The first time I read the Bible all the way through, I was struck by the number of times God tells His people to care for the poor. We often give other commands much more stress and attention, but they aren’t mentioned nearly as often as our call to help the poor, to love our neighbors as ourselves, to love each other as Christ has loved us.
I’m working on a freelance project that involves interviewing and photographing single mothers who have been living below the poverty line. A philanthropic group in Birmingham is offering education, job training, and childcare so that these women can get the tools they need to land a good job and provide for their families. Some of them have been able to build or buy a home through Habitat for Humanity.
These moms made me even more aware of how blessed I am to have parents who sacrificed so much to pay for my education. Nothing I’ve been able to achieve professionally would have been possible without it. The women I met this week didn’t have that advantage. Through all kinds of circumstances—everything from drug addiction to spousal abuse—they found themselves trying to support their kids on a minimum-wage job. But with just a little help, they’ve been able to turn everything around.
What amazed me is that there was no self-pity in any of them. Instead, their trials have taught them that they can get through anything, and they often attribute their strength to their faith. Something else I noticed was how surprised they were to be singled out for attention. They couldn’t believe, at first, that anyone would want to hear their stories or photograph them.
We have a moral obligation to help feed and clothe people who are struggling, but it doesn’t end there. Our neighbors need us to listen, understand, and encourage. We all need to feel like we matter. And we all do.
[Image by David Vidmar at Freerangestock.com]