As this season stirs our heart to love and assist our poor and less privileged, we are reminded that human problems don’t necessarily equate to character problems.
That person with a flaw on his or her record or a substance abuse issue or depression or a lot of sheer frustration may never have gotten to that point if they had the same opportunities, contacts, safety nets ,etc., that you may have had.
Most likely, they’re expending more energy than imaginable just to stay afloat.
Telling someone to work hard, doesn’t mean they can escape their situation.
There are minimum wage earners who work harder, and longer, than 99 per cent of the population, but they’re still on minimum wage, so can barely cover the rent.
Not everyone is poor because they’re lazy or just didn’t try hard enough. People have worked their entire life, often more than one job at a time, to make ends meet yet are barely making it.
Generosity comes with non judgmental mind-set for our poor and less advantaged, because sometimes it takes eternity to be delivered from the vicious cycle of poverty.
