The one room shack had a clay floor. There lay on the lone bamboo bed the lifeless body of the father of the family. Acting as counsel I was assigned by a client to deliver the financial assistance from the company whose employee had caused the death of the breadwinner in a vehicular accident.
The grieving widow and her children, all in tattered clothes, graciously accepted me into their home. I could see in their eyes deep sadness and utter helplessness. As I offered my condolences and handed the amount, my heart was wrenched as I controlled my tear ducts from overflowing.
Poverty is real. We see it in countries at war; we see it in slum colonies; we see it in busy city streets; we see it in church entrances. Many dread the prospect of being poor that they get education, secure a job and venture into business, which is not bad. When they attain prosperity, they seek more -- and still more. That may be bad.
Yet God cares so much for the poor. "[The Lord our God] lifts the poor from dust and the needy from the garbage dump. He sets them among princes!" (Psalm 113:7-8)
Those who are well off cannot simply wash their hands to the responsibility of caring for the poor. Those in poverty actually lead us the way to salvation. "Feed the hungry and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon." (Isaiah 58:10)
To this day, I still ask myself if I had done enough for that fatherless family. My consolation is the fact that God has taken care of the widow and the children. I may have failed in that instance, but God continues to give each one of us the privilege to serve the poor. We only have to open our eyes, more so our hearts.
by Mel Libre
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