Both poverty and wealth present problems to Christians. But the struggle is quite different. For the wealthy, distractions appear in the form of abundance, social status, and greed. For the poor, distractions appear in the form of hunger, lack of certainty, weakness, and pain.
Call me crazy.
I would rather my Christian walk be one of poverty. True suffering comes from deprivation of something. Starvation takes hold from a deprivation of food. Depression seeds in vacuums of love. It is only until we understand what deprivation of God is do we realize just how much we need Him. Just as I can never empathize with one who starves because I have never starved, I cannot truly empathize with God over my own sin until I have suffered from sin.
But we all suffer from sin.
However, unless we recognize that sin, and thus suffer from it, and thus are deprived of God, we are unable to join God in the celebration of the pain of our lives. Consider this: a woman I interviewed today mentioned her transformation three years ago. Having been Catholic, she had never taken her faith seriously. Then one day a missionary from Canada came into her pueblo to start a Baptist church. Intrigued she began talking to this strange foreigner. After all, why would a rich white person ever leave such a clean and peaceful life for the Dominican Republic? She soon found herself recommitting her faith to Christ through this church. Just a little time following her renewal, she took out her first loan with Esperanza. She finally saw the poverty in her life (hmm, suddenly that opening line doesn't mean the same thing...) and decided to take a stand against it.
No, I was not talking about money when I started this post.
Certainly, lacking money is a type of suffering that can lead to this seemingly unobtainable understanding of God's unfailing love. But more so is the idea that taking the road of poverty; the road that travels low; the road with rocks and debris consistently hindering one's travels; and the road that isn't visible to the untrained eye. This road leads to true joy in the end, no matter how hard it may be. Trust me, as one that has been on that road many times (sadly with many detours) I can say that I have tasted that joy. And I have met people this summer that have grasped just a minuscule piece of it. That woman? She has un corazón de un León. The heart of a Lion. Because she has experienced that joy and is ever more determined to get it. She deserves it, with all of her hardships and sufferings. And so do you.
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