Blessed are the poor

Blessed
are the
Poor
Engaging “the Poor” in Us and in Others

A seminar by Fletcher Tink, Ph.D.

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Index
Poorly Defined
The Word: Care-full and Cared For
Definitions
Cartoon: Prosperity Gospel Drop-outs
Biblical References to the Poor
Perspectives on Poverty
Glossary from Bread for the World
Poems from the Underside
Excerpts from Theirs is the Kingdom
Group Response #1

The Poor—Always With Us?
The Word: Waste and Want
Quotations about Poverty
Thinking Honestly about the Poor and Ourselves
Hunger cartoon
Misguided Motives
Social Problems

“Pooring” It On
The Word: Rags and Ropes
“Compassion and the Clothes Closet”
Evil in Three Dimensions
Cartoon: McDonalds
False Loves
Thinking Honestly About the Poor and Ourselves
Shame vs. Guilt
“Street People: a Case in Diseased Eyes”
“Love in Three Ventricles”
Hymn: The Servant Song

“Potpoori”
The Word: Jams and Jars
Excerpts from Theirs is the Kingdom
Three Ways of Looking at People
Hunger Next Door
Cartoon: Elijah
Group Response #2

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Poor Praying
The Word: Care-full and Cared for
Prayers of the Poor
My Prayer for the Poor
“Ragman”
Hymn: Let Your Heart Be Broken

Action
The Word: Rights and Rules
“From Census Taking to Name Affirming”
“The Poor and the People Called Methodists”
Nazarene Manual Statements on Compassionate Ministries
“Why Servanthood is Bad”
“Insights from Jeffrey Sachs’ The End of Poverty”
Hymn: “Take My Life”
Bibliography on the Poor

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“Poorly Defined”:

Who are the “Poor”--
Them or Us?

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The Word: Care-full and Cared For
“’You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you
there is more of God and his rule.

“You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only
then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

“You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are---no more, no
less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything
that can’t be bought.

“You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s
food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.

“You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’
you find yourselves cared for.

“You’re blessed when you get your inside world---your mind and heart---
put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.

“You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of
compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your
place in God’s family.

“You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution.
The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.

“Not only that---count yourselves blessed every time people put you down
or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means
is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You
can be glad when this happens---give a cheer, even!---for though they
don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in
good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this
kind of trouble.”

Matthew 5:3-12, from The Message.

Discussion Questions
1. When and how have you been cared for in a time of personal
crisis?
2. When you were going through a crisis, how did you respond? (stiff
upper lip? Panic? Depression? Anger? Manipulation? Prayer?
Calling on friends to help you?...)

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3. Have you ever found hope in the midst of crisis by focusing on
serving others rather than on your own need? Was this good? Was
this bad?
4. Where have you found that in your caring you have found yourself
cared for?

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DEFINITIONS

I. When You Think “Poor,” Which One of These Words Grabs You?
Put the Top Five in rank Order, from First to Fifth

Abandoned
Broke
Confused
Cursed
Deficient
Denied
Depressed
Deprived
Destitute
Disfavored
Dispossessed
Dying
Hopeless
Humble
Impoverished
Indigent
Needy
Penniless
Pitiable
Powerless
Rundown
Sick
Underprivileged
Unloved
Unfortunate
Victims
Weak
Others: _________________________________________________

II. When You Think “Poverty,” Which One of These Words Grabs You
Put the Top Five in rank Order, from First to Fifth

Addiction
Aloneness
Dearth
Deficiency
Destitution
Disadvantage
Forgotten

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Injustice
Isolated
Neediness
Paucity
Privation
Resourceless
Scarcity
Shortage
Others: ____________________________________________________

III. When the Bible thinks of the “Poor” and “Poverty,” the Hebrew and Greek
words use the following cognates:

Afflicted
Become Low
Beggarly
Dispossessed
Humble
Impoverished
Lacking
Lean
Needy
Oppressed
Trembling
Weak

IV. Is there a different emphasis or orientation to our modern words for the
“Poor”? If so, why?

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In one presentation of this material, the following preferences were given in this rank
order:

Section I: Underprivileged, Impoverished, Needy, Destitute, Powerless

Section II: Deficiency, Destitution, Neediness, Disadvantaged, Resourceless

Section III: (not available)

How do your answers compare?

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What does the cartoon say about the Gospel of Prosperity?

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Biblical References to the “Poor”
(Mentioned in the NIV, 178 times)

Strategies to Aid the Poor

1. “but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused.
Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild
animals may eat what they leave. Do the same with your vineyard and
your olive grove.” (Ex. 23:11)
2. “Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that
have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien.” (Lev. 19:10)
3. “When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges
of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for
the poor and the alien. I am the Lord your God.” (Lev. 23:22)
4. “If one your countrymen becomes poor and is unable to support
himself among you, help him as you would an alien or a temporary
resident, so he can continue to live among you.” (Lev. 25:35)

Treat the Poor Justly

1. “If one of your countrymen becomes poor among you and sells himself
to you, do not make him work as a slave.” (Lev. 25:39)
2. “If anyone making the vow is too poor to pay the specified amount, he
is to present the person to the priest, who will set the value for him
according to what the man making the vow can afford.” (Lev. 27:8)
3. “Do not take advantage of a hired man who is poor and needy,
whether he I a brother Israelite or an alien living in one of your towns.”
(Deut. 24:14)
4. “Pay him his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and is
counting on it. Otherwise he may cry to the Lord against you, and you
will be guilty of sin.” (Deut. 24:15)
5. “So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth.” (Job 5:16)
6. “who show no partiality to princes and does not favor the rich over the
poor, for they are all the work of his hands?” (Job 34:19)
7. “Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of
the poor and oppressed.” (Ps 82:3)
8. “The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no
such concern.” (Prov. 29:7)
9. “Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
(Prov. 31:20)
10. “Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In
your hearts do not think evil of each other.” (Zech. 7:10)

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Treat the Poor Generously

1. “If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the
land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or
tightfisted toward your poor brother.” (Deut 15:7)
2. “He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward him
for what he has done.” (Prov. 19:17)
3. “Do not exploit the poor because they are poor and do not crush the
needy in court.” (Prov. 22:22)
4. “Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor
wanderer with shelter---when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not
to turn away from your own flesh and blood?” (Is. 58:7)
5. “But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame,
the blind.” (Luke 14:13)

What are God’s Intentions for the Poor?

1. “However, there should be no poor among you, for in the land the Lord
your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly
bless you.” (Deut. 15:4)
2. “I will bless her with adequate provisions; her poor will I satisfy with
food. (Ps 132:15)
3. “I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor and upholds the
cause of the needy.” (Ps 140:12)

The Realistic Perspective about the Poor?

1. “There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command
you to be openhanded towards your brothers and toward the poor and
needy in your land.” (Deut 15:1)
2. “A poor man’s field may produce abundant food, but injustice sweeps it
away.” (Prov. 13:23)
3. “The poor are shunned even by their neighbors, but the rich have
many friends.” (Prov. 14:20)
4. “Wealth brings many friends, but a poor man’s friend deserts him.”
(Prov. 19:4)
5. “A poor man is shunned by all his relatives---how much more do his
friends avoid him! Though he pursue them with pleading, they are
nowhere to be found.” (Prov 19:17)
6. “The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have
me.” (Matt. 26:11)

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God Advocates for the Poor

1. “He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash
heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of
honor.”
2. “The poor will eat and be satisfied; they who seek the Lord will praise
him---may your hearts live forever.” (Ps. 22:26)
3. “My whole being will exclaim, ‘Who is like you, O Lord? You rescue
the poor from those too strong for them, the poor and needy from
those who rob them.” (Ps. 35:10)
4. “Your people settled in it, and from your bounty, O God, you provided
for the poor.” (Ps 68:10)
5. “He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash
heap.” (Ps 113:7)
6. “The poorest of the poor will find pasture, and the needy will lie down in
safety. But your root I will destroy by famine; it will slay your
survivors.” (Is. 14:30)
7. “The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues
are parched with thirst. But I the Lord will answer them; I, the God of
Israel, will not forsake them.”
8. “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has
anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind
up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release
from darkness for the prisoners.” (Is. 61:1)

Examples of Care for the Poor

1. “as the time when the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the
month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a
day of celebration. He wrote them to observe the days as days of
feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to
the poor.” (Esther 9:22)
2. “because I rescued the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who
had none to assist.” (Job 29:12)
3. “Have I not wept for those in trouble? Has not my soul grieved for the
poor?” (Job 30:25)
4. “If I have denied the desires of the poor or let the eyes of the widow
grow weary.” (Job 31:16)
5. “She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.”
(Prov. 31:20)
6. “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are
cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is
preached to the poor.” (Matt. 11:5)
7. “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the
owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out

