At this moment, I'm seeing a lot of conversation about the deserving or undeserving poor, about government benefits, and about food stamps. It sparks a few thoughts and concerns. I'm concerned for the 42 million Americans who are on the verge of losing their SNAP benefits (colloquially known as food stamps). This is an acute crisis and while many generous people will step up and help bridge this gap, many will inevitably fall through the cracks.
But I'm also concerned for those who aren't directly impacted. In at least three ways, I'm concerned about their place, their path, and their perpetuity.1
First, while placing a large grain of salt on the table acknowledging that "the internet isn't real life", lots of people online are showing that they don't interact with (at least knowingly) anyone who depends on food stamps. But, through my neighborhood I have daily proximity to people on SNAP. I know that people need it. And if it goes away, they still will find ways to eat, but that means they might not pick up their prescriptions anymore. Or the electricity might get cut off. There will be inevitable knockdown effects. When you know real people in your real life, it is much harder to cast aspersions about the "deserving poor". If you don't believe me, come trade places with us sometime.
Beyond this however, those without residential proximity to the poor actually are interacting with people on SNAP on a daily basis. Unfortunately, its not as brothers and sisters at church or neighbors invited over to their porch. They are the service workers checking out your groceries, cleaning up at the hospital, and serving as crossing guards to get your kids across the street. And the reality is, the price of those groceries is directly impacted by the fact that those workers earn a low wage that necessities extra assistance. Unless you are lobbying for Walmart to raise their prices so they can increase their worker's salaries, I don't want to hear about freeloaders.2
Next, we can engage in a healthy discussion about government services and economic policies, but what we cannot do is defame the image of God in other people created and loved by Jesus. This is not an option. Comments along the lines of "42 million people will lose food stamps, but 39 million of them need to get a job" or worse are destructive for both the subject and the speaker.
Each of us is constantly being formed into something heavenly or something dastardly. I've come to believe this at my core. The regenerative and redemptive power of the Holy Spirit means that all things can be worked for good and that in all places and times we can call upon Him for help as he molds and shapes us, but we are still responsible for the trajectory our lives take. Comments like those above harden hearts. They make us ugly inside (and outside). They make us look like something other than "little Christs".
In The Great Divorce, C.S. Lewis applies this metaphor to imagine the afterlife as a place where Hell is a place occupied by those who continue on in a d-o-w-n-w-a-r-d trajectory for eternity. A place where souls are given the freedom to give into bitterness and selfishness ad infinitum. It's an exceedingly ugly picture. We do well to consider how we are allowing ourselves to be formed today by the voices we listen to, the talking points we espouse, and the level of vitriol we are willing to tolerate. If you find yourself surrounded by these voices, it will benefit your soul to shut them out. If you allow me to make a provocative statement, a lot of American Christians would need to treat dehumanizing political content the same way they approach explicit sexual content. Get a filter. Get an accountability group. Repent.
Finally, these times bring up a concern for the eternity of those cheering on cuts to SNAP. I'm not a fire and brimstone guy, but I do take seriously the text of Matthew 25, from which I agree with the interpretation that it tells us that "justice is the grand symptom of a real relationship with God."3
The Rev. James Forbes has said "Nobody gets to Heaven without a letter of reference from the poor" and I think he strikes the chord just right. If Jesus (and Paul and Moses and Isaiah and Amos and Augustine and Calvin and . . .) have told us that doing right by the poor is part of the Christian life we don't get to disagree and still call ourselves Christians. You can disagree4, but, you don't get to treat the poor with disdain and claim the name of Christ. You might follow a religion of Westernism or Americanism or Christendom, but it's not being shaped by Jesus. He won't recognize or claim it.
Proverbs 14:31 tell us "Whoever oppresses the poor taunts his Maker, but he who is gracious to the needy honors him."
Let us act, speak, and believe in line with his will.
1: Give me bonus points for alliteration
2: A 2020 study found that Walmart is one of the largest employers of SNAP recipients in the nation and that the overwhelming majority of SNAP beneficiaries are full-time workers. In Arkansas, where Walmart is headquartered, over 3% of the state's total SNAP recipients are Walmart employees.
3: "A deep social conscience, and a life poured out in service to others, especially the poor, is the inevitable sign of real faith, and justice is the grand symptom of a real relationship with God. If you know Him, it will be there. It may come slowly, but it will come. If it doesn’t, you don’t have the relationship you think you have. Do you understand that this is at the heart of biblical faith? Do you see the importance of justice?" Tim Keller from an October 2005 Sermon
4: And again you can disagree on the role of government in this action, but if that's your position you need to be living a life that actively combats poverty in great and small ways.
*The title of this blog post is a nod to the excellent album by Christian hip hop artist nobigdyl. (make sure you spell it right, all lowercase with a period at the end). He's great.
0 comments:
Post a Comment