You’ve probably had the experience of picking up a saying or
a tune that keeps interrupting your thoughts.
Some people call them “ear worms.”
My latest ear worm is the phrase “C’mon man!” picked up from sports talk
TV. The phrase is intended as a good-natured
jibe at something someone says that’s clearly hyperbolic – waaaaay over the top
– as in “I could beat Muhammad Ali with one hand!” Appropriate reply: “C’mon
man!” That phrase kept cropping up
during my reading of this chapter, and I thought it might be fun to cite a few
examples. I know, I know – it’s a
serious topic, but hyperbole of this caliber deserves recognition. Here are a few examples.
“…
middle-to-upper-class North Americans, a group characterized by high rates of
divorce, sexual addiction, substance abuse and mental illness. Nor is the goal to make sure that the materially
poor have enough money.” (p. 74)
C’mon man! Aren’t
middle-to-upper-class North Americans also Christians? Do they really have high rates of sexual
addiction? No doubt there is substance
abuse and mental illness, but is it more prevalent in North America than
elsewhere? If things are so bad in North
America, maybe we should be focused on fixing the middle-to-upper-class who at
least have the advantage of money and role models. After all, your goal is not to “make sure the
materially poor have enough money.”
“Think about it. If poverty alleviation is about reconciling
relationships, then we do not have the power to alleviate poverty in either the
materially poor or in ourselves. It is
not something that we can manufacture through better techniques, improved
methods, or better planning, for reconciliation is ultimately an act of God. Poverty alleviation occurs when the power of
Christ’s resurrection reconciles our key relationships through the
transformation of both individual lives and local, national, and international
systems.” (p. 75)
C’mon man! If we have
to wait for the transformation of national and international systems to impact
poverty, we might as well not bother.
Yes, God’s grace is required, and grace is sometimes a product of faith,
but faith on a national or international scale is a naïve pipe dream. At other times, as I have personally experienced,
God’s grace is a pure gift to an undeserving sinner. But I am not aware of any case in which God
extended his grace to a large population over a long period of time. Even the Israelites suffered in the poverty
of slavery.
“A Christian relief
and development agency attempted to improve crop yields for poor farmers in
Bolivia’s Alto Plano. Although
successful at increasing output, the impact on the farmers’ incomes was far
less than hoped because of the farmers’ deep reverence for Pachamama, the
mother earth goddess who presides over planting and harvesting.” (p. 80)
C’mon man! I’ll paraphrase: “A Christian relief and
development agency attempted to improve the incomes of chronically poor people
by convincing the state legislature to raise the minimum wage to $10.00 an
hour. Although successful at increasing
take-home pay, the impact on incomes was far less than hoped because of the
poor’s deep reverence for keeping up a façade of success.”
“Seeking Pachamama’s
favor, the farmers purchased llama fetuses, a symbol of life and abundance, to
bury in their fields before planting. I
paraphrase: “Seeking self-gratification, the poor used their minimum wage
increase to purchase X-Box games and $100 sneakers to impress others.”
“At the time of the
harvest, the farmers held a festival to thank Pachamama. The larger the harvest, the larger the
celebration was. In fact, a large
percentage of the farmers’ income was being spent on the fetuses and on the
harvest festival, thereby contributing to the farmers’ material poverty.” More: “Each December, the poor held a
festival called Christmas, during which they spent a large percentage of their
income on decorations, celebrations, parties and material goods they could not
afford, thereby contributing to their material poverty.” C’mon man! While I admire the authors’ ambition in taking
on worldwide poverty, I wonder if they’re spreading themselves thin. Wouldn’t another valid approach be to solve
the problem nearby before extending efforts worldwide?
That’s enough of “C’mon man!” for the moment. You get the idea. We need to think carefully when writers offer
facile examples to justify their agendas.
That said, there is much in this chapter with which I agree. The authors acknowledge that anti-poverty
efforts can succeed on a material level without a faith-based foundation, but
they argue that faith in God is the key element for a durable outcome – one
that effects a transformation in the “worldview” of the person and informs
their decisions and lifestyle thereafter.
Again, from personal experience, I agree with that conclusion. Where the authors and I diverge is their
insistence on a fundamentalist approach to the spread of the gospel and the
Christian lifestyle.
Their example of Alisa Collins, a single mother “trapped” in
ghetto life ends on an upbeat note with Alisa finding work with the help of a
thoughtful mentor. According to the
story, Alisa “suddenly started finishing her high school degree, working
full-time as a kindergarten teacher, and getting up at 4:00 a.m. to wash her
family’s clothes before she was due at work.”
And according to the authors, “Alisa’s worldview changed and the system
in which she lived changed.” (p. 93) The systemic change they cite was the
passage of welfare reform legislation that limited Alisa’s access to ongoing
government support. They claim Alisa’s
worldview was changed by a mentor who recognized “natural teaching gifts.” One wonders if the mentor, like Diogenes,
wandered the ghetto in search of “natural teaching gifts,” or if Alisa –
running out of welfare income – sought out employment that led her to the
mentor. C’mon man! (Sorry, I couldn’t
resist.) Although God may anoint certain people for certain important roles –
think of biblical leaders like Moses or historical figures like Joan of Arc or
Abraham Lincoln – in general I believe he wants to see us use our free will to
make appropriate choices, and it requires effort by the poor to begin the
healing process regardless of the obstacles presented by the “system.” Alisa didn’t feel the need to make the choice
to work until she had no other alternative.
That wasn’t the “system’s” fault.
That was Alisa’s free will choice.
How do we encourage better choices by the poor? Is it likely that Alisa,
living in a ghetto, had never heard the fundamentalist version of the gospels
until she “suddenly” changed? Maybe the
fundamentalist approach isn’t the most effective way to engage everyone. Perhaps the authors will have some good ideas
including a spiritual as well as a fundamentalist tactic, and I can finally get
rid of this ear worm.
Peace
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