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quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the
crippled, the blind and the lame.” (Luke 14:21)
8. “In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated,
is Dorcas), who was always doing good and helping the poor.” (Acts
9:36)

Redistribution of Resources for the Poor

1. “His children must make amends to the poor; his own hands must give
back his wealth.” (Job 20:10)
2. “Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions
and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then
come, follow me.” (Matt. 19:21)
3. “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for
yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be
exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.” (Luke
12:23)
4. “Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in
the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he
promised those who love him?” (James 2:5)

The Bad Treatment of the Poor

1. “You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the Lord is their
refuge.” (Ps 14:6)
2. “The wicked draw the sword and bend the bow to bring down the poor
and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright.”
3. “A poor man pleads for mercy, but a rich man answers harshly.” (Prov.
18:23)
4. “The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they
oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the alien, denying them
justice.” (Ez. 22:29)
5. “For I know how many are your offenses and how great your sins. You
oppress the righteous and take bribes and you deprive the poor of
justice in the courts.” (Amos 5:12)
6. “Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine
clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also come in. If you show
special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, ‘Here’s a
good seat for you,’ but say to the poor man, ‘You stand there’ or ‘Sit on
the floor by my feet,” (James 2:2-3)

Some Negatives Causes of Poverty

1. “Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.”
2. “Do not love sleep or you will grow poor; stay awake and you will have
food to spare.” (Prov. 20:13)

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3. “He who loves pleasure will become poor; whoever loves wine and oil
will never be rich. (Prov. 21:17)
4. “for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes
them in rags.” (Prov. 23:21)

Judgment on Those that Exploit or are Insensitive to the Poor

1. “He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but
whoever is kind to the needy honors God.” (Prov 14:31)
2. “He who mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker; whoever
gloats over disaster will not go unpunished.”(Prov 17:5)
3. “If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and
not be answered.” (Prov. 21:13)
4. “He who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth and he who gives
gifts to the rich---both come to poverty.” (Prob. 22:16)
5. “The Lord enters into judgment against the elders and leaders of his
people: ‘It is you who have ruined my vineyard; the plunder from the
poor is in your houses.” (Is. 3:14)
6. “What do you mean by rushing my people and grinding the faces of the
poor? Declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.” (Is. 3:15)
7. “to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the
oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the
fatherless.” (Is 10:2)
8. “and have grown fat and sleek. Their evil deeds have no limit; they do
not plead the case of the fatherless to win it, they do not defend the
rights of the poor.” (Jer. 5:28)
9. “Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters
were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor
and needy.” (Ez. 16:49)
10. “If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,
but have not love, I gain nothing.” (I Cor. 13:3)
11. “But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting
you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? (James
2:6)

Blessings on Those Who Care for the Poor

1. “A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with
the poor.” (Prov. 22:9)
2. “He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes
to them receives many curses.” (Prov. 28:27)
3. “and said, Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered
your gifts for the poor and to present offerings.” (Acts 10:31)

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Perspectives on Poverty
Please match the perspective with one of the following statements that, to you, sounds
most like the role played:

1. Cynic’s Perspective:
2. Desperate Man’s Perspective
3. Dr. Phineas F. Bresee’s Perspective
4. Denominational Perspective
5. Child’s Perspective
6. Administrator’s Perspective
7. Desperate Mother’s Perspective
8. Biblical Perspective
9. Government Perspective
10. Thankful Mother’s Perspective

****************************************************
Fill in the blanks with the corresponding speaker from the list above.

A. _____ “I was born there
I was raised there
I was loved there
Then one day, I left there for elsewhere

“I found purpose elsewhere
I found meaning elsewhere
I loved elsewhere
Then one day, I left elsewhere for overthere

“I showed compassion overthere
I knew sorrow overthere
I hated overthere
The one day I left overthere for nowhere

B. _____ “Because of the increased client load, it will be necessary for our
resource development team to submit additional grants and elicit corporate gifts in order
to service the mission of our organization.”

C. _____ “My daddy doesn’t have a good job and so we don’t have enough money
to buy school supplies and I get embarrassed in school ‘cause of it.

D. _____ “There’s no way that the government can dole out enough money to feed
all of the deadbeats that are out there. I work for a living and the government doesn’t
have the right to take my money and hand it over to those who make lousy choices in
life.”

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E. _____ “I just enrolled in a work-at-home program stuffing envelopes. It is so
depressing. . . We have less food [since welfare reform], though I look for bargains and
sales and try to stretch my money. I end up yelling and fighting with the children, maybe
because they aren’t getting enough to eat. I don’t know. I borrow, but now I owe
everyone so I can’t borrow anymore.”

F. _____ “For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-
starved and say, ‘Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy
Spirit!’ and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup---where does
that get you? Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-act is outrageous nonsense?

G. _____ “The ‘Temporary Assistance for Needy Families’ (TANF) program has
helped very much to alleviate the welfare dependence burden on our nation, as evidenced
by the number of people on welfare before the reform of 1996, and the drastically lower
amount after 1996. This steady decline shows that this program and the welfare reform
acts of 1996 has served to greatly assist the needy in our nation, as well as relieve some
of the economic and sociological obligation that the rest of the American society has had
for the past few decades”

H. _____ “We do not view compassionate acts as instruments for offering
salvation. We endeavor to meet the needs of people simple because of the need. That’s
the Jesus way, and as Wesleyans, we believe we are called to live like Jesus among the
poor, disadvantaged, and suffering peoples around us.”

I. _____ “The first miracle after the baptism of the Holy Ghost was wrought upon a
beggar. It means that the first service of a Holy Ghost-baptized church is to the poor;
that its ministry is to those who are lowest down; that its gifts are for those who need
them the most. As the Spirit was upon Jesus to preach the gospel to the poor, so His
Spirit is upon His servants for the same purpose.”

J. _____ “Just when I thought that all was lost
I heard about this place.
I was hungry, tired and scared
Until behind the counter I saw this smileing (sic) face.
That one smile assured me that it was going to be OK
And that I wasn’t alone
For I wasn’t the only one that didn’t have a home
Over the weeks of me walking through those big glass doors
I know that I’ve found security, I need nothing more.
Although there are hundreds of faces the staff see a day,
When I approach the desk
They call me by name and help me right away.
No matter my problem big or small
They seem to work through them all
I thank the Lord for keeping me safe
Thank all of you at the Horizon House place!

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Answers:

A. 2
B. 6
C. 5
D. 1
E. 7
F. 8
G. 9
H. 4
I. 3
J. 10

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Poems from the Underside
Battered Angel
While sleeping one night, I had a dream.
It left a tale to tell.
I dreamed I saw an angel
And he wasn’t looking well.

His body was bruised and battered,
Wings ripped and torn tired, .
I saw that he could barely walk,
So tired weary and worn.

I walked over to him and said,
“Angel, how can this be?”
As he looked back at me and tried to smile,
These words were said to me. . .

“I’m your guardian angel,
Quite a job as you can see.
You’ve lived a very hard life.
With that you must agree.
You’ve broken laws and hearts.
What you see, you’ve done to me.

“These bruises are from shielding you.
Each day I do my best still
The drugs you’ve used so recklessly,
I’ve often paid the bill.

“My wings you see, are ripped and torn;
A noble badge I bear.
So many times they’ve shielded you,
Though you were unaware.

“Yes, every mark has its story
Of pain and danger I’ve destroyed.
You’ve made me wish more than once
That I was unemployed.

“If you would only embrace life,
And choose to do good on your own.
It would end the pain and suffering
That goes with being your chaperone.

“I will always be there to watch over you
Until my strength finally fail.
As for when that will be?
All I can say is I’m getting old and frail.”

When I awoke, I thought about my dream,
How much he seemed to care.
Then I looked around my prison cell
And my heart sank in despair.

As I sat there and wondered
“Why should I even try?”
The air rushed by from beating wings
And I heard an angel cry!

By Robert Mounts, 2005

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The Only's
If only I had more time.
If only I had more food.
If only I had more money
If only I had more room.

If only I had more than one
Oh, only I had more.
If only it wasn’t my only one,
I could give it that is sure.

God had only One.
But there He didn’t stop
For the Love He had for us,
“It’s my Only, wasn’t His thought.

If in your hand
You held just one little seed,
Would you plant it
So others you could feed?

Only one is enough with God,
With only One He did so much.
Don’t be afraid to give your Only.
With it, many He will touch.


Beyond Myself
What have we missed
As we walk head down?
So focused on our problems
Facing the day with a frown.

What have we missed
As we fail to look?
And refusing to hear the cry
Of those, the battle has overtook.

What are my problems
Compared to some?
Had not I been full of gloom,
I could shine like the sun.

At a place in my life
When I chanced to look up,
It was easy to see beyond myself
And be partaker of the Lord’s Cup.

