Poverty, Part 3

Poverty, Part 3

He looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury; he also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. He said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them, for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.” Luke 21:1-4

There is a relative aspect to being poor or living in poverty that is often overlooked, which is to say poor and poverty are not always objective terms, even though governments define specific incomes that qualify one as living at or below the poverty level. The federal government’s Federal Poverty Level (FPL) is based on income, geographic location, and household size, and States often use the FPL as a basis for qualifying folks for assistance. Other than that, however, our judgement of a person as poor is usually a subjective judgement about a person appearing to be poor-er than another person. For example, someone living at or below the poverty level might be considered poor here but well off in a third-world country. And even though the cost of living elsewhere may be considerably less, so too are the living expenses that are considered necessities here – like internet access, mobile phones, private vehicles, cable TV, and the like.

Taking the relative nature of poverty to an extreme, no one would consider a millionaire as poor. But a millionaire is poor-er than a billionaire, at least financially. We naturally assume anyone with a nice home, nice car, stylish clothes, and/or the latest smartphone is doing well, financially, but it is not necessarily true. A recent article in Forbes Advisor[1] quoted a Payroll.com study that found 78% of Americans were precariously living paycheck-to-paycheck in 2023. Living paycheck-to-paycheck generally means that missing as little as a single paycheck could drive a person or household into a significant debt spiral, bankruptcy, or even homelessness. These are people without sufficient savings to absorb the costs of a moderate car repair, home repair, or medical procedure, let alone to set anything aside for emergencies or retirement. Is their situation different than that of someone living in a third-world country who also lives paycheck-to-paycheck? Of course, there are likely differences in the scale of the financial deficiency and the nature of what they consider necessary living expenses, but the personal and collective impacts of their hardships may be similar. There is also the issue of free will in spending one’s available money. One homeless man told me that although he could afford an apartment, he preferred a tent so he could spend his money elsewhere (never mind on what).

Even Jesus, who spent the last years of his life as a homeless teacher, speaks of the relative nature of poverty as he compares the two copper coins put into the temple treasury by the “poor widow” with the financial gifts of the “rich people,” describing the widow’s contribution as “more than” the others (Luke 21:1-4). Of course he was referring to the relative or subjective contribution of what she gave in relation to what she had to give, as opposed to the absolute or objective contribution. When viewed in relative terms, the widow was more generous than the rich people.

The relative nature of being poor and living in poverty is evidenced in how different people distinguish a need from a want and immediate needs from future desires. Credit is easily attainable by most folks now, so acquiring what once could only have been a future desire suddenly feels like an immediate need. The fact that credit always comes at an additional cost, either in interest charges or higher initial costs or both, often fails to outweigh the temporary satisfaction gained by obtaining something one desires sooner, at least until the burden of the extra cost threatens one’s ability to meet a critical need in the near future. Such self-imposed poverty is rampant across many income levels.

Clearly, one’s ability to control spending impulses is a significant factor for some in not having enough money to cover basic living expenses. I hear stories of people winning lots of money in the lottery, only to squander it and end up in worse financial shape than they were prior to winning. Jesus’ story of The Prodigal Son comes to mind (Luke 15:11-32). Advertising, peer pressure, and expectations set by various media posts all conspire against a frugal lifestyle. When we compare ourselves with others, we often feel our lives and possessions do not measure up – exactly as ads and posts are intended to make us feel. It can leave us feeling inferior and less worthy if we wrongly discern where our true value lies. Spoiler alert: personal value is not a product of one’s possessions.

Insufficient funds to meet necessary living expenses may be the primary manifestation of poverty, but it is not the the only one. More next week.

This is the 11^th in a series about The New-Old Social Pandemic. The opinions expressed here are mine. To engage with me or to explore contemplative spiritual direction, contact me at ghildenbrand@sunflower.com.

---

[1] “Living Paycheck to Paycheck Statistics 2024,” Forbes Advisor, April 2, 2024.