The Lies of Affluence by Wayne Jacobsen— Part IV.

Lie #7:  Desperate people have choices.  We think people can better themselves by hard work and discipline, and for the most part many can.  But what if demands of daily survival are so overwhelming they don’t have the time or energy to do so?  Some people are simply victims of crime, war, famine, natural disaster, medical conditions, or psychological brokenness;” so much so “that they have incredibly few choices.  Send an immigrant home or telling a poor youth to get a job may seem easy enough from your station up the ladder, but for people trying to survive the next day, the feat may be unimaginable without some help.

People on the margins need help to find a fruitful life in our society.  Many of us got this from our parents or the slice of culture we lived in.  Many did not.  They need someone to be a champion for them, finding the space in their lives and the opportunities at hand to move away from the inheritance of their past and find a better future.

Lie #8:  Government can fix these problems with the right program.  ...My wealthy liberal friends are so certain government can fix all of this by passing laws and redistributing income, and can’t seem to admit the worst kind of entitlement doesn’t come from the poor who need help, but politicians and bureaucrats who run the programs for their own gain or convenience.  We can’t even get government to provide health-care to our veterans without huge delays, waste, and fraud by the bureaucrats themselves.

I sometimes wonder if those who push government for the poor are their way of spending other people’s money to make them feel like they are doing good, when they are not willing to invite those people into their lives and homes.  They can pat themselves on the back for doing good without ever making a personal connection among the poor and marginalized.  That’s why many of our programs are not about empowering them to a better way of living, but only making them more dependent on the government and the political party that wants their vote.  Socialism rewards laziness and dishonesty precisely because it doesn’t involve people in the solution, only dollars.  Our government programs are broken, flush with massive waste and corruption.  Washington DC is the most affluent area of our country and they produce nothing except twisted laws to reward special interests as they line their own pockets.  ...Until government officials” are “disciplined for incompetence and fraud, this won’t change.

But this doesn’t mean individuals can’t respond out of a generosity which is born of proximity.  The reason why so much of our nation remains calloused to these problems is because they don’t know anyone actually facing them.  Until you know people who deal with violence or hunger, or have a relationship with an undocumented worker, you can ignore their plight and stick with the political view that serves your own ends.  Proximity changes everything.  Get outside your culture group and engage firsthand the challenges others face.  Then you’ll know how you might be able to help them.

...Get to know some of them, and your heart will change.  Jesus told a story about a Good Samaritan to help us understand we are all part of a bigger family and cannot think only of ourselves.

This is where the lies of affluence come to die and some amazing acts of human compassion can begin.  When you find people hurting, help them with whatever you have.  If you don’t know any, volunteer at a soup kitchen or a ministry in the inner city.  Don’t just give them money, befriend them and you will no longer be able to hide in those lies.  You’ll join them in looking for solutions that will help empower them to better their own lives rather than remain dependent on others.  You will be a voice for a more compassionate society.  Change happens when the powerful advocate on behalf of the powerless, instead of making them fight for it themselves.

And I’m not talking only to the one-percent-ers here.  From a global perspective if you have $3,650 of net worth—including the equity in your home—you are among the top 50% of the world’s wealthiest citizens.  If you have more than $77,000, you are in the top 10%.  And if you have $798,000, you belong to the top 1%.  That’s according to the Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report.  This is not a merit badge to wear proudly, but an opportunity to look for ways to share with others in the world where children still go to bed hungry or wake up in fear for their lives.

Generosity emerges when we realize everything we have is a gift, and the more we have the more responsible we need to be in sharing it with others who do not have the same advantages we do.  It seeks to help them not only by the charity of things, but also by empowering them with the tools to better their own lives.

I know no system that can change the world.  I know the generosity that can change one life or one family, one neighborhood at a time.  If enough of us buy into that, then the world will change too.

{Editing and Italics Mine}

HJC	Ric Webb  |  Shepherd Heart’s Journey Community 9621 Tall Timber Blvd. |  Little Rock, AR 72204 t +1.501.455.0296
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