End Poverty by 2015

Estimated reading time: 6 minute(s)

I am a big Star Trek fan. My wife and I try and watch a Star Trek each day. An ambitious goal, but on a good week we can keep close to that. So we are quite familiar with the doctrine of one Earth, one humanity that has eliminated war and commerce and of course, eradicated poverty. And, I have mentioned before, it seems like a good idea, doing what you do for the good of other people, and everyone else returning the favor – so everyone’s needs/wants are met by everyone else. A happy, communal, harmonious society.

Unfortunately, the Star Trek writers have forgotten to include the sin quotient in the equation.

See, sin messes everything up. Without sin, that world, that vision might be possible. If everyone was capable of choosing to be selfless and thoughtful of others around them – above their desire for power, or greed, or lust, or any other form of selfishness that is powered by sin – then, we might have a world that would be akin to the one springing from the imagination of Gene Roddenberry.

The UN and many nations in the world have declared that by banding together, and working as one, we can eliminate poverty by the year 2015. (Sounds like they’ve been watching Star Trek, too…) And I heard a radio guy commenting on this today, laughing at how preposterous such a claim was.

And he’s right.

Now, I like to share all that God has given me. Even though it’s not much, if I can share it… I do. I think that is a great idea to share the abundance of the wealthy countries and peoples to help get others who are so much in need it’s unfathomable. It would certainly be a boost to us if someone would donate from their abundance to reduce or even eliminate the high-interest debt that keeps us in a frustrating cycle that seems to never end. Many bills are paid late due to that enormous debt over our heads. But, they get paid… and we move on.

I am not comparing our situation to the plight of people in Africa who live on a miniscule amount of money per year. There is no comparison. We have food that we need, and many other things – in large part thanks to the generosity of family and other supporters. But, the idea is the same… eliminate debt, get everyone on a “level” playing field, and we’ll be good to go.

For a large group of people – I would hope me included – that would be good. With a fresh start, assuming all things normal, that charity, that donation, would be the jump start to get out of poverty for good. But there is something to say for the value of earning something. When something is earned by time or labor or talent or some thing we have somehow put effort into, that effort assigns a value to the money (or other compensation) we receive in return. That is the value of money – it represents us, spent. We get X amount of dollars for X amount of time spent doing something. (Or, at least that’s how it should be) 🙂 So, while I would love for a large lump of cash to be given to us to wipe out our debt, it seems that maybe there will be more value to the slow progress of steadily paying it off as God provides each week, and month and year?

All of that aside, the main reason we will never eliminate poverty even if we somehow manage to evenly distribute all the wealth in the world is…

Sin.

Sin makes a man lazy. Sin makes another man greedy. Sin creates wedges between us that are driven only by self. Sin blinds, and even destroys. We can never be stronger than sin. That’s why Jesus had to step in and do it for us. He did, but sin still has power in this world. And because of that, even our best, most well-intentioned efforts will not lead to the demise of poverty.

Consider this quote from Proverbs:

Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and be wise! Even though they have no prince, governor, or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter. But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up? I want you to learn this lesson: A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest – and poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.

Proverbs 6:6-11

Even if we were to get a bunch of people who had initiative up on their feet and out of poverty, many would choose to slump right back IN to poverty. It is literally, I believe, impossible to “end poverty”.

Noble words. A good idea. But, impossible.

Rather than coercing governments to allocate funds to large sweeping debt-eliminating grants to poor countries… perhaps the only way to make a dent in poverty is to build relationships with those around us. When an elderly neighbor, living on some sort of fixed income is in a pinch, drop by with a bag of groceries. If someone you know needs gas money to visit a relative, or even just to get to work, buy them a tank of gas. When someone’s loses everything they own in a hurricane and a flood, take them in, give them a place to eat/sleep and get them back on their feet. One family, one person at a time, we can share each others’ burdens. Just like the church did when it first started.

But, we can never end poverty. Not by 2015. Not ever, until Jesus returns, and we join him where there is no longer any curse.

The one last observation on this almost eliminates everything I have written. Once again, we are looking at the outward stuff. We are looking at the visible and trying to fix things by treating the symptoms rather than curing the disease. (Perhaps, because we know we can’t cure the disease?) When we talk of ending poverty, we want to make sure everyone has enough money to buy food, clothing, shelter. We are talking about physical possessions and needs. While those are important, life is more than even those.

Someone who appears to have everything they need can actually be quite poor. And someone on whom the world takes pity because of their seeming poverty, might have wealth beyond what that same world could even understand.

Let the weak say, I am strong

Let the poor say, I am rich

Let the blind say, I can see

It’s what the Lord has done in me

I am a proponent of sharing our abundance with anyone in need. As a family, we do. But this illusion put forth by the UN (probably for poilitical gain, also) is just that: an illusion.

Only the giver of all good things can “end” poverty. That can be now, with his peace and life in your heart and mind, or, when we meet him face to face. When he will wipe away every tear, and we will drink living water forever… for free… together with all the nations…

Hmm… sounds like Star Trek…

🙂