My final paper for Christian Ethics.
I am troubled over the issue of privilege and poverty. As someone who has come from a privileged background, I suffer from the common liberal guilt. I was raised to not get stuck in these situations but to take action and fix it. So I have gone on an academic quest to try to reconcile this situation. I came to seminary to find ways to create the Kingdom of God here on earth, not dissimilar to when Rauschenbusch says, “When our moral actions are consciously related to the Kingdom of God they gain religious quality.”[1]
I
have experienced both ends of the economic spectrum, which gives me unique
perspective and credibility with both groups. However this is also problematic
in that sometimes I forget that I chose my lifestyle(s) and sometimes I make
assumptions that do not necessarily apply to those who were not able to choose
their circumstances. Additionally, born into a life of privilege, I had access
to an education and connections that helped me survive in a way that others do
not have.
There are some that
believe that we should sell our possessions and become homeless ourselves;
Jesus himself calls for us to sell our possessions and follow him (Mk 10:21; Lk
12:33; 18:22; Mt 19:21) but I know that money equates to power and the ability
to be heard within society. Unlike Chuck Collins, the great-grandson of Oscar Mayer and a
Unitarian Universalist who gave away the entirety of his birthright when he was
26 years old, I don’t believe that we have to give up everything in
order to help the situation.[2]
Mainly, I believe in playing fair and want to help others realize that it is
possible to share without loss, that generosity builds abundance. I, like most
Unitarian Universalists, know “that, regardless of our circumstances at birth,
with help and effort most of us are capable of making a positive difference in
our own lives and the life of our times.”[3]
As a Unitarian
Universalist, I belong to a denomination that holds social justice as one of
our highest principles. How far do I go to combat poverty? How do I know I have
done all that I can do? How does my faith call me to act in this situation?