Truly, we need to understand
That we are to be a Light,
Always remembering each time we pray
That it’s for the lost we do fight.

Don’t misunderstand this poem,
For problems will surely come;
But learn to place them at the Master’s feet
So you can carry others to that same Throne.


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Excerpts from Theirs is the Kingdom: Celebrating the Gospel in
Urban America
by Robert D. Lupton
"The Truly Worthy Poor"

People with a heart to serve others want to know that their gifts are invested wisely. AT
least I do. I don’t want my alms squandered by the irresponsible and the ungrateful. And
since I’m often in a position to determine who will or will not receive assistance, I’ve
attempted to establish criteria to judge the worthiness of potential recipients.
A truly worthy poor woman: Is a widow more than sixty-five years old living
alone in substandard housing; does not have a family or relatives to care for her. Has no
savings and cannot work; has an income inadequate for basic needs. Is a woman of prayer
and faith, never asks anyone for anything but only accepts with gratitude what people
bring her; is not cranky.
A truly worthy poor young man: Is out of school, unemployed but not living off
his mother. Diligently applies for jobs every day; accepts gratefully any kind of work for
any kind of pay. Does not smoke, drink, or use drugs; attends church regularly. Will not
manipulate for gain either for himself or his family; is dependable and morally pure.
Does not act “cool” or “hip” like his peers on the street. Has pride in himself and is
confident; may sleep in alleys but is always clean and shaved.
A truly worthy poor young woman: Lives in public housing (only temporarily).
Has illegitimate children conceived prior to Christian conversion; is now celibate. Tithes
her welfare check and food stamps; is a high school dropout but manages well with
limited resources. Places a high value on education and nutrition for her children. Walks
everywhere (grocery store, church, school, welfare office) with her children to save bus
fare and keeps her sparsely furnished home spotless. Occasionally runs out of food by the
end of the month, but will not beg for “handouts.” Will not accept more than twenty-five
dollars per month in help from friends even if her children are hungry because this
violates welfare rules.
A truly worthy poor family: Is devout, close-knit. Has a responsible father
working long hours at minimum wage wherever he can find work. Has a mother who
makes the kids obey, washes clothes by hand, and will not buy any junk food. Lives in
overcrowded housing; will not accept welfare or food stamps even when neither parent
can find work. Always pays the bills on time; has no automobile. Has kids that do not
whine or tell lies.

I want to serve truly worthy poor people. The problem is they are hard to find.
Someone on our staff thought he remembered seeing one back in ’76 but can’t remember
for sure. Someone else reminded me that maybe to be truly poor means to be prideless,
impatient, manipulative, desperate, grasping at every straw, and clutching the immediate
with little energy left for future plans. But truly worthy? Are any of us truly worthy?

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Group Response #1
Personal Testimonial of Kindness Extended to You in a Time of
Personal Economic or Emotional Crisis

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“The Poor...
Always with Us?”:
Causes and Consequences

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The Word: Waste and Want
When Jesus was at Bethany, a guest of Simon the Leper, a woman came
up to him as he was eating dinner and anointed him with a bottle of very
expensive perfume. When the disciples saw what was happening, they
were furious. “That’s criminal! This could have been sold for a lot and
the money handed out to the poor.”

When Jesus realized what was going on, he intervened. “Why are you
giving this woman a hard time? She has just done something
wonderfully significant for me. You will have the poor with you every
day for the rest of your lives, but not me. When she poured this
perfume on my body, what she really did was anoint me for burial. You
can be sure that wherever in the whole world the message is preached,
what she has just done is going to be remembered and admired.”

That is when one of the Twelve, the one named Judas Iscariot, went to
the cabal of high priests and said, “What will you give me if I hand him
over to you?” They settled on thirty silver pieces. He began looking for
just the right moment to hand him over.”

Matthew 26: 3-16, The Message

1. When you see the poor, what personal feelings rise to the surface?
Helplessness? Action? Avoidance? Anger? Frustration? Other?
2. Do you believe that Jesus’ answer was insensitive? Selfish? Matter-
of-fact? Saying something important such as…?
3. Why do we have the poor always with us?
4. If the poor are always with us, is it right for the church to
intentionally or inadvertently exclude the poor?
5. Why, in this story, is perfume more important than money?

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Quotations about Poverty
Read through and evaluate quickly your reaction to these statements. Score each of
these statements on the basis of 1-5, according to this scale:
1 Strongly agree
2 Agree somewhat
3 No reaction or I don’t understand the point
4 Disagree somewhat
5 Strongly disagree
*********************************************************

1. “If the misery of the poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by
our institutions, great is our sin.” Charles Darwin My evaluation: ____

2. “We have grown literally afraid to be poor. We despise anyone who
elects to be poor in order to simplify and save his inner life. If he does not
join the general scramble and pant with the money-making street, we deem
him spiritless and lacking in ambition.” William James
My evaluation: ____

3. “You can’t get rid of poverty by giving people money.” P.J. O’Rourke
My evaluation: ____

4. “The poverty of our century is unlike that of any other. It is not, as
poverty was before, the result of natural scarcity, but of a set of priorities
imposed upon the rest of the world by the rich. Consequently, the modern
poor are not pitied . . . but written off as trash. The twentieth-century
consumer economy has produced the first culture for which a beggar is a
reminder of nothing. John Berger. My evaluation: ____

5. “Poverty is like punishment for a crime you didn’t commit.” Eli
Khamarov My evaluation: ____

6. “The prevalent fear of poverty among the educated classes is the
worst moral disease from which our civilization suffers.” William James
My evaluation: ____

37

7. “It would be nice if the poor were to get even half of the money that
is spent in studying them.” Bill Vaughn My evaluation: ____

8. “Love and business and family and religion and art and patriotism are
nothing but shadows of words when a man’s starving.” O. Henry
My evaluation: ____

9. “A rich man in nothing but a poor man with money.” W.C. Fields
My evaluation: ____

10. “The trouble with being poor is that it takes up all your time.” Willem
de Kooning My evaluation: ____

11. “Hunger makes a thief of any man.” Pearl S. Buck
My evaluation: ____

12. “To a man with an empty stomach, food is God.” Gandhi
My evaluation: ____

13. “Poverty is no disgrace to a man, but it is confoundedly inconvenient.”
Sydney Smith My evaluation: ____

14. “There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to
them except in the form of bread.” Mahatma Gandhi
My evaluation: ____

15. “However mean your life is, meet it and live it: do not sun it and call it
hard names. Cultivate poverty like a garden herb, like sage. Do not trouble
yourself much to get new things, whether clothes or friends. Things do not
change, we change. Sell your clothes and keep your thoughts.” Henry David
Thoreau My evaluation: ____

16. “For every talent that poverty has stimulated, it had blighted a
hundred.” John Gardner My evaluation: ____

38


*******************************************

Hopelessness in an Unequal Society

“Both Maridel and Parker were overweight, to the point of being unhealthy.
They decided it was the time to do something drastic. Responding to an ad
for a Fat-Away program, they drove to a rural area in their state, where
they were taken to separate areas of the woods. For six weeks, they would
be locked into these ‘compounds,’ as they were called. In each compound,
according to the ad, were the perfect ingredients needed to lose weight.
Their goal was to each lose forty pounds. What they did not know is that
the less-than ethical Fat-Away organization was really a research laboratory
studying the effects of various diets, exercise programs and weight-loss
expectations on people’s weight change. Without a word to Maridel and
Parker, they placed Maridel in a compound designed to help her lose weight,
but they placed Parker in a compound designed for Parker to gain weight.

“In Maridel’s compound were running trails, a swimming pool, state-of-the-
art exercise equipment, a basketball court, and a sauna. In her cabin were
magazines on proper nutrition, instructional videos on how to lose weight, an
abundance of natural, healthy, low-far, low-calorie foods, and no sweets.
Each day she was greeted early by fit and trim people who asked Maridel to
go on a run with them, talked about how much they loved being thin, and
encouraged her that she too can be thin---wonderful conditions for losing
weight.

“In Parker’s compound was only a tiny cabin. No exercise equipment was
available whatsoever, but there were plenty of videos and movies that
showed high-calorie foods looking sumptuous, more high-calorie goodies than
even a sumo wrestler could desire, and just a few fruits and vegetables. The
only other people Parker saw were also obese, and though they talked about
losing weight, they seemed not to really care about their weight---not good
conditions for losing weight.

39

“The program called for each participant to weigh in at the start, and then
every two weeks thereafter. At the end of two weeks, with neither aware
of what was inside the other’s compound, Maridel and Parker were taken to
the weighing room. They each took their turn on the scale. Maridel stepped
on the scale first. She had lost nineteen pounds! Parker’s turn produced far
less excitement. He actually gained two pounds.

