Poverty for the Sake of Presence
In my most recent post, I mentioned that my life includes any number of things that continue to cause anxiety for me on a regular basis. In the ensuing two weeks, my Lord has seen fit to provide wonderful and freeing perspective, particularly through a spiritual direction session and through the Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales. Therefore, this post is something of a rebuttal to that part of the previous post by way of this new and fresh (at least for me) perspective.
The modern world in which we live celebrates wealth without any inhibition. The idea is that everyone has an inalienable right to accumulate dollars and possessions without limit or end. Efforts to eradicate economic poverty are, at base, attempts to bring more people into this ever-increasing cycle of production and profit. The world scoffs at poverty, and the prevailing culture proposes a glamorous solution, but one that is, ultimately, bereft of real value.
Throughout human history, many people have been taunted by the allure of wealth and possessions. This temptation, in fact, is repeated in sacred Scripture many times over, and it is referred to as "the lust of the eyes" (1 John 2:16). It is not different in 2015, and now it involves the one typing these words. It is easy to become frustrated, overwhelmed, and tired when I begin to think about my malnourished retirement account, paying unexpected bills, and even going without luxuries like eating out for lunch or my favorite seasonal adult beverage. All of these worries and wishes have the uncanny ability to rob me of gratitude, joy, and peace that the Lord so desperately desires to grant to me.
What, then, is the antidote to this tendency that I clearly don't need in my life? Gratitude is essential, yes, and so is poverty. Poverty allows a person (me, in this case) to be detached from the worldly goods that tend to elicit anxiety. It is the virtue that Jesus listed first when he spoke the eight Beatitudes, so it must be beneficial and vital to living the Christian life well. Cultivating these two virtues, St. Francis de Sales teaches, prevents my heart from being weighed down and enslaved by anything that is less than God, or the wonderful and fruitful relationships with which He has blessed me (Introduction to the Devout Life, Part III, Chapter 14).
Contrary to what the world and its marketing apparatus might tell us, there are real benefits of poverty for human lives. Poverty, here, should be understood as the absence of anything that is more than necessary. A person who rejects excess and lives with only what is essential finds that she is blessed in many other ways, far beyond the material and the monetary. For example, she learns to take assiduous care of the possessions that God has granted to her. These are gifts from One who loves her dearly. Further, this person might learn to give alms as a way to remind herself that she is blessed in ways that others are not. Giving alms generously, and serving those who are poorer, is a sure way to recognize just how rich one really is, materially and spiritually.
Although I don't primarily refer to poverty as destitution in this essay, it is possible for that type of poverty to be beneficial, too. Most certainly, it is a great scourge on our humanity that innumerable people go hungry and live below certain humane standards on any given day of the year. Nonetheless, the presence of that poverty is an opportunity for those of us who are wealthier, those of us who have more material possessions. It is an opportunity to live in solidarity with the poor, by choosing to shed ourselves of the money and things that are over and above what is essential for the maintenance of life. Poverty as destitution exists so that God's human creatures can enter in and help others, thereby seeing and revealing His face in the situation.
This leads me to the final, best benefit of poverty. In poverty, a person has no gift to give other than his own presence. Jesus Christ was poor, and so His lessons and miracles came within the context of personal contact. He did not pay an ancient scribe to write down God's perfect revelation; He spoke it to people, in conversation. Many of the saints lived in poverty, some involuntarily but joyfully; others voluntarily, and still joyfully, because they were free to enter into communal, life-giving relationships. Our current pope, Francis, noticeably has rejected some the trappings of his office for the sake of being near the people. In a way that is commensurate with my vocation, I am called to this kind of poverty also. If I am able to strip myself, and even my family, of excessive emphasis on material comforts and provision of wealth, then I can be present to them in joy. Rather than worrying about bank balances, about what I and we don't have, I can share conversation and laughter with my wife and children. Obviously, the cycle begins with me. They will follow my example, both in the short- and long-term.
So, poverty really is for the sake of presence. Our Lord does not will that we be poor for the sake of being hungry or without shelter. If that were the case, we could enter into the modern economic rat-race and be just fine. Yet, we know that people who do that are not "just fine." After a while, many of them become miserable because they "hunger" for something more. Indeed, our Lord wills that we are poor, and He gifts poverty to us on many occasions, so that we will be a little hungry and a little uncomfortable, which reminds us that our ultimate satisfaction and comfort are found only in Him!
