What comes to mind when you hear the word poverty? Who do you think of when you think of “the poor”? If you’re anything like most Westerners, you probably think about poverty in terms of lacking material goods or simply not having enough physical resources. Homeless. Hungry. Naked. Unemployed.
The World Bank did a study that included a survey of thousands of people that would fit that description — they simply didn’t have enough of the stuff to make life work well. We would consider them poor. When they were asked to describe poverty or even to comment on their situation, they rarely talked about not having enough stuff. Instead, they talked about lacking dignity, feeling helpless, being unable to bring about change or make any positive momentum. They recognized poverty but defined it very differently. And I think that their definition is much closer to reality than our’s is.
You see, if you go all the way back to the beginning, the story of Creation, you see Adam and Eve in a perfect situation. Everything was right. That’s easy to say, but think about it with me. What — specifically — was right? Well, all of their relationships were right and perfect and whole! They had a perfect relationship with God, walking and talking with Him in the garden. They had a perfect relationship with each other, no hiding or shame or power struggles. Finally, their relationship with the rest of creation was perfect. There was abundance and prosperity. There was an order and beauty to the created world. It was perfect . . . for about a page!
On page 2 (Genesis 3), everything is shattered. Sin destroys all three of these perfect relationships. Their connection with God is broken; they’re hiding from Him and covering their shame. Their relationship with each other is broken. That’s obvious as we see them fail each other and blame each other. Finally, their relationship with the rest of creation has been destroyed as well. The order begins to unravel. Chaos enters the picture. This will eventually lead to drought, famine, catastrophe and disease. All the relationships that used to be whole are now shattered. Do you see that?
I do. I see it in the Genesis story and in my story! All those relationships were broken in me as well. And in you. In fact, everyone you ever lock eyes with struggles because of the brokenness of these three relationships. Spiritually, physically and socially . . . we are broken. Paradise has been lost and is still longing for restoration. This is where we find ourselves. This is the chapter of the grand story that we ahve been born into.
But, this isn’t the final chapter. A better one is coming . . . and you and I get to give a glimpse of what that chapter will be like. That’s what Jesus did, isn’t it? He reached down with compassion, healing those who’ve been beaten down by this broken world. He healed the sick, fed the hungry, satisfied the thirsty. But that’s not all. He helped reconcile people with each other. He stood up for those who were being mistreated. He spoke up for those who needed justice. In other words, He addressed the relational brokenness in our world. But that’s not all, perhaps most significantly, He reconciled us to God. He offered forgiveness and grace. When we couldn’t work our way to God, we couldn’t fix the brokenness of our soul, He brought God to us. He made a way for that relationship to be restored!
But here’s an interesting point to take note of: He didn’t do that for everyone. Have you ever thought of that? Not everyone was healed. Not everyone was fed. Not everyone was forgiven. He wasn’t restoring us to Paradise. At least not yet. He was just giving a glimpse. He was showing a preview. His life was the trailer. The feature film is yet to come! And that is exactly what we are called to do! We can’t feed, heal, help, reach, love everyone. And that’s okay. Jesus didn’t even do that. But we can heal and help and feed and love someone. That’s what we’re called to do. To follow His lead and give a glimpse of His Kingdom. That’s what it looks like to truly address poverty. We have to understand all three dimensions of it and address all three dimensions, just like Jesus did.
How has Jesus addressed the poverty in your life? How has He begun to restore your spiritual and physical and relational brokenness?
Dr. Paul McGuinness 