Australia’s Largest Christian News Site

Poverty is everywhere, even in the seemingly prosperous Western world – but it comes in different shapes and sizes. What happens to a culture where God is taken out of the picture?

There is a growing trend among young people in the West to parade around with labels and claims of oppression, inequality and injustice, whether in marches, on college campuses or on social media. They use the endless inventory of “isms” – racism, sexism, transgenderism, ableism, and so on – to drive their virtue-signalling activism and victim mentality.

Yet, they are generally the same people who live an urban-suburban lifestyle, with access to an abundance of food and water, shelter, education, and social connections, among others. Despite the increasingly authoritarian efforts of the left to suppress the freedoms of those who disagree with them, such as the freedom of speech and religion, they are still fundamental rights in Western societies.

Has the West run out of things to complain about, to the point where the right to murder one’s own child in the womb is believed to be a basic human right? Where young people are being taught in the classroom that all white people are racist?

Around the world, more than 700 million people live on less than $2 a day, while some women in the Middle East are barred from attending university and even from going to the park.

Of course, poverty still exists in countries like the United States and Australia, where it is often intertwined with addiction and crime from a growing epidemic of drug and alcohol abuse.

But what is the root problem plaguing the Western world? If it is not primarily economic or social poverty, what is it?

True Poverty

In an intellectual conversation with conservative activist Christopher Rufo, Dr Jordan B. Peterson posits that, while people often equate it with a lack of money, the meaning of poverty stretches beyond economic boundaries (from 21:59 in the video):

Peterson states that “true poverty is a multi-dimensional problem”. He explains that true poverty encompasses a lack of vision, no awareness of one’s role in society and the meaning of one’s life, which in turn leads to impulsive pleasure seeking that is further encouraged by access to money.

Let’s unpack this.

Fundamentally, true poverty is spiritual poverty – a lack of faith and belief in God. A man could have all the material possessions in the world, but ignorance or indifference to a higher power will cause him to look for meaning elsewhere; to look for a god elsewhere.

He will worship himself, or the belief structures that popular ideologies like nihilism and libertarianism offer. And when he cannot find what he is looking for, he will resort to substances, crime, sexual activities, or whatever coping mechanism there is. He will become angry with the world and lose a sense of self.

Most of the West enjoys an abundance of the basic necessities of life, so why are many young people today unhappy, unsatisfied and directionless? While there could be a myriad of reasons for this – such as trauma from loss, relationships, or oftentimes a broken family background – the underlying cause is a heart strayed from God. A heart strayed from truth, righteousness, and the peace and purpose that faith provides.

Quest For Meaning

A 2014 Psychological Science study found that, while people from wealthy countries were generally happier than those from poor countries, poorer people reported having more meaningful lives – especially those from religious communities. Meaning was not measured by happiness – which correlated with immediate fulfilment – but by community, family, and ultimately, faith.

This is because faith breathes meaning into life, no matter your economic situation. Contrary to popular belief, faith is far beyond a rigid structure or a set of rules to follow to avoid going to hell.

From His gospel precepts on loving your enemy to the Church’s staunch stance on the natural family, Christ’s teachings are often hard pills to swallow. Yet, they ultimately encourage us to live life to the fullest – not in the way we want to, but in the way we ought to.

Faith does not restrict; it liberates.

The Christian lifestyle also delays instant gratification for long-term happiness and fulfilment. And overcoming impulsive pleasure-seeking, or doing “whatever feels right in the moment”, is half the battle. Seeking and finding God in the noise of the world, against all odds, is the other half.

A clearer vision of life and the self then comes into view. Life becomes worth living. The pilgrimage towards meaning begins, and mental poverty turns into purpose. The soul is nourished, and spiritual poverty turns into spiritual prosperity.

“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.” (Psalm 63:1-4)

So, what happens to a godless culture, especially in the wealthy nations of the Western world? Perhaps it is not poverty from the lack of food, but poverty from the lack of spiritual food. The root problem that is pervading and slowly crumbling the West is the poverty of the soul. Mother Teresa in A Simple Path puts it so well:

“The poverty in the West is a different kind of poverty — it is not only a poverty of loneliness but also of spirituality. There’s a hunger for love, as there is a hunger for God.”

In times of poverty, in whatever form it takes, let us turn to God. Let us turn to the constant of faith, not to volatile human feelings or social movements. Let us replenish our souls and march fiercely through the quest towards Heaven.

___

Photo by Tijs van Leur on Unsplash.