Loving the Poor: Not a Special Calling

The Bible calls some of us to special gifts. Shepherding. Teaching. Discernment.

Other things we're all commanded to do. Pray. Read the Bible. Share grace. Pursue justice.

Yep. 

We're all supposed to pursue justice. That doesn't mean just legal justice. It means economic justice too. 

This realization has been percolating for a while, and perhaps stems a little from a book by Mark Cahill, entitled One Thing You Can't Do in Heaven (this isn't an endorsement really, but credit where credit's due). In essence, it's a calling for every Christian, even the awkward, introverted ones who say they're not good at it, to share their faith journey and the story of Jesus. He posits that sharing this way isn't a special gift as so many claim (often to get out of an uncomfortable task), it's a mandate.

I see the same kind of mandate in terms of seeking economic justice. Look at the story of the Good Samaritan, or the widow who gave two pennies, or the Beatitudes, or commandments to care for widows, orphans, and immigrants. Look at the compassion Jesus had for the hungry masses. And look at his contempt for the money changers at the temple, the Pharisees, and the unrepentant wealthy. (I've provided links to Bible chapters containing most of these stories if you want to check it out.)

Given my background as a middle class, White, educated woman now in an upwardly mobile situation, I feel like I sometimes get some kind of extra credit for caring about income inequality, the poor, food insecurity, educational inequity, and similar causes. Like if I came from life in poverty, of course I would care, or if I were poor now, clearly, but it makes me extra "good" that I care anyway, even though I know where my dinner is coming from and how I'm going to make rent next month, so my efforts somehow don't benefit myself (I would argue that's wrong, but that's not the point of this post - For more on this topic, see my post about privilege and not pulling the ladder up.)

By extension, other people from my middle-class background (or upper class backgrounds, perhaps even more so, since I come from a somewhat mixed-income community) get a pass if they don't know or care much about poverty, as though it's not "their" issue or they don't have to be part of the solution (and that also means they get to keep their misconceptions and incorrect narratives about those living in poverty, too - I've been seeing that a lot in social media posts lately, and it's really [I was going to say not cool, but more accurately] infuriating to hear over and over the negative stereotypes about all of the poor and all of the racial minorities ). Also by extension, this cause becomes primarily the burden of those who grew up in poverty or are there now, and since it's already their cross to bear, why give props for their efforts?

[[Tangent: Coming from a very rural, relatively low income county, Rebecca has experienced a tiny sampling of this - she would never complain about this, since she's not motivated by this stuff, but it was really interesting to watch someone from a high-income, suburban background receive the award for commitment to underserved medicine at med school graduation even though Rebecca was actually from a background like that, had spent almost a year as an Americorps VISTA working for Free Clinics of Michigan, attended rural med conferences every time she got the funding and academic leave to do so, and had signed up for the National Health Services Corps (NHSC), the same program the actual recipient was doing. (Okay, so I wanted to brag about my wife a little - can I help it if I'm proud?) Despite all of Rebecca's efforts, despite her knowledge of the day-to-day realities of the uninsured and underresourced, her opinion and choices were less valued, ironically because she came from that background, and probably also because she truly needed the loan forgiveness money tied to NHSC. And this is a case where the outcome really doesn't matter at all, because the award didn't confer any particular privilege. Would that this is worst case scenario.]]

Committinginthemitten is calling crap on that. First, poverty is everyone's, and especially every Christian's, problem to solve. Second, I don't deserve bonus points (and neither do the rest of my fellow middle and upper class privileged friends.) Half the time, I have no idea what I'm doing or what's going on and am basing concepts on the stories of those who have lived it, or on research reports on the topic. I'm glad people listen, and I've tried to get educated, but my job is to amplify those other voices and ideas. Giving bonus points to me or asking my opinion might seem easier, sometimes, but it's a form of paternalism and classism, and that's not going to get us where we need to be, which is all together looking for equal opportunities and better outcomes.

Pursuing economic justice isn't a special calling. We're mandated to turn away from unfair opportunities, to listen to unheard voices, and to behave as Christ did, especially when it's hard and involves sacrifice (are you listening, Kim Davis?). I'm still working on it. Honestly, it feels icky a lot of days to realize how many things I have to change and how many inconveniences I'm going to face, and that if the world becomes more fair, my life will actually be harder. I feel like a huge hypocrite writing about this, since I feel the weight of all the small decisions I made today that didn't fully commit to this, but to conclude: (I think this quote is correctly attributed - let me know if not)

“I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.”
― Maya Angelou