Our ministry often refers to the “opposite of poverty.” And you might think that we are referring to wealth. The opposite of poor is obviously rich, right?

Actually, in order to answer the question, we first must be able to understand what poverty really is.

There is spiritual poverty … having no access to the gospel or never hearing about our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Sadly, millions of people around the world do not know that Jesus loves them. So the opposite of spiritual poverty is obviously having access to the gospel. It means knowing who Jesus is and how much He wants a relationship with everyone.

There is educational poverty. For hundreds of millions around the world, education is a luxury they cannot afford.

Think about that statement, “education is a luxury.” And imagine what that means for those who are trying to keep up in a changing world.

Lack of education creates a lack of options, difficulty in finding employment. So the opposite of educational poverty is the opportunity for advancement, new learning and practical training.

There is social poverty. In many parts of the world, there are people groups who are simply “undervalued.” Women have few or no rights, children have no voice, no platform … few or no rights.

So the opposite of social poverty is obviously a world where everyone is valued. Where there is community, or at least opportunity for community, and where governments recognize the value of every citizen.

There is health poverty. It may sound foreign to most of you reading this blog, but there are many, many people around the world who don’t even know the importance of brushing their teeth, or making sure the water they drink is clean.

There are men, women and children throughout our planet who believe that debilitating, crippling pain is just part of life — not knowing that it could be cured or treated, if only given the opportunity.

We’ve hear stories of village mothers who deprive their children of water when the children have diarrhea … believing that diarrhea means the child has has too much water. Not understanding that the very thing a child with diarrhea needs is more fluids.

We teach kids how to care for their bodies. Health poverty also includes those millions of people around the world who have no access to health care. So the opposite of health poverty may be the opportunity to get basic medical/health needs taken care of. It means the ability to learn how to take care of your own body.

There is environmental poverty. I have walked in parts of the world where families live in parched land, with dirt floors, where sewage trenches trickle outside their front doors.

Not every person in the world needs a mansion or even a 2,000 square foot, carpeted home. But every person should have safe shelter. Every person should have access to clean air and clean water. That’s the opposite of environmental poverty.

And, of course, there’s economic poverty. Can you believe there are millions of people around the world who do backbreaking work for 8 to 12 hours per day, for less than $2 pay?

Seriously? How can you feed a family on that kind of money? You can’t.

But the opposite of economic poverty isn’t for each of these people to suddenly become wealthy. The opposite of economic poverty is to have enough. Enough income to feed your family. Enough income to provide shelter for your family. That’s hardly too much to ask.

So, as you partner with us or your church or another ministry organization to fight poverty, it’s good to have a better understanding of what that really means.

We’re not called to make the poor become rich, uber-athletes, Ph.Ds or super-theologians. We’re not called to give them the opportunities to live in paradisaical environments. We’re called to make sure they have enough in each of these categories. So the opposite of poverty isn’t wealth. It’s simply … enough.

LINK UP: Today is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (a.k.a. World Poverty Day). Don’t be silent. Take some time to make some noise. Write a post about extreme poverty and then share it with us by linking up below.

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We see a fish, think ichthys and chuckle that even a random algorithm gets our spiritual inspiration.

Tell us what connection you make from the Wordle word cloud and you’ll be entered to win this Compassion tee shirt. (Yes, we’re fishing for ways to transition to the free tee.)

You can also order the shirt, or see what it looks like all put together, from the Compassion store.

If you don’t like fish (eating it, thinking about it, looking at it, whatever.) ’cause not everyone does, just leave a comment letting us know you visited and you’ll be entered into the drawing.

We’ll announce the randomly selected winner next Monday.

The winner of last week’s photo caption contest is Sherry W. for this rough paraphrase of Mark 10:15.

“I tell you the tooth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

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But I didn’t have to travel to ME, the abbreviation we use when referring to Mexico, to see it. I only had to look at me.

I was in Mexico for the wrong reason. I didn’t go for the children, to become a stronger, more passionate voice for them. To serve them better. To serve you better. I went because I like to travel. I went for me.

There certainly are solid business reasons for me to have gone on the trip, but I didn’t get out of my own way long enough to realize them. I hate that.

How do I redeem the opportunity God gave me and that I squandered?

I dunno. Analyze? Internalize? Theorize?.

Take a look at the poverty wheel. The hub represents absolute poverty – living on less than $2 a day. The rim represents the opposite of poverty – enough. And the spokes represent the different needs of those in poverty.

But what is poverty?

Compassion exists as a Christian child advocacy ministry that releases children from spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty and enables them to become responsible, fulfilled Christian adults.

Poverty is spiritual. Poverty is economic. Poverty is social and physical. It’s not limited to the developing world. And this is nothing new to you. Right?

You know that the emotional disconnection we in the developed world struggle with is a form of poverty, right?

But why is it, with this enlightened consciousness, many of us still struggle with these chains? Why is it that with “enough” opportunity to become responsible, fulfilled Christian adults, most of us don’t act like Jesus and aren’t fulfilled?

Yeah. I know. We’re fallen. But for me, that isn’t acceptable! I despise that answer. It feels like an excuse. I want a better answer. I want to overcome that answer.

Hmm. Where’s God in that last statement?

HEY! Watch out! Fallen soul coming through fast.

I went on a house visit last Tuesday. The child’s family had nice wood furniture. It wasn’t just nice for their circumstances, you would’ve wanted it. The family also had electricity. A television. A DVD player. A refrigerator. A stove.

They aren’t poor like the poor I saw in Kenya. Dirt floors. Tin roofs. A 5’ x 5’ house that sleeps five. Raw sewage outside the door. And I thought, “Do they really need our help?” Just like many sponsors think when they see a child photo for the first time, that child doesn’t “look poor.”

The families I saw in Mexico were indeed poor in the things of this world. But in that moment, I was poor in the things of the Lord. I was full-on fallen. Self-absorbed and judging. Ugh!

But this post isn’t about me inviting you into my confession, and it’s not about me laying a guilt trip on you. Those may be outcomes … but they’re not why I’m writing this.

This post isn’t about saying how “evil” we in the developed world are or anything other than:

Last week, I was in Mexico. On a sponsor tour. And I saw the deepest, darkest poverty of my life. It wasn’t the first time though, and it probably won’t be the last.

It’s about the only message that I could pull out of the poison, Satan laced his flaming arrows in, before shooting them in my heart.

That was my trip to Mexico.

I’m not sure how this post squares with “doing my best to make you feel like you’re in Mexico with me,” because it doesn’t tell you anything about sponsor fun day, when the sponsors on the trip met their children for the first time.

And it doesn’t tell you about our shopping and boat ride experiences, or how easy the customs declaration form was to fill out on the return flight home. But maybe you can get all that from the photos I uploaded to Flickr the other night; the whole trip is there now.

I should have some brief and very simple video for you to watch some time next week too.

¡Dios te bendiga! May God bless you.

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“The opposite of poverty is enough.”

Have you heard us say this before?

Answer first, before reading on.

Wess talks about it in his book, mentions it in The Lie of Poverty video and alluded to it in a blog post.

It can be seen on the poverty wheel, is threaded throughout many other blog posts and can even enhance your body.

But despite all that, my mind still leaps toward wealth when I get the prompt:

The opposite of poverty is …

It’s like speaking another language. I think in wealth — in Western abundance — and translate into poverty.

Is that emotional disconnection or just cultural inculcation? Is it a symptom of something else? A life in transition, perhaps.

Those questions are mostly rhetorical, feel free to address them if you want, but I’m really interested in whether the phrase has any emotional punch for you.

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