Comments on: You Can’t Have Your Poverty and Your Big Screen TV, Too

By: Hey, Sharon Jasper! Read this! » Pursuing Holiness

Hey, Sharon Jasper! Read this! » Pursuing Holiness — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 16:05:42 +0000

[...] a full time job is her best chance of getting out of the slum apartment so she doesn’t have to “live poor.” New Orleans CityBusiness: The state added 5,600 non-farm jobs in November and gained 42,200 over [...]

By: Philophronos Roundup - Pursuing Holiness

Philophronos Roundup - Pursuing Holiness — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 18:46:57 +0000

[...] Here at PH, I’ve been contemplating poverty in America. [...]

By: Laura

Laura — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 01:02:01 +0000

Agreed… I’ve been poor – as in, no electricity, which meant no heat and only cold showers, not enough to eat, for seven months, ultimately culminating in my eviction. Situational, temporary poverty which I experienced is a real problem that affects a lot of people. But for that kind of poverty, there are a lot of bandaids to help people get through. For example, I used food banks a lot. I was not saved then, and it was my first exposure to real ministry. That kind of poverty is something churches are well-suited to deal with (i.e. the food banks, and my church used to pay a lot of utility bills pre-Katrina.) My church paid the bills directly to the utility company so no worries about misspent money, and got to know people, ministered to them, helped them budget better, often got involved with mentoring the kids, etc. It’s a wonderful ministry opportunity, and we would do well to expand it as much as possible.

As for the generational “poverty” that keeps people in the projects, in my observation it is mostly caused by poor life choices. I don’t want to subsidize that. Mean? I guess so… but it seems more cruel to me to leave people in that place. Jasper was screeching in that video about not being a slave, but if you don’t want to live where and how The Man tells you to live, stop asking The Man to pay for it.

By: “New Democratic Congress”, With The Help Of The NRA, Goes After The Civil Right To Keep And Bear Arms Of Over 140,000 Veterans With PTSD

Sun, 23 Dec 2007 20:20:41 +0000

[...] react: The Newshoggers (Left); Pursuing Holiness [...]

By: Liberal: The “L” is for Loser : The Sundries Shack

Liberal: The “L” is for Loser : The Sundries Shack — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 20:12:18 +0000

[...] How poor are our poor? Well, materially speaking, not as poor as you might think. Poverty of will and spirit is another thing [...]

By: Eric

Eric — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 12:53:27 +0000

It’s all in the perspective. By our standards today most of our grandparents and great-grandparents would consider many our “poor” to be quite wealthy on many fronts…housing and medical care for example. I have seen and worked with some that are poor and poverty stricken in the truest sense but when a parent of one of my fifth graders tells me that they can’t afford a five dollar gift exchange at school and then the child shows up with a brand new, top of the line cell phone, I have to wonder.

On another note…I would be interested in being added to the Philophronos Blogs if you’ve space for Journey of Words…let me know…. and keep up the good work Laura!

By: Henry Neufeld

Henry Neufeld — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 12:46:05 +0000

Some years ago, my pastor, who had grown up in actual poverty made an interesting point. I was going through a time when I was very short on money, and I told him I was “poor right now.” He said, “You aren’t poor, you’re short of money. There’s a big difference.”

I believe in compassion and care for the poor, but I also believe in accountability.