In a discussion about social justice, a pastor said to his congregants, that the “poor don’t know how to be poor.” Good liberals in the assembly raised their eyebrows and wondered where this conversation was going. After all, to accuse the poor of contributing to their poverty — or even giving the appearance that one is criticizing the poor may cost a person their politically correct credentials.
The pastor said that the poor do not know how to be poor because they do not know how to manage money. He then gave examples of what he meant. He told the story of a boy who lamented that he could not afford a paid of shoes. He wanted an expensive pair of tennis shoes that all the cool kids were wearing, and somehow he got the money. Despite the fact that his mother struggled to buy groceries and pay the bills, he got his snazzy sneakers. He told the story of a woman who was poor and received public assistance, but managed to find money for a handbag that cost hundreds of dollars.
We have all heard stories about people who sell their food stamps (SNAP) for cash so they can buy alcohol and drugs, and stories about low-income individuals gambling away what little they have. The pastor’s message was that the poor did not know who to make the most of what little they had. It was about misplaced priorities and lack of frugality. Ultimately, he suggested that the poor who do not know how to be poor are at risk for spiritual poverty as well as economic poverty. Spiritual poverty is characterized, after all, by the inability to delay gratification and the compulsion to satisfy our wants at the expense of our needs and/or to the detriment of others who depend on us.
Given the pastor’s insights, it is logical also to maintain that the rich do not know how to be rich. The rich often become spiritually impoverished because their wealth is spent on amusement and luxury while so many are homeless and hungry. The rich often become impoverished because they spend their money on lobbyists who convince law-makers to de-regulate industries, bail out banks, cut corporate taxes, and keep minimum wages low so that the rich can be richer.
At the end of the day, the poor do not know how to be poor and the rich do not know how to be rich. Both struggle against the same demon, which is the voice of eternal want — the voice that rationalizes excessive and frivolous consumption. Some may argue that the poor have a right to have nice material possessions even if it means skimping on healthy meals for the kids. Some may argue that the rich have a right to consume excessively and frivolously because they earned their fortune. Some argue that nobody really earns anything since the economic ball park is not a level field, and since what people receive for their labor is often unjust by design. Some would argue that as long as people see the acquisition of money and possessions as a means of satisfying their deepest sense of contentment and meaningful achievement, they will know very little about the love of God, their own true potential, and causes higher than themselves.