In the movie The
Matrix, Agent Smith tells Morpheus, “Every mammal on this planet
instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment, but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until
every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to
spread to another area.” For the most part, I would agree with that
statement…you merely have to watch the news or even just look around you, and
you will see that is so. However, in many cases, the opposite is true, and
humans do adapt to their environment,
their circumstances, the contexts of their lives. This particular set of
people, however, are almost entirely and
exclusively the poor, the outcasts, those on the fringes of society. They
adapt because they have to. If you have the means (money, power, influence) to
change your condition, you will. It is as simple as that. On the other hand, if
you have no money and nothing (or very little) to your name, you are forced to
play the cards you’re dealt. Life isn’t fair; nobody ever said it would be.
We are here in Moldova, the poorest country in Europe. It
has lost almost half of its population to emigration, and many many more work
outside the country to send money back home to their families. The majority of
people live on less than our tiny World Race budget…and we get to go home in six weeks. This month we are staying in a
place which used to be a college dormitory until it was abandoned… it was
deemed too far gone to bother repairing. It was purchased and fixed up [a
little] and now serves as an apartment building. It costs us 30 lei per night
to live here, which is a hair over $2. No group rate, no discount, just the
normal flat fee of two bucks. It is a grimy, rundown, smelly place with
uncomfortable beds whose mattresses appear to be from the Soviet era. I could
go on about it, but I won’t. All I will say is: I am getting used to it. I’m
finding that natural equilibrium; and though I’m adapting because I have to…still…I am adapting. Of course, I do
believe that being on the Race has forced/allowed me to be able to adapt to
poor living conditions quicker than most people, simply because of the dynamics
of these eleven months. Also, I am fully cognizant of the fact that somewhere
in the back of my mind is likely the thought, “I only have to stay here a
couple more weeks.” Nevertheless, I am living here, full of joy and peace, even
lacking all the comforts I’d like to have.
Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell all he owned and
follow him. Jesus’ own ministry was dedicated largely to the poor and the
rejected of society. In the Sermon on the Mount, his Beatitudes say “blessed
are the poor in spirit” …but in Luke’s account he says merely “blessed are the
poor.” It is my firm belief that the definition of what a “blessing” is has
become corrupted through ignorance, selfishness, or malevolence. Over and over and over throughout the Old and New
Testament scriptures, God’s mouthpieces remind us to love the poor, to despise
wealth, and to seek justice and solidarity for and with the people on the
fringes. We simply cannot deny that God
may actually be calling us to a life of material poverty for the sake of
His Name, His Gospel, and His people.
But hey, we can do it. Millions of people all over the world
do it every day –many in your own city– and most don’t even have a Savior whom
they can find hope in.
Being a Christian isn’t easy; Jesus never said it would be.
