FROM ANOTHER ANGLE
“The times talk to us of so much poverty in the world and this is a scandal. Poverty in the world is a scandal. In a world where there is so much wealth, so many resources to feed everyone, it is unfathomable that there are so many hungry children, that there are so many children without an education, so many poor persons. Poverty today is a cry.” (Pope Francis, with Students of Jesuit Schools).
When Francis says that poverty is a scandal who exactly is scandalized? Has he chosen the right word to express his message? After all, when I am scandalized it is usually at the behavior of another.
I looked up Meta for a definition of scandal and this is what came through: a scandal is an incident or situation where someone’s actions are perceived as wrong, immoral or unacceptable, often causing public outrage, controversy, or damage to someone’s reputation.
Who then is the someone causing this scandal? As it cannot be those who live with poverty, there is only the rest of us! When we observe the abundance of what we do have, the waste we throw into landfills, the ease we have about travel, use of motor vehicles, our throw away culture, the weapons we drop on our enemy, not to mention the cost of producing them, how is it we are not alarmed and ashamed? And next we look at our own lives and consider all the things we could easily do without, should we not be shocked into radical action?
It is obvious. The scandal relevant to the poverty of hunger and human dignity is caused by all of us who have far more than we need and the matter of fact way we go about their lives when poverty seems to be growing all the time.
So what can we do? It is a fine line. An examination of the way we live is certainly needed for anyone who speaks of commitment to Christ. Then, keeping an eye on our heart is the next thing. Is my heart in that place which enables me to see the futility of extravagant living, of a growing greed within myself instead of a growing awareness that accumulating more than I need is a path to emptiness and sadness?
We come back again to the words of John the Baptist: if you have two tunics, give one away. I don’t want to go there I tell myself. And I suspect all who do have more than enough, feel much the same! Therein lies the scandal. Hypocrisy is when the outrage expressed at another’s behavior is exactly the same behavior carried out by the protestor. It is pointless blaming capitalists if we don’t detest the capitalist in ourselves.
It seems that in the efforts we make, big or small, the scandal still remains. However, this should not discourage us. These efforts help us to discover the wisdom of ‘letting go’ so that the plight of the poor remains at the forefront of our minds. We practice loving until we live to love and compassion permeates our soul. In giving and caring, it is we who gain and maybe the scandal of poverty ceases, just a little.
DISCUSSION: Do you believe that poverty can only be eradicated case by case, or is there a need for radical action by the government?
