The Many Faces of Poverty

We volunteer for a community kitchen in what many consider a privileged suburb of Sydney. As we chat with guests over dinner, it’s apparent that among diverse financial circumstances, the common denominator is loneliness.

Loneliness is a real deprivation, because we are created for relationship by a God who is a relationship of three in one.

But we don’t need to go to a homeless shelter or soup kitchen to encounter ‘the poor’. In our neighbourhoods and families, in our workplaces and worshipping community, many people grapple with isolation and intense loneliness.

We think of those ensnared by addictions who withdraw under the weight of shame and fear of judgement. Or those who’s mental ill-health position them as misfits in a society that idolises the strong and competent.

We are reminded of those who carry the scars of divorce, abandonment, family estrangement, unresolved conflict, or trauma. Of caregivers isolated at home, and of those enduring unwanted singleness, each of them yearning for companionship.

Common to all these situations are scarce or fractured relationships. It can happen to any of us and the loneliness is particularly acute at holidays like Christmas when families gather to celebrate.

Opening our Hearts and Homes 

Strong marriages, supportive families, and vibrant friendships – these under-appreciated blessings provide mutual joy in good times and empathetic support when needed. Yet, our stable relationships are not private treasures but are gifts for the community.

Drawing from the Parable of the Talents, those of us blessed with relational abundance are called to be relationally generous, to multiply our ‘riches’ for the benefit of others. While we can do this anywhere, there’s something about our homes that seem especially relevant. Home-based hospitality is a unique resource for addressing the varieties of poverty in our society, especially relational poverty.

When someone visits our home, they encounter not just a building, but also the history and values of the people who live there. Photos and artwork, the patterns of wear on furniture, the choice of décor and cuisine all express our personhood. While hospitality in the home has some financial cost, it’s more than dollars that we give – it is also a sharing in our lives. Yet often our homes are more like fortresses – private sanctuaries that we reserve for our own use.

It’s a wonderful thing to donate financially but love for the poor and marginalised calls for something more – the generosity of our time, attention and heart. At the heart of genuine generosity is personal relationship. In allowing people to encounter our real – and messy – lives, we go beyond mere charity to true belonging.

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Republished with thanks to SmartLoving. Originally titled, “Blessed be the (Relationally) Poor“. Image via Pexels.