They Know They Are Poor
We held the orientation session for the “Will You Drink From This Cup?” program last Tuesday night. What a powerful group of people that was assembled. Learners were passionate about forming friendships with persons on the margins of society, and allowing God to form and shape them in those relationships.
Those of us in the middle class want to be respectful of persons who find themselves on the margins. We think that we shouldn’t refer to “the poor” as “poor,” when they are in our presence, as if that would be insulting to them.
I have had the experience of speaking to middle class groups and having a person who finds themselves in poverty with me. I will refer to our work with “the poor” in front of them. I ask them afterwards if that is respectful, and they always say, “Yes, that is what I am. I am poor.”
At this orientation session, learners were concerned about this subject. As one of our faculty members said, “They already know they are poor.” Then we all laughed at our quirky little insecurities.
