Poor is subjective. Rich is subjective. Are these villagers in Lacamá poor? I certainly think so. The best house is cinder blocks and hard concrete foor, and some walls are merely sheets of corrugated metal. The door is a twin bed sheet, the toilet is barely an “outhouse”…a concrete seat with a foul foul deep hole that makes me nauseous even passing by it. It is a miracle they have an electric shower for a bit of hot water. So with a resounding yes I say they are poor…but what about the homeless? The kid who lives on the streets and sleeps in doorways, who has to fight for his very survival…would he not think this house is a palace? What is “rich” to him? What is “poor” to him?
So when Jesus calls us to align ourselves with the poor, to become what we want to save, what do we do? When I read that the poor and meek receive the Kingdom, how do I then act? If I am to become more like Christ, what do I make of the fact that he had nowhere to lay his head and publicly denounced the powerful religious and political leaders of his day? What do I do? How do I respond? Where is the balance? What is the level of poverty I should live at (as terribly crass as that sounds)? If God wants to bring His Kingdom down to earth, to live and laugh and enjoy our lives together, how do I reconcile my desire for comfort for myself and others with His Son’s call to die to self? How much is enough? Too much? Is there even such a thing?! What about providing for my future wife/family and out of my love wanting a good life for them? And what about generosity? How much do I give of the money in my bank account? Do I go with the “10% tithe” rule, or do I go with the story of the rich young man whom Jesus told to sell all his possessions in order to receive eternal life and treasures in heaven?
What then? Where do I fall on the line? Where do I live on the line between riches and poverty? Or is there such a thing as living above the line? What if there is another answer? What would be living above the line in regards to wealth and poverty? Is it as simple as relying on the voice of the Spirit to give an answer? (ha…”simple”…riiight) Or is it finding a community of people that I can love and fully give myself to, without concern for their socio-economic class? Does such a community even exist, where wealthy and poor, mighty and meek, winners and losers, can come to the table as equals?
This is a question that might take me a lifetime to answer…and probably as I get older and wiser I will realize what a childish blog this was, and that I tried to oversimplify things, and that I tried to reason and figure out the economy of God’s Kingdom, and how truly silly that was.
But that is not now; this is now. This is my journey. This is my pilgrimage.