“Maridel, who assumed that both she and Parker had the same type of
compound, was irritated with Parker. ‘We paid good money to be here,
Parker. How can you waste it? You have to exercise, you have to eat right!’
Parker tried to make his case, but it only made Maridel more irritated.
Maridel told Parker he needed to try harder. Parker, though he was
depressed about his weight gain and the difficulty in exercising adequately
and eating right, resolved to do so.

“But try as he may, Parker kept eating too many bad foods. And he
exercised very little. He became depressed, and his depression only made
him eat more and exercise less. After another two weeks, back he and
Maridel went to the scales. Maridel, with wonderful weight-loss
opportunities and taking full advantage of them, lost another fifteen pounds.
Parker however actually gained more weight than he had the first two weeks.
Maridel could not believe what Parker was doing to himself. ‘Don’t you know
why we are here? Parker, this place is designed for us to lose weight. If
you can’t do it here, where can you?’

“’I don’t think this is all that great a place to lose weight,’ Parker sniped.
‘The food here is fatty, and exercising is next to impossible.’ Maridel was
taken aback. Finally she replied, ‘It wouldn’t matter if that were true,
Parker. When we get home, the food can be fatty and exercise difficult,
but you must learn to eat and exercise right, regardless.’ Parker,
increasingly frustrated by Maridel’s comments, retorted. ‘No way is it as
easy as you’re making it seem. I think that Fat-Away is treating me unfairly.
I’m not even sure I want to lose weight.’

“With that Maridel was dumbfounded. If Parker was not even going to try,
if he was going to blame others, perhaps he deserved to be obese. But she
also thought that if only Parker could have a vision of what he could look like,
he would take advantage of Fat-Away and lose weight. She encouraged

40

Parker to imagine being thin, toned, and healthy. ‘Wouldn’t it be wonderful,
Parker? If only you would try.’

”Back they went for another two weeks. At the final weigh-in, with the
predictable result of Parker not having lose weight, Maridel simple resigned
herself to the idea that Parker wanted to be overweight. Why Parker would
want this, she was not sure, but of one thing she was sure---until Parker
decided he wanted to lose weight, he would not.”

Taken from Divided by Faith, by Michael Emerson and Christian Smith. pp. 110-112

41

42
This is a child's view of hunger.
What does this cartoon mean to you?

Misguided Motives
1. A “Romanticism” about the poor and their needs
“It’s gonna be cool, helpin’ them out!”

2. A “Messianic Complex”, to “save” the needy
“Just wait till I fix the problem!”

3. An “Exaggerated View” about the needy
“They are so pitiful!”

4. A “Poor Self-Esteem” Perspective that is enhanced by working with the poor
“I feel so much more important around them!”

5. A “Utilitarian” perspective, that uses the poor for personal advantage
“It’ll look good on my resume

6. A “Guilt” Complex about the needy
“Man, I have so much that I’ve got to share!”

7. A “Duty-bound” obligation to the needy
“Guess I’ve got to do it. It’s the Christian thing!”

8. The “Titillation” of excitement among the poor
“Yeah! This is where the real action is.”

9. A “Masochistic” attraction towards the poor
“I like to hang around people hurting worse than me.”

10. The “Attention-getting” device
“Hey, everybody’s going to think I’m another Mother Teresa. . . Who knows
maybe I’ll win a Nobel Prize some day!

43

Chapter 7
Poverty
Summary by Russ Long
May 29, 2005

Key Concepts
blaming the victim poverty
culture of poverty poverty line
feminization of poverty social classes
income social stratification
meritocracy underclass
new poor wealth
old poor wealthfare
poor-poor (severely poor) welfare

I. Poverty in the U.S.

Basics of Social Stratification

Social Stratification

Stratification is the hierarchical arrangement of large social groups on
the basis of their control over basic resources (Kendall, 1998:24).

Social Class

A class system is a system of social inequality based on the ownership
and control of resources and on the type of work people do. A primary
characteristic of the class system is social mobility. In other words an
individual can move up, or down, the class structure (Kendall, 1998:24).

45

Presumably, social movement is based on merit. One, therefore, earns
their position in society.

Meritocracy

Meritocracy is a system of social inequality in which social standing
corresponds to personal ability or effort.

Underclass

The underclass refers to poor people who live in areas with high
concentrations of poverty and few opportunities to improve their lives.

Wealth

Wealth is the value of all economic assets, including income, personal
property, and income-producing property (Kendall, 1998:24).

Income

Income is the economic gain derived from wages, salaries, income
transfers (governmental aid such as Aid to Families with Dependent
Children), or ownership of property (Kendall, 1998:27).

Assets

Wolff (in Skolnick and Currie, 1997:99) describes assets as consisting of
all forms of "financial wealth such as bank accounts, stocks, bonds, life
insurance savings, mutual fund shares and unincorporated business;
consumer durables like cares and major appliances; and the value of
pension rights." Wolff (1997:99) continues to say that from these
sources, one should subtract liabilities such as "consumer debt,
mortgage balances, and other outstanding debt." The upper classes
control a much greater percentage of valuable assets than income.
Robertson (1989:180) points out that in 1973 the bottom fifth of
Americans controlled only 0.2% of all assets while the top fifth control
76% of all assets. Further, the assets controlled by the poor tend to
depreciate (household items) over time while those of the rich tend to
appreciate (real estate and stocks).

A. What is Poverty and How Is It Measured?

Eitzen (2000:178) describes poverty as a standard of living below the minimum
needed for the maintenance of an adequate diet. health, and shelter.

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B. The Extent of Poverty

1. The Poverty Rate

The poverty rate is an absolute measure of poverty. It is the proportion of the
population whose income falls below the government's official poverty line.

Poverty Rates, 2000
Corpus San
Austin
U.S. Texas Christi Antonio
Metro
Metro Metro

Total
12.38 15.37 11.07 18.16 15.08
Population

The United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) defines
metropolitan areas (MAs) according to published standards that are
applied to Census Bureau data. The general concept of an MA is
that of a core area containing a large population nucleus, together
with adjacent communities having a high degree of economic and
social integration with that core. See:
http://www.census.gov/population/www/estimates/aboutmetro.html

Tables compiled by Russ Long

2. Determining the "Official" Poverty Line

The official poverty line is based on a minimum family market basket – a low-cost
food budget that contains a minimum level of nutrition for a family – multiplied by
3 to allow for nonfood costs (Eitzen, 2000:178).

3. Problems With The Official Definition of Poverty

There are some serious problems with the "official poverty rate."

a. Poverty is Unique depending on Social and Physical
Environment

Any number of social and geographic factors are going to mean that poverty in
one region is not the same as poverty in another region (rural vs. urban poverty
for example).

47

b. The Cost of Food Declined

The definition of official poverty may have made more sense in 1965 when it was
created than it does in 2001. The cost of food, as a proportion of the family
budget, has declined.

c. Fails to Keep Up with Inflation

see Eitzen (2003:181)

Extreme Poverty

The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is the poorest census tract in the
United States with a poverty rate of 73%

Source: Newsweek, July 19, 1999, p 34.

4. Alternatives to the Official Poverty Rate

a. Relative Measures (Fifty percent of the Median)

Fifty percent of the median income is a relative measure of poverty. Kendall
(1998:33) describes relative poverty as a condition that exists when people may
be able to afford basic necessities such as food, clothing, and shelter but cannot
maintain an average standard of living for members of their society or group.

b. Subjective Measures (Ask the individual)

C. Who are the Poor? (Race & Ethnicity, Gender, Class, Age)

Poverty and Income Data
Historic Poverty Trends in the U.S.: Poverty Rates &
Poverty Population -- 1959 to 1999
Historic Poverty Trends in the U.S.: Race, Ethnicity, &
Female Householder -- 1959 to 1999
Historic Poverty Trends in the U.S.: Age -- 1959 to 1999

48

Are the Rich Getting Richer? Percent Change in Household
Income by Quintile: 1995 & 1996
Median Family Income by Race and Ethnicity: 1999

Per Capita Income by Race and Ethnicity: 1999

1. Feminization of Poverty

Feminization of poverty refers to the trend whereby women are disproportionately
represented among individuals living in poverty (Kendall, 1998:34-35). (also see
Eitzen, 2000:181)

2. The Old-Poor, The New Poor, and The Poor-Poor (Severely
Poor)

a. The Old Poor

Eitzen (2003:188) contends that the old poor (of previous generations) are
different than today's poor because the old poor had hopes of escaping poverty.
Even if the old-poor did not escape poverty, they had hopes that their children
would escape poverty. There was work that the unskilled and uneducated
could do to earning a living.

b. The New Poor

Eitzen (2003:188) argues that the new-poor are much more trapped by poverty
than the poor in previous generations. The is little need for hard physical labor.

c. The Poor-Poor (The Severely Poor)

Eitzen (2003:189) refers to people who have incomes below half the poverty
line. Eitzen argues that 39% of the poor fall into this category.

