Are You Poor?
Monday, May 15th, 2006I think it was a year ago, I was halfway to the
office when I saw a small and thin woman with a young boy. The woman, although
small, shows some age that would readily point out that she’s the mother of the
boy. Like me, they were walking briskly. Apparently, it’s the boy’s first time
to go to school. He is wearing a neat uniform but he cannot hide his poverty.
Slippers are the only protection he has for his tender feet. He has his
notebooks all right but they were placed securely in a big plastic bag. Surely,
a few weeks after seeing him, he would replace the worn out plastic bag with a
new one.
Unlike the boy I just
saw this morning, my parents were able to provide me a bag and shoes. But I was
reminded of my first grade school days in Baguio. I had no concept of what’s poor or what’s
rich that time. I didn’t care whether my lunch is placed in a plastic jar and
my water is in a round-post bottle of Ginebra San Miguel. My lunch would often
consist of plain rice and a boiled egg with ketchup. There was one time when my
Dad had replaced the jar’s cap so tightly and I cannot open it. My classmate
and I went around the school to find someone who could open the jar for me. My
Ginebra bottle was replaced, when an old church friend of mine saw my water
container. She told her aunt about it and the latter willingly gave me a
Tupperware.
I was even part of
the feeding program of our school because I was one of malnourished kids. Yeah,
I remember I was the smallest boy in the class.
A lot of academic
studies, media presentations and investigations deal with poverty were done in varying
degree. Much of these brought me to a conclusion that life is not really fair.
If I had been an unbeliever, my perception in life would be really different. I
would be blaming the government for lack of concern. I would still be in the
streets demonstrating against social injustice. My hatred for the rich would be
unquenched. Perhaps I would be blaming God for my fate.
However, there is an
inner decay among humanity that would lead them to eternal poverty. Poverty
alleviation programs won’t do. Empowerment through education and training won’t
do. Economic reforms will mean little.
I was watching prime
time news one night when there was a special report about the rate of
malnourishment in the country. There is a family in Bicol who suffers terrible
malnourishment. Two of the children had already died because of extreme hunger.
The remainders of the kids are also dying. I pity the family for their
condition but I pity them more for their spiritual condition. The mother said
in the interview that an enchanted spirit caused the death of his sons. They
need to offer something to appease the spirit.
The issue of the
heart should be addressed. The heart of man is corrupt with sin and wrong
beliefs. It is naturally depraved and greedy. Neither poor nor rich is exempt
from depravity of the soul and sinful attitudes.
Becoming a Christian
doesn’t really mean that God will alleviate a person from poverty. The
transformation that God does in the soul changes the outlook of someone. One
would realize that poverty here in earth is nothing compared to rich blessing
of being in the presence of God for all eternity.
