Category Archives: Poverty

God Help The Outcasts

Poverty, Prayer, YouTube Videos

Esmeralda’s prayer in song from the Disney film The Hunchback of Notre Dame
I don’t know if You can hear me Or if You’re even there I don’t know if You would listen To a gypsy’s prayer Yes, I know I’m just an outcast I shouldn’t speak to you Still I see Your face and wonder Were You once an outcast too? God help the outcasts Hungry from birth Show them the mercy They don’t find on earth The lost and forgotten They look to you still God help the outcasts Or nobody will I ask for weath, i ask for fame I ask for glory to shine on my name I ask for love, i can posess I ask for god and his angels to bless me.. I ask for nothing I can get by But I know so many Less lucky than I Please help my people The poor and downtrod I thought we all were all were The children of god God help the outcasts, Children of God

I AM An Only Child

Poverty

I AM AN ONLY CHILD AND A LONELY ONE AT THAT,
I SIT IN DOORS AND GET REAL BORED,
I HATE IT AND THATS A FACT,
MY MUMMYS ALWAYS BUSY AND HAS NO TIME FOR ME,
SHE’S ALWAYS CLEANING UP OUR HOUSE,
AND COMPLAINS ITS AFTER ME.
I WOULD REALLY LOVE A GARDEN
OR A BIG HOUSE TO RUN AROUND,
BUT INSTEAD WEVE GOT A LITTLE BOX
AND MUMMY CALLS IT HOME.
SOME PEOPLE SAY ITS CRUEL TO TRAP BIRDS IN A CAGE
SOME PEOPLE SAY ITS CRUEL TO LOCK ANIMALS AWAY
WELL IM A HUMAN WITH RIGHTS OR SO THEY SAY?
BUT I AM TRAPPED IN A TINY FLAT
WHERE’S THE JUSTICE IN POLITICS TODAY.
THERES A PLACE WHERE MUMMY TAKES ME,
TWO DAYS A WEEK, WHERE THERE’S LOTS OF TOYS
AND CHILDREN WITH BICCY’S AND A NICE COOL DRINK,
I LIKE THESE PEOPLE HERE, THEY’RE REALLY KIND TO ME.
THEY TREAT ME LIKE A PERSON
AND HAVE LOTS OF TIME FOR ME.
I WISH I COULD LIVE HERE!!
A JAMES STREET PROJECT PARENT….
From my STETS weekend on ministry in the inner city.

Two Differences Between Rich/Poor People

Perseverance, Poverty

One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, “How was the trip?”

“It was great, Dad.”

“Did you see how poor people live?” the father asked.

“Oh yeah,” said the son.

“So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?” asked the father. The son answered: “I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them.”

The boy’s father was speechless.

Then his son added, “Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are.” Isn’t perspective a wonderful thing?

Ten Percent Meets All The Needs

Giving, Money, Poverty, Tithing

A husband and wife team of researchers, the founders of Empty Tomb, Inc., in Champaign, Illinois, have tracked American and American Christian expenditures as well as global needs. John and Sylvia Ronsvalle have estimated that $70-$80 billion a year could meet the most essential human needs around the world. “Projects for clean water and sanitation, prenatal and infant/maternal care, basic education, immunizations, and long-term development efforts are among the activities that could help overcome the poverty conditions that now kill and maim so many children and adults.”

The Ronsvalles go on to write, “That figure of $70-$80 billion may sound like anything but good news. God may be generous, you may agree, but has he been that generous? Consider this: If church members in the United States would increase their giving to 10 percent of their income, there could be an additional $86 billion available for overseas missions.”

Craig L. Blomberg, Preaching the Parables (Baker Academic, 2004) p. 51. Updated statistics from www.emptytomb.com