Child Poverty

Eitzen (2003:184) notes that children living in poverty come from female-
headed families, they are rural, and they are mostly white.

Progress in Reducing Child Poverty

49

Eitzen (2000:183) points out that one in five children are poor in the
United States. He further notes that child-poverty can be reduced
because it has happened in other industrial countries. He shows that
America’s wealthy children do better than wealthy kids in other countries
but the kids of poor people in America have less to live on than kids in
any other industrial country except for Ireland and Israel. Other countries
reduce child poverty through government programs. The offer broader
child tax credit than does the U.S. They have guaranteed child care,
health care, and child support when fathers won’t pay.

II. Myths About Poverty
A. Refusal To Work

(Eitzen, 2003:190)

B. Welfare Dependency

(Eitzen, 2003:190-191)

1. Welfare

Welfare is government monies or services provided to the poor.

2. Wealthfare

Wealthfare describes a situation in the U.S. where the greatest amount of
government aid goes to the nonpoor (Eitzen, 2000:188-189).

a. Funding for Social Service:

Most government expenditures for human resource programs go to the nonpoor.
This includes moneys spent on public education for children and Social Security
and Medicare for the elderly.

There are two hidden welfare systems that benefit the wealthy as well.

a. Tax Expenditures and Tax Loopholes:

Many wealthy individuals and corporations often pay lower taxes or no taxes at
all. For example, the government allows homeowners to deduct from their taxes
estate taxes and interest on mortgages. The money saved via tax breaks is four

50

times larger than all funding for low income housing. Only about a quarter of
Americans in the top income bracket receive these tax breaks (Eitzen,
2000:188).

b. Corporate Assistance:

The second form of hidden welfare to the wealthy comes in the form of direct
subsidies and credit assistance to corporations, banks, agribusiness, defense,
etc.

C. The Poor Get Special Advantages

No, the poor do not get special advantages. In fact, the poor pay more than the
nonpoor for many services. Eitzen (2003:193) notes that the poor pay more for
day to day products like milk. They also have a harder time getting insurance
and obtaining loans.

1. High-cost Commodities

The inner-city poor have to pay more for food and commodities. The large "club-
stores," which are often associated with discount shopping, are often located in
the suburbs. The poor must buy from stores located in their immediate
neighborhood. This gives the neighborhood stores a near-monopoly advantage.

2. Inflated Interest Rates

The poor are not generally offered the kinds of financial services which are
provided to people in the middle class. This includes bank loans. The financial
services which the poor have access to charge extremely high interest rates.
These services include rent-to-own companies, loans from pawnbrokers, finance
company loans, and quick payday loans from check cashing services.

3. Regressive Taxes

When the poor pay taxes on items they purchase, they pay a much greater
amount of their resources on those items than do the wealthy. Sales taxes are,
therefore, regressive (Eitzen, 2000:190).

III. Deficiency Theory #1:
Innate Inferiority: Social Darwinism

51

Disclaimer

I normally would not include a disclaimer in a sociological inquiry, but in
this case one is in order. The reader should be fully aware that as I
present the material on deficiency theories I do not subscribe to any of
their tenets. It is my contention that poverty is an economic issue rooted
in the structure of society. Solutions to poverty are political. Biology plays
a very minor role in determining who is poor. I present material on
deficiency theories, not because I think they are valid explanations of
poverty, but rather as a forum from which to critique deficiency theories.

Self-fulfilling Prophecy and I.Q.

Henslin (481:1999) contends that a self-fulfilling prophecy refers to a
false assumption of what is going on that happens to come true simply
because it was predicted.

Eitzen (2000:196) argues that IQ testing promotes a self-fulfilling
prophecy. He contends that knowledge of IQ scores can determine how
people respond to one-another.

For example:

A teacher learns that a pupil has a low IQ score. This knowledge
prompts the teacher to assume the student is a slow learner and lowers
his/her expectations of the student. The lowered expectations lead to
less access to knowledge and ultimately to even lower IQ scores on
future tests.

A. The Role of Biology

Biology obviously plays a role in deciding who we are (see Charon, 1987:70-78).
Biology is responsible for our helplessness at birth, it's responsible for providing
us with a brain that can accommodate complex conceptual tasks (e.g., language
and math). Biology is responsible for physical differences between men and
women. Biological explanations, in part, account for men being physically
stronger than women and women living longer than men. Women are less
susceptible to disease. Biology determines that women mature faster than men.

B. The Rise of Sociobiology

52

Does biology influence the kind of social relationships that people have with one
another? Many contend that it does. Edward Wilson has called for the
"systematic study of the biological basis of all forms of social behavior in all kinds
of organisms including man." Sociobiologists contend that biological approaches
are valid attempts to explain human behavior because ultimately all social life is
traceable to our biological heritage and not social interaction. Biology is,
therefore, seen as the ultimate determinant of human behavior.

C. Biological Models As Social Models: The Homeostatic Model

The Homeostatic model is a sociological model whose origins are found in
biology. Remember that the use of biological models (or any other particular
model for that matter) has significant influence on how we perceive social
relationships. Note that within a biological system, dramatic change can cause
the death of the organism. For Biology this is a literal description of a living
system. When biological models are applied to social systems, societies are
seen as like a human organism. It is assumed that all parts of the system
function to support the greater organism. All parts are perceived as necessary --
despite unequal arrangements. One tends to forget, however, that biological
descriptions of society are merely metaphors. Often they do not accurately
describe human systems. Further more, biological models assume that if
something exists, then it must contribute to the preservation of the larger system
(i.e., it must be necessary). Biological models provide justification for the existing
status quo (whatever the status quo may be).

D. Social Darwinism of the 19th and Early 20th Century

The discoveries of Charles Darwin had a profound impact on other branches of
scientific inquiry. Charles Darwin, of course, is famous for his Theory of
Evolution. In the world of biology the species most fit survived while those less fit
eventually became extinct. Many social scientists, most notably Herbert Spencer,
attempted to apply the logic of Charles Darwin to the social world. The essence
of the social Darwinist perspective is that races or cultures, who occupied a
"superior position" in the social world, deserved that position because they were
the most socially fit (Eitzen and Baca-Zinn, 1994:170). According to Spencer "the
poor are poor because they are unfit." Spencer argued that "poverty is nature's
way of 'excreting ... unhealthy, imbecile, slow, vacillating, faithless members' of
society in order to make room for the fit" (Eitzen and Baca-Zinn, 1994:170).

E. A Modern Example of Social Darwinism: IQ Tests

Murray and Herrnstein (1994) along with Arthur Jensen (1969, 1980) employ
Social Darwinist type explanations in their interpretation of IQ scores. IQ scores,
of course, are viewed as a measure of intelligence and it is assumed that
intellectual ability is inherited. Murray and Herrnstein imply that low IQ scores
associated with people of color are the result of a deficient gene pool.

53

Intellectual ability, according to Murray and Herrnstein, is inherited. Since,
according to sociobiologists, social position is based on merit, those who occupy
high ranking positions in society are biologically "fit." On the other hand, those
individuals who occupy low ranking positions are least fit socially.

Some portion of IQ is inherited. On the other hand, some intellectual ability is
gained through social interaction (e.g., through parental interaction or the school
system). To assume that IQ is all biological is simple wrong. Furthermore, the
impact such beliefs (i.e., that social position is based on genetics) can have
catastrophic effect on the self-concept of poor people who are already
stigmatized by poverty.

F. IQ and the Environment

Is IQ largely a function of biology? Does IQ measure intelligence? Much research
on IQ exists that documents that variations in IQ scores are due to genetic
factors less than half the time. The rest of the variation in intelligence is the result
of social context. The following five items are social factors that influence IQ
scores:

1. Prenatal Care: The impact of parental neglect in the development of the
fetus is well documented. Parents who abuse substances while conceiving
and carrying unborn children may produce offspring with lower IQs.
Similarly poor diet and inadequate health care can lead to lower IQ.
2. Differences in Socialization: The type of interaction that children have with
others can influence intellectual development. One might expect that
parents who read to their children will produce children with higher IQ
scores as compared to parents who do not read to their children.
3. Disadvantages Associated with Poverty: Poverty has negative impact on
intellectual development on a variety of avenues. The poor in the United
States have long been frustrated with "separate and unequal schools."
Poor classroom conditions can negatively affect IQ scores. Poor nutrition
and health can continue to have negative influence intellectual
development.
4. Importance of IQ Scores to the Person Taking the Test: If passing a
standardized test is unimportant, the individual probably will not put his or
her full effort into performing satisfactorily on such a test. In fact, poor
children might perform poorly on tests of all kinds out of fear of being
ridiculed by his or her class mates if they perform well.
5. Cultural Bias of the IQ Test. IQ tests are typically written by middle-class
people. They test knowledge of middle-class values. Many argue that
performance on IQ tests measures, not innate intelligence and ability, but
rather knowledge of middle-class conditions.