We must now find a way to be present to the Lord, even in poverty. We must find a way to let the Lord be present to us. Finally, we must share that presence with others who need and desire to know God's love. That is the only thing that will break the cycle of real poverty.
The modern world in which we live celebrates wealth without any inhibition. The idea is that everyone has an inalienable right to accumulate dollars and possessions without limit or end. Efforts to eradicate economic poverty are, at base, attempts to bring more people into this ever-increasing cycle of production and profit. The world scoffs at poverty, and the prevailing culture proposes a glamorous solution, but one that is, ultimately, bereft of real value.
Throughout human history, many people have been taunted by the allure of wealth and possessions. This temptation, in fact, is repeated in sacred Scripture many times over, and it is referred to as "the lust of the eyes" (1 John 2:16). It is not different in 2015, and now it involves the one typing these words. It is easy to become frustrated, overwhelmed, and tired when I begin to think about my malnourished retirement account, paying unexpected bills, and even going without luxuries like eating out for lunch or my favorite seasonal adult beverage. All of these worries and wishes have the uncanny ability to rob me of gratitude, joy, and peace that the Lord so desperately desires to grant to me.
What, then, is the antidote to this tendency that I clearly don't need in my life? Gratitude is essential, yes, and so is poverty. Poverty allows a person (me, in this case) to be detached from the worldly goods that tend to elicit anxiety. It is the virtue that Jesus listed first when he spoke the eight Beatitudes, so it must be beneficial and vital to living the Christian life well. Cultivating these two virtues, St. Francis de Sales teaches, prevents my heart from being weighed down and enslaved by anything that is less than God, or the wonderful and fruitful relationships with which He has blessed me (Introduction to the Devout Life, Part III, Chapter 14).
Contrary to what the world and its marketing apparatus might tell us, there are real benefits of poverty for human lives. Poverty, here, should be understood as the absence of anything that is more than necessary. A person who rejects excess and lives with only what is essential finds that she is blessed in many other ways, far beyond the material and the monetary. For example, she learns to take assiduous care of the possessions that God has granted to her. These are gifts from One who loves her dearly. Further, this person might learn to give alms as a way to remind herself that she is blessed in ways that others are not. Giving alms generously, and serving those who are poorer, is a sure way to recognize just how rich one really is, materially and spiritually.
Although I don't primarily refer to poverty as destitution in this essay, it is possible for that type of poverty to be beneficial, too. Most certainly, it is a great scourge on our humanity that innumerable people go hungry and live below certain humane standards on any given day of the year. Nonetheless, the presence of that poverty is an opportunity for those of us who are wealthier, those of us who have more material possessions. It is an opportunity to live in solidarity with the poor, by choosing to shed ourselves of the money and things that are over and above what is essential for the maintenance of life. Poverty as destitution exists so that God's human creatures can enter in and help others, thereby seeing and revealing His face in the situation.
This leads me to the final, best benefit of poverty. In poverty, a person has no gift to give other than his own presence. Jesus Christ was poor, and so His lessons and miracles came within the context of personal contact. He did not pay an ancient scribe to write down God's perfect revelation; He spoke it to people, in conversation. Many of the saints lived in poverty, some involuntarily but joyfully; others voluntarily, and still joyfully, because they were free to enter into communal, life-giving relationships. Our current pope, Francis, noticeably has rejected some the trappings of his office for the sake of being near the people. In a way that is commensurate with my vocation, I am called to this kind of poverty also. If I am able to strip myself, and even my family, of excessive emphasis on material comforts and provision of wealth, then I can be present to them in joy. Rather than worrying about bank balances, about what I and we don't have, I can share conversation and laughter with my wife and children. Obviously, the cycle begins with me. They will follow my example, both in the short- and long-term.
So, poverty really is for the sake of presence. Our Lord does not will that we be poor for the sake of being hungry or without shelter. If that were the case, we could enter into the modern economic rat-race and be just fine. Yet, we know that people who do that are not "just fine." After a while, many of them become miserable because they "hunger" for something more. Indeed, our Lord wills that we are poor, and He gifts poverty to us on many occasions, so that we will be a little hungry and a little uncomfortable, which reminds us that our ultimate satisfaction and comfort are found only in Him!
We must now find a way to be present to the Lord, even in poverty. We must find a way to let the Lord be present to us. Finally, we must share that presence with others who need and desire to know God's love. That is the only thing that will break the cycle of real poverty.
