Bridging the Gap Between the Rich and the Poor

Poverty is among the most pressing issues in the world today, and has been for time immemorial. Why is it that some have in great abundance, while others have little to nothing? Now, I want my readers to first understand that I am not some spoiled upper-middle class high school kid. I technically live in "poverty", but all my needs have always been met. I am used to living paycheck-to-paycheck, day-to-day. I am only saying this as a rebuttal to anyone who wants to argue that I don't really understand what it is like to be "poor", but I consider such an argument irrelevant anyway. There is no reason the "rich" should not come to an understanding of this. I am writing this primarily for them. Yes, I live in American "poverty", which is still comparatively "rich" to many of the world's inhabitants. I was told that I would understand poverty better when I had experienced the conditions of the "poor" in Mexico. I have been on three trips to Mexico now. Every time, I brace myself for the heart-wrenching conditions, and every time I end up disappointed. Frustrated, even. The inhabitants of a small, "poor" town with a church at its center do not seem upset with their stations in life. Neither do the abandoned and orphaned children in the Matamoros Children's Home, where Christian teachings come before bread. If life is really better here in the United States where you can have anything you want, then why is it that the "poor" in Mexico are content -- and even overjoyed -- to be where they are, whereas the "rich" of the U.S. are filled with discontent -- and some committing suicide. Shouldn't this be the other way around? Let me explain:



The thing that has always upset me the most about being "poor" has to do with my pride. I look at the "rich" thinking You are my inferiors, and they continue to look down on me in pity. That is among the most infuriating things I have ever had to deal with. It took me a while to realize the exact reason for this. I am not poor.



When I accepted Christ, I came into communion with God; basically I am God. That is not meant to be the blasphemous statement it sounds like. What I mean is that a good spirit must always replace an evil one. When I asked Christ to come into my life, something fundamental about who I am had to change. He gave me his Spirit of Truth to live inside of me and guide my life here. Since the Holy Spirit, part of the Trinity, is living within me -- and some of God is all of God -- my spirit has become one with God. This is expressed by Christ in his last prayer before his death (John 17). Now, God made everything; therefore, he owns everything. Since I am in communion with God, I also own everything. Not only do I own it by default, but he also gave it to me on purpose, as seen in Genesis 1. If wealth is based on your possessions, then I own everything and am wealthier than the wealthiest of the filthy "rich" could possibly ever dream to be. They only have what money can buy.



The fact that I own everything does not mean that I am needlessly reckless with it. The world is actually better because it belongs to me. In Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead, the protagonist explains to his broken client how everything he says "yes" to is his own and is special because it is worthy to be called his own. I disagree with Rand on a fundamental point, but here I can agree. Once you have gained ownership of something, you do not want that thing to be destroyed.



People are not excluded from my ownership. I do not own only my biological mother and sisters, as I used to believe. Instead, every man is my father; every woman is my mother; every child is mine; my every peer is my sibling. When I know of those I love in torment, I want to reach out to them.



This is the reason it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a "rich" man to get into heaven: If a "rich" person is truly rich, then he or she will be moved to aid those less fortunate. If America were truly a rich country, then it would overflow with love for the sick and starving in Africa. If America were truly a rich country, then there would be no theft or murder. If America were truly a rich country, there would be a drop in the suicide rate. However, it appears these conditions are worsening. Despite the comparative affluence of the inhabitants of this country, the majority is still suffering from the worst type of poverty.



These are the types of suffering from least to most intense:

1. Physical


2. Emotional


3. Spiritual


4. Total Separation from God

Here is the real problem: We treat these types of suffering as if they were in order from most to least intense. There is a reason doctors are at the forefront of society. Whenever physical pain is involved, that is the worst possible situation and it needs to be remedied as soon as possible. Physical emergencies are always given first priority. Second, you should not have to feel sad. This leads to the therapy society that basically says, "If it feels good, do it." When I say spiritual suffering and distinguish it from separation from God, it helps to have a definition. Spiritual suffering is defined here as the sort of existential pain that I imagine every human being experiences. It could be mistaken for emotional pain, but the difference is that it transcends the realm of reason. If you are emotionally upset, you can usually give a reason for why you are upset. When you have everything you could possibly want and are upset, then some part of you is broken. Spiritual pain is what often leads those with "perfect" lives to kill themselves. It is often ignored because it cannot be explained, and is therefore not allowed into our scientific world. Total separation from God is usually discounted as a type of suffering at all, assuming there even is a God. The excuse I hear most often from atheists is that a benevolent, all-powerful God would not allow the intense suffering (physical and emotional) in the world to occur. However, those who have chosen to stay as far away from God as humanly possible do not seem to be the best sources for theology. If everyone could look at the world my way, then suffering would cease to exist.