G. The Hidden Agenda Behind the Bell Curve

54

From the time of Thomas Malthus there have been those opponents of social
welfare who contend that welfare is simple a means of using the wealth of the
advantaged to perpetuate and increased the population of the disadvantaged.

Social welfare is condemned because, it is argued, social welfare is the source of
poverty rather than the solution. Many argue that assistance to the poor
encourages a state of dependence. Social Darwinism advocates withholding aid
from the poor. Social welfare programs would interfere with nature's way of
getting rid of the weak.

Following through on this logic, in order to eliminate poverty, the poor have to be
encouraged to rectify their own situation. Malthus argued that the poor should
feel "the great pain of poverty" before they would take steps to limit their birth
rates. Murray and Herrnstein (1994) 200 years later use the same logic to lash
out against social welfare spending. They argue that poverty, welfare
dependency, illegitimacy, and crime are all correlated with low IQ and that the
correlation is due to genetics.

At the least one might argue that what is, in fact, occurring is an effort to
substitute IQ scores for moral worth. IQ scores provide an easy explanation for
complex social interactions that lead to poverty. Some even contend that IQ
scores are an ideological tool. IQ can help maintain the social position of people
who do well on IQ tests. It can foster a particular social view (a middle-class
view) of what constitutes intelligence.

H. A critique of Biological Models

Granted, biology plays a large part in who we are, but no matter what the
biological differences may be, what becomes important is how we socially
respond to those differences. An over-reliance on biological explanations for
social behavior may cause observers to overlook the importance of the social
definition superimposed on biologically determined characteristics.

Of major importance here are the potentially catastrophic consequences that a
reliance on biology models might have on psychological issues such as self-
esteem. Poor people are already stigmatized. An over-reliance on the biological
model might drive many already disadvantaged into believing that attempting to
achieve success is useless.

Other material should be considered in the IQ debate. Note the "Flynn Effect"
which was first noticed in 1930 that shows that all groups show a steady rise in
IQ scores from 1930 regardless of social class or race. The Flynn Effect
demonstrates that IQ does improve -- even for the poor. Contrast this with
William Shockley's (1966) call for the sterilization of people with low IQs.

55

IV. Deficiency Theory #2
Cultural Inferiority: The Culture of Poverty
Oscar Lewis, author of La Vita (1965), coined the term "Culture of Poverty" (also
see Edward C. Banfield, The Unheavenly City Revisited, 1974). The essence of
Culture of Poverty theory holds that poor people share deviant cultural
characteristics. The poor have lifestyles that differ from the rest of society and
that these characteristics perpetuate their life of poverty. According to the Culture
of Poverty thesis (in Eitzen and Baca-Zinn, 1994:173) "the poor are qualitatively
different in values and that these cultural differences explain continued poverty."

Eitzen and Baca-Zinn (1994:173) maintain that there is a strong implication
embedded in the Culture of Poverty that defects in the lifestyle of the poor
[cultural deprivation] perpetuate poverty. Such defects are passed from one
generation to the next. Under these circumstances it is extremely difficult for
people, once trapped by the Culture of Poverty, to escape poverty.

Characteristics that typify the Culture of Poverty exist across a variety of racial
and ethnic groups. While these characteristics (see below) are certainly present
in poverty populations, Culture of Poverty Theory leaves the impression that they
typify all poor people. THAT IS A FALLACY!

The following characteristics typify the culture of poverty. Some may be accurate
in some settings. Some may have had explanatory powers a few decades ago,
but today are no longer accurate. Some are contradictory. They all tend to
present negative connotations. All are highly stereotypical.

Characteristics of the Culture of Poverty

1. Parents are more permissive in raising their children. They are
less verbal with their children. Family-heads display a strong
disposition toward authoritarianism.
2. Children raised in poverty also have drastically different
orientations in life when compared to middle-class children. There
is an absence of childhood. Children experience an early initiation
to sex.
3. Families often form based upon free unions or consensual
marriage. This partially explains the trend toward female-headed
homes.
4. The poor are more fatalistic. One might expect that a poor person
would believe the following idea: "What will be will be and I can't
change it."
5. The poor are less apt to defer gratification. Banfield argues that
the essence of the poor subculture is its present-time orientation.

56

He asserts that the poor do not know how to defer gratification
(see Eitzen and Baca-Zinn, 1994:173).
6. The poor are less interested in formal education.

Source: Eitzen and Baca-Zinn, 1994, and Farley, 1988

The Culture of Poverty theory argues that the characteristics presented above
enable the poor to adapt to poverty. For example, the lack of childhood happens
because sometimes poor children have to begin working at an early age.
Moreover, poor children have to "hustle" to survive. There is no time to be young.
To act young is a sign of weakness. The absences of privacy and competition for
limited goods are self-explanatory characteristics of poverty. Perhaps the strong
disposition toward authoritarianism is necessary because of the hard choices that
poverty provides.

A. The Moynihan Report

The Culture of Poverty is a functionalist approach to poverty. It assumes a "right"
or "correct" culture and a deviant culture. The poor are poor and are likely to
remain poor because their culture deviates from the norm. The Moynihan Report
(1965) is an example of a study that (perhaps inadvertently) borrows aspects of
the Culture of Poverty to explain African-American poverty. Its goal was to
explain continued poverty in the 1960s.

The Moynihan Study accurately pointed out that much of the poverty associated
with the Black community was due to a history of slavery and economic
oppression (unemployment). It also called attention to the necessity of altering
one's lifestyle as a means to cope with poverty. Moynihan, however, ultimately
came to concentrate on the characteristics of the Black family that required
changing, rather than the system of oppression that needed changing.

B. A Critique of the Moynihan Report and the Culture of Poverty

1. It Blames the Victim

The most important criticism of the report is that it put the blame for poverty on
the victim. Blaming the victim places the burden of change on the victim and
removes it from society. From the Culture of Poverty perspective, poverty is
viewed as the fault of the poor in that, their culture, not social injustice, causes
and perpetuates poverty. The implied assumption is that until the poor changes
their "culture," no amount of government intervention will solve the problem of
poverty.

2. Negative Emphasis on Female-headed Families

57

Another objection to the Culture of Poverty thesis revolves around the negative
emphasis placed upon female-headed families. Female-headed families do not
ensure a life of poverty. Children of single-parent family perform well in school.
They do not have greater problems with mental health. Poverty, of course,
affects both. Poverty, not single-parenting, generates social problems like
illiteracy. Furthermore, single-parents are usually women and women are
placed in economically disadvantaged positions due to the structure of the
economy that pays women only 68 percent the salary that it pays men. THIS IS
NOT CULTURAL. It's SYSTEMIC.

3. The Attack on Divorce

There appears, imbedded in culture of poverty theory, an attack on divorce.
There is no evidence that divorce, itself, causes poverty. Sometimes divorce can
lead to better social adjustment. Since 1957, as the number of divorces has
risen, the percentage of people saying they are happy with their marriage has
also risen from 67 percent to 80 percent (footnote missing!). People who focus
on the problems associated with single-parent families also forget the positive
impact of the extended family. The extended family supports single-parent
families by providing grandparents, aunts, and even friends.

4. Most Black Families are Not Poor

Other problems with the Moynihan Report pertain to the implied image that the
majority of Black families are typically from broken homes. The poverty rate for
Blacks is about 30 percent. That means that 70 percent of Black families are
above the poverty line. Furthermore, while focusing on the characteristics of the
Black family, the Moynihan Report does not attack aspects of the social structure
that put one group at a disadvantage when compared to another. With the Black
family, the disadvantage flows from historically based discrimination (which
included forced breakups of families while under slavery), high levels of
unemployment, and welfare laws that encourage one parent families.

5. Poor People Do Not Have Radically Different Lifestyles

Finally, the culture of poverty contains the assumption that families living in
poverty have radically different outlooks than middle-class families. Elliot Liebow
in Street Corner Man (as referenced in Eitzen and Baca-Zinn, 1994:173)
suggests that most poor people, in fact, attempt to live by society's values. Their
struggle is frustrated by externally imposed failures. Most people who are poor
would prefer to escape poverty via a good job. Good jobs that poor people are
eligible for are rare. Liebow suggests that the characteristics associated with the
culture of poverty are those that appear when individuals try to achieve goals
defined by society, but who fail to achieve society's goals because society has
not provided means to achieve those goals. These are the proverbial blocked
opportunities.

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6. One-Way Adaptation?

