Thoughts on Poverty, Round Two

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:3


Still, I am still thinking and observing and internally consumed with poverty.

There's this street in Dublin, close to where I work, called Grafton. It's this glitzy, brick-paved road where cars don't go. Being almost December and all, Christmas lights make the place sparkle. Rising up on both sides you'll find clothing stores, Starbucks, kiosks of antique jewelry and the like. It's for tourists and high-rollers.

If you would turn off one of the many side streets stemming from Grafton, you would find beggars every 20 feet or so. Often times these women wrapped in layers of blankets will be holding their little babies on their laps, always with a worn paper cup sitting in front of them.

There's the Louis Vuitton, and around the corner the poorest of Dublin. The way these two are so closely situated is a good picture of what's going on in my mind from day to day. There's the pretty parts of my life, the areas that are nice to look at and comfortable to see. But I know that not far off, there is need. There is a very physical need in others, and there's a deep spiritual need in myself.

I think that verse is true. Blessed are those who realize their spiritual poverty. When I am completely aware of the lack I have inside myself, it leaves me in a very good place. I am a beggar, spiritually speaking. I see this man on the side of the road, wearing whatever clothes he has, no airs and graces. The empty, beaten cup sitting there, waiting to be filled. There's a recognition that it can't be filled by the hands that hold it.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. In that place, that recognition of complete poverty, there is room to be filled by all the goodness, love, grace, joy, peace, and fulfillment beyond understanding that God can pour out. And He does.

So with this in mind, with the reality of my poverty, I will keep looking to the poverty around me and try.