Physical suffering is the most primitive of the four types. It is least intense because it is most easily solved. If I suffer because I am hungry, then I will be satisfied once I am fed. Emotional suffering is similar, but it goes a degree further because it is harder to remedy. If I suffer because my husband died, then I can name the cause for my suffering, but that doesn't change the fact that he is gone and not coming back. For all intensive purposes, spiritual suffering is insanity. A person well-fed and without any distinct reason to be emotionally disturbed who is still upset suffers in the worst form possible on this earth. If you have ever woken up in the morning, wondered what the point of living was, and thought there might not be one after all, then you have experienced spiritual suffering. It is the frustration that seems unending, eating you from the inside out. It is not provoked, but is the result of something fundamentally wrong with the person experiencing it. By the way, everyone experiences this. You are not necessarily evil because you feel this type of pain. Insanity is a disconnection from the truth. Therefore, to not be insane, you would have to fully understand all truth all the time. It follows that everyone is at least a little insane. Spiritual hunger is that for truth (something more than scientific fact). Human nature is dual. There is a physical nature and a spiritual nature. When neglected, the spiritual nature -- like the physical nature -- can wither and die, leading to the horrors of society. Face it: there is no scientific reason for morals; whether you believe in a God or not, it is your spiritual nature that can look at an action and judge whether it is right or wrong. Spiritual suffering is not only greater than that of emotional or physical suffering, but it also leads to these two lower types of suffering. I still call them lower. When a crime is inflicted against humanity, the oppressor suffers more than his victims. If I suffer because a man has kidnapped me, raped me, and is torturing me to death, then I know why I am suffering; he has no idea why he suffers. He has no reason to torture me; he is acting out of his own misery. Though society tends to side with the victim (and I'm not saying that it shouldn't), the crimes would not have occurred if there had been no spiritual degradation of the sociopath. The final form of suffering -- total separation from God -- is the definition of hell. I have never known anyone who has personally experienced hell, but I do believe it exists and I imagine it must be infinitely worse than all three of the earthly types of pain combined.

So, now that we know the types of suffering, how are we to end them?

Let's start by answering spiritual suffering. The reason we suffer spiritually is that we need to have truth as much as we need food. When responded to positively, this type of suffering leads us to search for truth. Truth can only be communicated fully by God's Spirit; communion with God is the only answer for spiritual suffering.

Once the greatest type of suffering has been answered, emotional suffering remains a problem. The type of pain one experiences from the loss of a loved one is hard to describe, but it still has a definite cause. Since the person suffering emotionally has now experienced spiritual freedom, however, there is hope that this type of pain may also be eventually remedied. God promises to wipe every tear from the eyes of his people in heaven.

The answer to physical suffering is the simplest, since it actually has a tangible scientific answer. The rich will look at the poor and will give out of their love for what is their own.

With all of this in mind, it is the "rich" that have the greatest need for missionaries. I am not saying that it is wrong to feed the hungry in a third-world country, but spreading the gospel is the absolute best thing you could do anywhere. As far as the hungry without Christ go, it is necessary that physical needs be met before a victim can accept him. I know there are a few who share my views on the nature of poverty, but I feel that many Christians do not fully appreciate the mission field they were born in. The United States is going to hell right now because the poor have been neglected. It is my personal mission to show to the "haves" of the world what it is they have-not.

This is how to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor. I have been told that religion is nothing more than a tool to control the masses, but I am not the masses. Everything written here has been ringing true for me, and I believe it will also ring true for the "rich" who have yet to understand this truth. I assert that this is the only way one can ever hope to solve the problem of poverty.