Culture of Poverty proponents argue that the poor adapt to a lifestyle which
allows them to deal with poverty. They tend to assume that one these lifestyles
have been adopted, they become institutionalized with poor culture making it
very difficult fort the poor to escape the culture of poverty. One might ask that if it
is so easy to adopt to poverty lifestyles, that it might be just as easy to adopt to a
middle class lifestyle once that lifestyle is provided.

V. Structural Theories
A. Institutional Discrimination

Eitzen (2000:200) contends that "the real explanation of why the poor are poor is
that they made the mistake of being born to the wrong parents, in the wrong
section of town, in the wrong industry, or in the wrong racial or ethnic group." The
poor encounter structural conditions in society which, in part, are to blame for
poverty. They experience Institutional discrimination. Institutional discrimination is
embedded in the customary ways of doing things, prevailing attitudes and
expectations, and accepted structural arrangements. Such arrangements work to
the disadvantage of the poor. Examples follow:

1. Education

Most good jobs require a college education, but the poor cannot afford to send
their children to college. Scholarships are available, but only to the best
performing students. Poor students tend to not score high on assessments tests
because of, among other things, lower expectations of teachers and
administrators.

2. Health Care

The poor get sick more and stay sick longer than people in the middle class. This
happens, in part, because they cannot afford preventive medicine, they have
improper diets, and they don’t get proper medical care when they get sick.

B. The Political Economy of Society

Eitzen (2000:201) argues that a basic tenet of capitalism promotes poverty. That
basic tenet is that who gets what is determined by private profit rather than
collective need.

1. Employers are constrained to pay their employees at little as possible in
wages and benefits.

59

2. By maintaining a surplus of labor, wages are depressed.

3. Employers make investment decisions without regard for employees.

VI. The Elimination of Poverty
A. Assumption One

Poverty is a social problem and the source of other social problems, therefore, it
must be eliminated.

See (Eitzen, 2003:205)

B. Assumption Two

Poverty can be eliminated in the United States.

See (Eitzen, 2003:205-206)

C. Assumption Three

Poverty is caused by the lack of resources, not deviant value system.


D. Assumption Four

Poverty is not simply a matter of deficient income; it results from other
inequalities in society as well.


E. Assumption Five

Poverty cannot be eliminated by the efforts of the poor themselves


F. Assumption Six

Poverty cannot be eliminated by the private sector of the economy.

60


3G. Assumption Seven

Poverty will not be eliminated by an expanding economy.


H. Assumption Eight

Poverty will not be eliminated by volunteer help from well-meaning individuals,
groups, and organizations.

See (Eitzen, 2003:207-208)

I. Assumption Nine

Poverty will not be eliminated by the efforts of state and local governments.


J. Assumption Ten

Poverty is a national problem and must be attacked with massive nationwide
programs financed largely and organized by the federal government.


Bibliography
Banfield, Edward C.

1974 The Unheavenly City Revisited. Boston, Little, Brown

Charon, Joel

1987 The Meaning of Sociology: A Reader. Englewood, CA: Prentice hall.

Eitzen, D. Stanley and Maxine Baca-Zinn

1994 Social Problems. (6th Ed.) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

61



Farley, John E.

1988 Majority - Minority Relations. (2nd Ed.) Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice
Hall.

2000 Majority - Minority Relations. (4th Ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice
Hall

Jensen, Arthur R.

1969 "How Much Can We Boost IQ and Scholastic Achievement?" Harvard
Educational Review, 39 (Winter):1-123.

1980 Bias in Mental Testing. New York: Free Press

Kendall, Diana

1998 Social Problems in a Diverse Society. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Lewis, Oscar

1965 La Vida. New York: Random House.

Liebow, Elliott

1967 Tally’s Corner: A Study of Negro Street Corner Men. Boston: Little Brown &
Company.

Malthus, Thomas

1809 An essay on the principle of population, or, A view of its past and present
effects on human happiness with an inquiry into our prospects respecting the
future removal on mitigation of the evils which it occasions. Washington : Roger
Chew Weightman,

Murray, Charles and Richard J. Herrnstein

1994 The Bell Curve : Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life. New
York : Free Press,

Shockley, William

62

1966 Mechanics. Columbus, Ohio, C. E. Merrill Books

U.S. Bureau of the Census

1990 US Census Look-up, 1990, http://venus.census.gov/cdrom/lookup/

Wolff, Edward N.

1997 "Top Heavy." in Crisis in American Institutions. (10th Ed.) by Jerome H.
Skolnick and Elliott Currie. New York: Longman.

63

“Pooring It On”:
Treating People as We Would
Want to be Treated

65

The Word: Rags and Ropes
One day , Shephatiah, Gedaliah, Jehucal, and Pashhur heard me tell the
people of Judah that the Lord had said, “If you stay here in Jerusalem,
you will die in battle or from disease or hunger, and the Babylonian army
will capture the city anyway. But if you surrender to the Babylonians,
they will let you live.”

So the four of them went to the king and said, “You should put Jeremiah
to death, because he is making the soldiers and everyone else lose hope.
He isn’t trying to help our people; he’s trying to harm them.”

Zedekiah replied, “Do what you want with him. I can’t stop you.”

Then they took me back to the courtyard of the palace guards and let me
down with ropes into the well that belonged to Malchiah, the king’s son.
There was no water in the well, and I sank down in the mud.

Ebedmelech from Ethiopia was an official at the palace, and he heard
what they had done to me. So he went to speak with King Zedekiah, who
was holding court at Benjamin Gate. Ebedmelech said, “Your Majesty,
Jeremiah is a prophet, and those men were wrong to throw him into a
well. And when Jerusalem runs out of food, Jeremiah will starve to
death down there.”

Zedekiah answered, “Take thirty of my soldiers and pull Jeremiah out
before he dies.”

Ebedmelech and the soldiers went to the palace and got some rags from
the room under the treasury. He used ropes to lower them into the well.
Then he said, “Put these rags under yours arms so the ropes won’t
hurt you.” After I did, the men pulled me out. And from then on, I was
kept in the courtyard of the palace guards.

Jeremiah 38:1-13, The Contemporary English Version

1. Ebedmelech was of a minority race and an immigrant, serving in
the palace. When have you been helped in a moment of crisis or
desperation by someone regarded as lower status than yourself?
2. Like Ebedmelech, what risks have you personally taken to help
someone in need?
3. Some people are the rags that offer comfort and protect one from
bruising in the midst of rescue and change. Can you think of

67

anybody who has been a comfort “rag” to you in the midst of
crisis?
4. Some people are the ropes that yank people out of their situation.
They create conditions for change. Can you think of somebody who
jolted you into change that was necessary in your life?
5. In your own ministry to those in need, which of the two—rags and
ropes—do you intend to be?

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Compassion and the Clothes Closet
Taken from Theirs is the Kingdom
by Robert Lupton

While remodeling our church, I came across a yellowed sign taped to the wall of an old
storage room. Before tearing it down, I gave it a casual glance: CLOTHES CLOSET.
But then I realized it was more than just a sign. It was a history. The lined-out,
crayoned-in revisions and explanations told a fascinating story of the evolution of a
ministry. Between the lines one could read of the classic struggle between Christians in
charge and people in need. I gently peeled the document for the wall to preserve it for
further study:

The sign: THERE WILL BE A MINIMUM CHARGE OF 10 CENTS FOR EACH
USE OF THE CLOTHES CLOSET
Reading between the lines: A first attempt to control greed.

The sign: Up to 5 articles for 10 cents; Up to 10 articles for 20 cents; Up to 15
articles for 30 cents.
Reading between the lines: The scratched out rules failed to limit grabbiness

The sign: NO CREDIT
Reading between the lines: No money---no admission. Nice and clean. Testing credit-
worthiness is too time-consuming, subjective, risky.

The sign: No one can use the Clothes Closet without charge (unless they get a signed
note for the pastors)
Reading between the lines: Revision of the no credit policy. An “appeals” procedure for
those dissatisfied with stated rules. Legitimizes end-runs that are being made to the
pastor.

The sign: No one can take more than 5 articles without a signed note verifying your
needs.
Reading between the lines: Definition of credit revision. Unless the pastor spells it out
in writing, the five-garment limit prevails. No second party verbal interpretations.

The sign: The word “no one” shall be taken to mean either individuals or families.
Reading between the lines: Further definition of credit revision. Another loophole
closed. The pastor’s note could not be used as a free ticket by different members of the
same family.

The sign: NO SMOKING!

Can you envision the challenges, the rule tightening, the manipulative ploys and
countermoves that took place between good church folks and the people they were trying
to help? I smile when I remember how brow-furrowed we became about enforcing our

69

one-sided legislation. Like temple police, we guarded the resources of the kingdom as if
they were our own. Somewhere in the process, the poor became our adversaries.

