What is that in the picture above? For most of us we would be able to answer that question pretty easily. It's a PSP. For me this is more than just a PSP. It represents something much greater than just a game system. It represents a poverty mentality. One might be surprised to walk into our neighborhood and see what kind of "stuff" our kids have and what kind of stuff our kids wear.
The PSP is a prime example of what I am talking about. A few days ago, one of my boys asked me to hold his new PSP that his mom bought him. This is the same boy's mom who I had to pay $2 for to get into her son's football game (this was the first game she had ever seen her son play because she said she couldn't afford the other games). This is the question I want to ask: "How can you afford a PSP, but not afford to pay a couple bucks to support your son playing football?" The answer would/should be: "It's my poverty mentality." There is nothing wrong with buying things... even nice, expensive things. However, I have seen time and time again people living in poverty use their unemployment money to buy clothes, stereo systems, cell phones, etc. There seems to be this mentality that says, "I am going to spend what I have as soon as I can so that I don't lose it. I am not going to start a savings account. I am not going to pay off my electric bill. I am not going to pay me overdue rent of 3 months. I am going to keep moving from house to house until I get kicked out. But I will by a PSP."
I have heard before that it is extremely hard to break the cycle of poverty. That is why you see so many professional athletes come from poverty, make it big, and then lose all their millions of dollars and end up right back where they started. This is extremely sad to me. What can be done? What is my role personally as a Christ follower in the area that I am living?
Would you rather have 3 pairs of nice shoes or food to eat? Seems like a simple answer. But for some reason people around me struggle to answer it.
1 comments:
Hey there! Congrats on your marriage. May God bless you both as you live a life together serving HIM.
I found your blog through Kyle's. This post made me think of a book you might want to read. It is called "A Framework for Understanding Poverty" and is very good. Maybe you have read it....if so, sorry for the long-winded comment. If not, I highly suggest it. The book addresses the very things you are talking about in your post. We had to read it for school and it really opened my eyes to the lives of my students who come from poverty. Let me know what you think of it.
Post a Comment