Living in the Spirit

June 22, 2023

Scripture Reading:

Psalm 69:7-10, (11-15), 16-18

It is zeal for your house that has consumed me;
   the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.
When I humbled my soul with fasting,
   they insulted me for doing so.
When I made sackcloth my clothing,
   I became a byword to them.
I am the subject of gossip for those who sit in the gate,
   and the drunkards make songs about me.

But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord.
   At an acceptable time, O God,
   in the abundance of your steadfast love, answer me.
With your faithful help rescue me from sinking in the mire;
let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters.
| do not let the flood sweep over me,
   or the deep swallow me up,
   or the Pit close its mouth over me. –Psalm 69:9-15

I was in Washington DC, most of this week visiting Oklahoma’s Congressional delegates and attending The Poor People’s Campaign semi-annual Congress to review what we had accomplished and consider our goals for the future. A very fruitful time that wore me out. Being around so many dedicated, wonderful people was a privilege. Still, we were brought back to a stone-cold reality as we listened to reports on the state of poverty in our country. The target of our work was the fact that poverty ranks fourth in the USA as the cause of death after Heart disease, Cancer, and Smoking*. If we could end poverty, we would end many of the ills that haunt us, including reducing the incidence of heart disease, cancer, and smoking. Poverty is not a catchy 30-second sound bite that can stir people to act like a kitten stuck in a manhole that we can all cheer about when it is rescued. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for saving kittens. Poverty, however, is insidious–acting or spreading by imperceptible degrees: harmful, damaging, or destructive in a way that is gradual, hidden, or not easily noticed**. It will take perseverance and fortitude to chip out its negative influence on our world.

Prayer: Lord, help us do our part to erase poverty from our world. Amen.

*https://bradydave.files.wordpress.com/2023/05/jamainternal_brady_2023_ld_230002_1681398079.12692.pdf
**https://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/insidious

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.