I've been thinking a lot over the last couple weeks about poverty, and how flippantly we use the term poor, or broke. Bear with me, but it's time for a rant.
It's funny that as college student, we often say that we're too broke to do something, and then turn around and spend money. It's funny that I get a text from one my friend saying "I'm broke" from their iPhone 6. Why do we do this? Are we so caught up in our first world problems that we can't stop and see all the people who would kill to be as "broke" as we are?
As college students, we are not poor. I got to a very expensive private school (granted, mostly on scholarships) I have an iPhone 6, I have a car, I have a computer, but yet I say sometimes that I'm broke. I'll say I'm too broke to register for a charity walk, but turn around and go out to eat that night. Or I'll say I'm too broke to buy dinner, and then order something on Amazon. Why have I, and my generation come to think that living in the upper middle class is broke?
As someone who is pursuing going into the ministry, I have always thought that we need to help the poor. But then I say I am poor. The thing is though, I have never been poor. I have never had to pick up scraps for dinner. I have never not been able to have a place to stay. I have never wondered where money would come from.
There are people who live day to day being poor. People who don't know where food will come from. People who are struggling to pay bills for their family. How can we (and I'm speaking to myself too) think that we are too poor to help them? How can we possibly put ourselves into the same category as people living with real struggle with hunger, sickness, etc.?
Why are we not as willing to help others as I have seen people in poverty help? What have we as upper middle class people done to make ourselves so high and mighty that we can't donate food, or give money to someone literally living on the street? Why do we put ourselves in the category of poor when the only thing we've ever really wanted is the next new piece of technology.
I think that we as a generation need a reality check. You're not poor. You're not broke. There are people out there that you could be helping. And I'm not saying to put yourself into poverty by helping others, but I'm saying that we need to stop making excuses. We could make a difference in peoples lives by eating in instead of eating out. If we are willing to give just a little bit of our time, we could help others.
I'm sick of hearing that people of my class are poor.
Rant over.
