. B.
7-4-10