Anyone who has been given the unfortunate task of dispensing free (or nearly free)
commodities can tell similar stories. Something seems to go wrong when a person with
valued resources attempts to distribute them to others in need. The transactions, no
matter how compassionate, go sour in the gut of both giver and receiver. A subtle,
unintentional message slips through: “You have nothing of worth that I desire in return.”
The giver is protected by him or her one-up status. The recipient is exposed, vulnerable.
It’s little wonder that negative attitudes surface. It becomes hard to be a cheerful giver
and even harder to be a cheerful recipient.

Ancient Hebrew wisdom describes four levels of charity. At the highest level, the giver
provides a job for a person in need without that person knowing who provided it. At the
next level, the giver provides work that the needy person knows the giver provided. The
third level is an anonymous gift. At the lowest level of charity, which should be avoided
whenever possible, the giver gives a gift to a poor person who has full knowledge of the
donor’s identity.

The deepest poverty is to have nothing of value to offer. Charity that fosters such
poverty must be challenged. We know that work produces dignity while welfare depletes
self-esteem. We know that reciprocity builds mutual respect while one-way giving brews
contempt. Yet we continue to run clothes closets and free food pantries and give-away
benevolence funds, and we wonder why the joy is missing.

Perhaps it is our time and place in history to re-implement the wisdom of the ages, to
fashion contemporary models of thoughtful compassion. Our donated clothes could start
stores and job training. Our benevolence dollars could develop economies within the
economy: daycare centers, janitorial help, fix-the-widow’s roof services, and other jobs
that employ the jobless in esteem-building work.

“Your work is your calling,” declared the reformer, Martin Luther. Does not the role of
the church in our day include the enabling of the poor to find their calling?

70

Evil in 3 dimensions
Cosmological Evil—
The “Devil”

Systemic Evil—”The
World”

Personal Evil—
”The Flesh”

• Personal evil—The “Flesh”: Gal. 5:17; 6:8; Rom. 7:19
A. Targeted by Evangelicals/Fundamentalism
B. Through strategies of personal pietism/legalism and individual
conversion/private discipline and relief services
• Systemic evil—The World”: John 12:3; 1 Cor. 1:21; 6:2
A. Targeted by mainline denominations/liberation movements, etc.
B. Through strategies of political activism/advocacy programs/contextual
theology/incarnational identification
• Cosmological evil—The “Devil”: 1 John 3:8; Eph. 6:12
A. Targeted by Pentecostals/Charismatics
B. Through strategies of intercessory prayer/fasting/exorcisms/Jericho marches,
etc.

71

What does this cartoon mean to you?

72

False Loves
Adapted from Em Griffin, The Christian Persuader
From the Power Point Presentations: “Motivations to Love” and also
“CM for Jordan” (session 1)

Seven varieties of people “lovers”
• Nonlovers
• Flirts
• Seducers
• Rapists
• Smother Lovers
• Legalistic Lovers
• True Lovers

Nonlovers
• These “Christians” do not engage others; they remain aloof.
• Their attitude is: “I do my thing and you do your thing. I am not in this world to
live up to your expectations and you are not in this world to live up to mine.”
• “Let people suffer in their context. I should not interfere. It is their business to
straighten out their own problems.”
• The nonlover is, at best, calloused and uncaring.
• The antidote to this is Romans 10:14, 15: “How then can they call on the one
they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they
have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?
And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful
are the feet of those who bring good news!”
Flirts

• These “Christians” do not love the needy person; they are in love with
themselves.
• Their attitude is: “I will make as many conquests as I can and try to be as popular
as I can through my services.”
• Often times they try to run up the statistics of people they have benefited to show
popularity or leverage further attention. They are not interested much in long-
term relationships with the people they help.
• The “flirt” is, at best, “immature.”
• The antidote to this is the example of Paul who backed up his words with
ongoing, loving, and nurturing correspondence.

Seducers
• These “Christians” respond to people for all the wrong reasons, such as power,
success, money, popularity, influence.
• Their attitude is: “I’ll exhibit my influence, example, intelligence, sophistication,
“star appeal” that attracts and panders to the baser desires of the needy.”
• It does not elevate and empower but rather manipulates for personal advantage.

73

• The “seducer” is, at best, “immoral.”
• The antidote to this is found in the words of Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:2: “Rather,
we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we
distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we
commend ourselves to every person’s conscience in the sight of God.”

Rapists

• These “Christians” use acts of force to produce desired results while denying the
needy free choice. The force used can be psychological as well as physical and
often is built on excessive fear or guilt.
• Their attitude is: “We’ll do whatever is necessary to produce desired results or
outcomes. The end justifies the means.”
• The “rapists” is, at best, “criminal.”
• The antidote of this is found in the words of Paul in 2 Corinthians 7:2-4: “Make
room for us in your hearts. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one,
we have exploited no one. I do not say this to condemn you; I have said before
that you have such a place in our hearts that we would live or die with you. I
have great confidence in you; I take great pride in you. I am greatly encouraged;
in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds.”

Smother Lovers
• These “Christians” love their recipients to death. They genuinely care, but offer
only a relationship built exclusively on one-way communication.
• They fail to see or receive the “exchange of gifts.” The “smother lover” does not
allow for mutual growth or critique, or even room to breathe on the part of the
person who is the object of love.
• Their attitude is: “I must meet every need to exhibit the love of God.”
• The “smother lover” is, at best, “blinded” by their own projections of need.
• The antidote of this is found in the passage given in James 3:1-2: “not many of
you should presume to be teachers, my brother, because you know that we who
teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways.”

Legalistic Lovers
• These “Christians” go through the motions of love without any conviction or
commitment.
• They offer, in the words of 1 Corinthians 13:1, a gesture of love that is nothing
more than “sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal.” They are concerned about the
duty of service and tend to focus on spiritual results but fail to look at the total
needs of the individual—food, peace, dignity, or accomplishment.
• Their attitude is: “I’ve discerned the problem and met the need. That should be
sufficient!”
• The “Legalistic lover” is, at best, duty bound, without the motivation of the spirit
of Christ.
• The antidote to this is found in James 2:15, 16: “Suppose a brother or sister is
without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go, I wish you well;

74

keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good
is it?”

True Lovers
• These Christians care more about the welfare of the other persons than about their
own ego needs. He or she respects the rights of the other person and gives people
space and occasion to say, “no!” when it is offered.
• He or she does not humiliate the person, nor resent him or her when he or she
defers.
• We are all called to be “True Lovers” of all people.

75

Tilted Towards Failure

“You’re in the seventh inning, and one team is up twenty to nothing. Then we
find out that the winning team has been cheating all along. And then they
say, “Okay, okay, okay, we’re sorry. Let’s go back out and finish the game.”

Illustration from John Perkins
Referenced in Divided by Faith, by Michael Emerson and Christian Smith. p. 127

**********************************************************

76

Shame vs. Guilt
By Fletcher L. Tink

A problem in the Church: Shame versus Guilt.

Definitions:
• “Guilt” is my failure before God
• “Shame” is what I feel as my failure before others
• Unquestionably, the Church, through its message of salvation for all, is the
greatest “guilt-erasing” institution on earth.
• However, could it be that the Church, at the same time, may be the greatest
“shame-inducing” institution?

Culture of Poverty (COP)
1. Not equal to being poor
2. The poor have upward mobility
3. The poor have mainstream values
4. Those of the “Culture of Poverty” have different values
5. Those values are based on “survival” needs
6. Those in the COP realize that they cannot obtain success through normal means
7. Yet those in the COP have their own coherency of values
8. Indications of those in the COP:
cash transactions transience
high unemployment distrust of institutions
lack of community involvement fractured families
absence of childhood early initiation into sex
non-legal marriages family abandonment
female-centered families present-time oriented
fatalistic sense of inferiority
strong feelings of marginality helplessness
dependence
9. By age 6 or 7, children are acculturated into COP

Some Positives to the culture of poverty:
1. Develop capacity for spontaneity, adventure and sensitivity
2. Enjoy the reality of the moment
3. Suffer less from repression
4. Find multiple outlets for hostility
5. Less frustrated, because of lowered expectations

What to do with Shame:
1. Don't overwhelm with kindness: “smother-love”
2. Don't use kindness to manipulate
3. Don't set up unrealistic expectations
4. Find neutral space and free time to build relationships

77

5. Remember your own past
6. Enhance the positives
7. Allow for exchange of “gifts”
8. Experience “suffering” together
9. Don't be a “servant”, be a “friend” John 15:13-15
(John McKnight: “Why Servanthood is Bad!”)

What was Jesus' connection to the Culture of Poverty?
• no steady job?
• no regular housing?
• no “family” commitments?
• gave “no thought for the morrow”?

78

Blessed are the poor

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