Introduction
The gospel claims “The poor you will always have with you” in Mark 14:7. Christian circles have varying responses to poverty based on one’s decision to focus on the physical, emotional, spiritual, and economic aspects connected to being poor. Christianity emphasizes being rich in spirit. I believe one’s perception of reality affects their spiritual richness. They are unlikely to tend to spiritual nourishment if they have not endured hardships. But this term is relative as everyone experiences hardships, whether rich or poor. Poverty is not associated with Godliness (Singh, 2018). However, the poor are God’s children and are entitled to His kingdom as their wealthy counterparts. Nonetheless, they suffer through hardships that may impede their faith. Some people lose faith in God as they perceive life difficult. People frequently question why God allows them to go through hardships. This is true for poor people as well since they face more tremendous hardships than others. Christians perceive poverty differently than people without faith, noting the necessity for integrated support to help those in need.
Poverty in Christianity
Christians have a responsibility to take care of the poor in society. Alleviating some aspects that trouble the poor enables them to focus on other factions of life. Interacting with the less fortunate in society helps Christians empathize with them. American children may find it difficult to imagine that their agemates in less developed countries are happy. They are unlikely to accept that one could enjoy their time without money-bought items. However, interacting with the poor provides an accurate notion of the issue. Poor people are more likely to be grateful for little pleasures that wealthier individuals would find familiar (Eitzen et al., 2018). People are less likely to appreciate what they consider normal. This is a luxury poor people do not have. Christians learn to appreciate the smallest things in life, taking into account the plight of poor people and how lucky they are to find themselves in a better position. This is different solution from other perspectives as it requires being grateful for one’s fortune.
Christian faith helps look at poverty from a different perspective than a selfish outlook. While some poor people may have played a part in losing wealth, some individuals did not cause their suffering. However, whichever the case, Christians should not base their willingness to help the poor on a reason. Helping others is a central tenet of Christianity that makes solutions plausible. Including Christ in this choice means helping others even if they are responsible for being poor. We should endeavor to use His teachings and help the poor in society, emulating Him by improving the lives of the less fortunate among us.
The Bible indicates the relevance of focusing on one’s relationship with God before focusing on worldly definitions of wealth. Christians do not consider wealth solely as property and understand that helping others and achieving enlightenment is more important than worldly gains. However, it is naïve to assume that living in a world without money is helpful to others. A Christian with riches would significantly impact the poor more than a poor one. In this way, Christians must work hard and hope they are lucky to get worldly wealth (Eitzen et al., 2018). For instance, Christians working in a soup kitchen rely on goodwill to gain food supplies and other amenities provided to the poor. Nonetheless, one should consider that wealthier people donate these items and would be incapable of doing so if they could not take care of themselves. Therefore, wealth is not inherently wrong but should be channeled to helping others attain good living standards such as what we are privy to.
Christ commanded the church to care for the poor, spiritually and physically. Many rich people worldwide can effect significant changes and eliminate poverty. However, they do not make these decisions but focus on gaining more wealth. People fight for resources and have segregated themselves based on artificial constructs, poor vs. wealthy, upper class vs. lower class. Nonetheless, the only actual separation between people is their spiritual connection to God and others (Singh, 2018). One’s actions are all that remain after one dies. Therefore, we should carefully consider what others perceive of us based on the impact we have on society. Poor people are among the neediest groups in society and need the rest of us to put aside our differences to improve their lives. It is prudent to note that helping the poor alleviate their condition would reduce the burden on others.
Christ’s teachings have aided me in developing an accurate understanding of what it means to be spiritually rich. People should take care of each other worldwide as it is our true purpose. People in less developed countries experiencing poverty discern that while they are alone in suffering, working together with others helps reduce the feeling of hopelessness. They further note the importance of social responsibility, helping each other grow and face adversities (Singh, 2018). This enables them to remain hopeful and content despite being poor. Interestingly, many wealthy people are stressed by things that some poor individuals do not consider relevant. The poor know that one could have less and learn to appreciate what they have. Ironically, the poor can teach us how to be grateful for what we have despite having less than we do.
I ascertained that learning about the varying ways that poverty affects society and what we should do as Christians to alleviate the suffering of others helps a person develop a deeper understanding of the world. While people in first-world economies are more likely to feel pity for their less-developed counterparts, they may be incapable of realizing that happiness is one choice (Browder, 2021). You do not need riches to be happy. However, rich people can help the poor solve their problems while becoming spiritually richer. Eliminating poverty should be society’s main concern as it allows people to focus on other problems facing society. It makes societies more equitable and adheres to Christ’s teachings concerning how people interact with each other. Society should look after every member and not use excuses to divide them into groups. People can work together and continue growing rather than assuming life is a zero-sum game. One does not have to be rich to be happy, physically or spiritually.
Conclusion
In conclusion, poverty does not apply solely to physically poor people and may refer to spiritual inferiority. Christians have a moral duty to help the poor in society as Christ demands action based on His example. A person with more resources should use them to uplift the lives of those around them for a better world. This action makes them more spiritually rich while reducing physical poverty among those in society.
References
Browder, K. (2021). Opinion: Christians should be helping the poor and needy, not the Government. The Liberty Champion. Web.
Eitzen, D., Zinn, M., & Smith, K. (2018). Social problems (14th ed.). Pearson.
Singh, S. (2018). A Christian response to poverty aims for long-term restoration. Institute For Faith, Work & Economics. Web.