Love, poverty and my new favorite word: within.

One weekopening at my work at Compassion my co-worker showed us this Documentary called "The Shadows of Virtue". Sometimes I have this thing where in a film or song SO MUCH is being said, that I want to see it several more times to really grasp what they're saying. This is what happened to me while watching this DVD.

Every person formulates or communicates different and this intriges me so much, esspecially looking at WHAT they're saying or questioning or wondering. The true questions are similar to what goes and runs and doubts through my own mind on a regular basis.

To give you an idea:
I quote:
"The Shadows of Virtue is an introspective look at the actions God's love compels us to take in response to the crisis of global poverty.
- What are the complexities and pitfalls of learning how to love across cultural, economic, political, religeous and racial barriers?
- How do we honor and value those in need without objectifying them?
- Can we avoid the temptation to fixate upon a single virtue rather than love itself?
The lessons to be learned here are applicable to all - not just in the context of what is happening in the Third World, but what happens in our communities, our homes and our hearts.
The Shadows of Virtue will illuminate this fundamental call to love others as an end unto itself."
End quote.

This documentary is no longer a documentary on a DVD to me. It's a creative and real way of expessing human desires and struggles in our mind and hearts concerning the bigger 'poverty-questions'.
The more I think about it, the more I start to realize 'poverty' is a VERY big word.
As where I always thought it's those beautiful African half dressed kids on a sandy road with flies around their faces...I now realize it's in what light we decide to see poverty. Poverty is all around. The closest poverty is in my own heart.

I can say - by going through this mind-process for myself in all these questions - I believe God is present. Everywhere and all the time. Here, in our civilized western wealthy world in where I just snap my fingers and it's been given but where at the same time I lack a depth of trust and faith in the uncontrolable - and He's also present in what we so call 'poor, opressed Third World'.

I realize I have to stop thinking I can simply Copy-Paste my thinking unto others. Who ever!
God says He chooses to be present IN the poorer. I start to believe God doesn't tell us this so clearly because he want to give us a guilt-trip or something - I believe God tries to teach us the 'friendly' insight in that we probably 'get' God wrong if we don't bring the two 'worlds' in balance.
Weigh them of: Underdeveloped world but yet a faith that makes me bow down versus Developed world who gained know-how throughout history about structure, planning, management etc.
Poverty probably won't be solved. Not the way my heart desires. Because let's face it. I strive perfection, constantly. Nope, in this world...that hardly excists. What I do have is hope. In this hope I'm gaining faith and trust that God is present and in control. Because believe me! - I am some controlfreak.
Saying I believe is one...trying to act upon it and standing within it is a second one.

Here are now some of the notes:

“You get, all together, different results when you, yourself, the whole of your being, is involved in what your are doing; when you are giving support, when you are visiting these people, when you are counselling them, when you are doing ABCD.
You get different types of results.
It is not an easy thing to describe; when you do something out of love, the results are different than when you do something out of pity or out of duty or out of concern.” (Judith Bukambu)

* There is kindness in Love; but love and kindness are coterminous.
* And when kindness is separated from the other elements of Love, it involves a certain fundamental indifference to it’s object,
* And even something like contempt of it.
- C.S. Lewis -

Love, according to Greg Boyd (USA):
"Love is ascribing worth to another at cross to yourself."
"Christ-like Love is ascribing unsurpassable worth to another at cross to yourself."

Love, according to Judith Bukambu (Tanzania):
What does it mean, to love orphans, widows, people that are infected with HIV-AIDS etc.?
“Giving up oneself willingly and freely but led by Christian Love.”

Love, according to Emmanuel Mbennah (Tanzania):
Love is the reality within me; virtues are the expression of that love.
Virtues may be simple, things that I do but maybe I don’t do them out of love. Maybe I do them for other reasons. I can show acts of compassion even if I don’t love.

“If you divorce any virtue of love, what you get is a behavioural definition of the virtue.
You get something that looks kind or that looks generous or considerate but in fact it is not motivated by love, it’s just external behaviour that’s motivated by something else.”
(Greg Boyd)
Paul (from the Bible) says: “Unless it’s motivated by love – it’s altogether worthless.”

* We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless.
* The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty.
* We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty.
- Mother Teresa -

4 kinds of poverty according to Emmanuel Mbennah (Tanzania):
1. Spiritual poverty
2. Social poverty
3. Physical poverty
4. Economic poverty

“Tell me what you think about ("your") money and I can tell you what you think about God.”
- Billy Graham -

As annoying as I think he puts it because Tony Campolo is too much of an evangelical of some sort of Christian to me that makes me frustrated...if I face it for real...the man has a point... }:-(
Tony Campolo explains how usefull it would be if everyone asked themselves the following questions:
Lord, what is the vision that you have for me?
What dreams do you have for me in life?
What gifts do you want me to use?
How do you desire for me to spend my money, my resources, the car that I own, the house that I live in, the clothes that I wear?
Person: "So, You want me question every dollar that I spend?” Answer is: Yes.

“Pity may represent little more than the impersonal concern which prompts the mailing of a check, but true sympathy is the personal concern which demands the giving of one’s soul.”
- Martin Luther King -

“Relationships based on obligation lack dignity.”
- Wayne Dyer -

Greg Boyd explains the following in a metaphorical kind of way where a child in poverty could say:
“If in fact you are not motivated by ascribing worth to me, but rather you’re motivated because you want to get some guilt off of your chest of something, you may actually be looking down on me. You may even be distaining me. I am a problem that you are trying to solve.
And so in the very act of helping me out, - “yeah, I’m glad you gave me the food” – but in fact you may have contributed to the further de-humanizing me.”
(Greg Boyd)

Christ is the mystical presence in the poor and the oppressed (Matthew 25).
Christ chooses to be within those people.
(Greg Boyd)

“Since all comes from Him, since the very possibility of our loving is his gift to us,
And since our freedom is only a freedom of better or worse response.”
- C.S. Lewis -

In order to be effective in addressing poverty you need 3 things, according to Emmanuel Mbennah (Tanzania):
Our understanding of poverty has to be more complete, more comprehensive and more sound, because how we conceptualize poverty influences the plans and strategies we develop to address it.
See if we are truly and genuinely committed to the poor.
Be sure the political culture / orientation is more people centred.
People often become items – not a priority.

“Every love should produce virtues, but not every virtue is produced by love.”
- Emmanuel Mbennah -