There's nothing wrong with poverty

I've been asking myself the question "Is poverty wrong, evil, unacceptable. Is it just plain bad?"
The obvious answer and the opinion I've held until now is that yes, poverty is an evil thing and I should do everything in my power to get rid of it.

My previous belief was that a "humane death" was good and that long painful deaths, where the animal is afraid and in pain for several minutes, are wrong, evil and unacceptable. What I discovered is that slow painful death, full of fear, is normal. It's not the exception to the rule it is the rule. Now just because something is common doesn't mean it is right, but this is more than common, it is the way of life. It is like saying carnivores are evil. I just can't accept that one of the fundamental workings of the world is evil. It was a foundation shifting understanding. It's not that I now think that slow painful death is good, in fact I avoid it with animals as much as possible, but I stopped thinking it was some kind of despicable evil.

The same is true of poverty. It is as natural as death itself. Can a deer live in poverty? No, it just lives. It's so natural that I don't think people even knew they were living in poverty. Standards change over time and are relative and if something is okay at one point in time, I can't understand how situations change and now it's evil, simply in and of itself. Is it possible that the way we live now will one day be considered horrible and unacceptable? I define a person living in poverty as someone who can not decide what kind of career they want to have, must spend the majority of their time addressing basic needs like getting food, shelter and water, having no option but to drink water that might kill them, no chance of knowing why you're sick or what to do about it, 1/3 of your children dying at a young age and a real chance that you could starve to death. This is true for all animals and I think has been true for humans for most of our existence.

The next question I asked is "If that's not evil, then what is?" My answer: "Rape, torture, greed, violence, allowing someone to starve to death." The difference is that all things that I consider evil are interactions between people. My argument is that evil can not exist outside of people, only within and between. There's nothing evil about someone starving to death. That doesn't mean it isn't a terrible experience for that person or extremely sad. There is something evil about allowing someone to starve to death.

Life and death are equal parts, just like joy and sorrow, pain and happiness.

What does this mean then? How does this understanding change the way I live my life? I don't know yet. It changes my motivations right now though. I no longer think of poverty being an evil that I'm seeking to extinguish.

Why would I want to stop poverty if it's not evil? Would I want to change places with someone living in poverty? No. There is something missing. I believe people should love each other. That means helping each other do the things we want to. If was living in poverty, I would want to change my situation and if someone else was able to help, then I would want them to. So then by "Doing for others what I would want them to do for me" I am helping people that are living in poverty.



What is the opposite of evil? Goodness is far to soft a word, so I will say Holiness. What is holy? Forgiveness, mercy, grace, love, peace, understanding, generosity. What should I do? Do good, be holy, love and serve others.

There is a time for everything and everything under the sun has a place. Hunger, pain, laughter, celebration, rest, work. What I'm finally understanding is that they are all equal and important parts of life. They are life! I have fallen in love with the most beautiful person in the world to me. If she died today it would be tragic, but I think that I would have lived more than if I avoided the pain by not ever meeting her. One day she will die and so will I, but it's all part of something, something bigger.

Ecclesiastes:

 There is a time for everything,
       and a season for every activity under heaven:
 a time to be born and a time to die,
       a time to plant and a time to uproot,
  a time to kill and a time to heal,
       a time to tear down and a time to build,
  a time to weep and a time to laugh,
       a time to mourn and a time to dance,
  a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
       a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
  a time to search and a time to give up,
       a time to keep and a time to throw away,
  a time to tear and a time to mend,
       a time to be silent and a time to speak,
  a time to love and a time to hate,
       a time for war and a time for peace.
 What does the worker gain from his toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on men. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of people; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will revere him.
 Whatever is has already been,
       and what will be has been before;
       and God will call the past to account.
 And I saw something else under the sun:
       In the place of judgment—wickedness was there,
       in the place of justice—wickedness was there.
 I thought in my heart,
       "God will bring to judgment
       both the righteous and the wicked,
       for there will be a time for every activity,
       a time for every deed."
 I also thought, "As for people, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals. Man's fate is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath ; man has no advantage over the animal. Everything is meaningless. All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return. Who knows if the spirit of people rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?"
 So I saw that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?