Finally Sucking My Teeth: The Struggle is REAL!

I've seen the pictures below posted all over social media lately, and I am furious!

 

                The reality is that these pictures do not represent the truth! There are very few people receiving Food Stamps or other forms of public assistance that really live with their refrigerators over flowing. The reality is that most people are STILL struggling even with food stamps! Working in Human Services, I get to see first hand, that the the struggle is real! So many people have allowed the media and their one shady cousin or homegirl to convince them that the life on public assistance is the easy life....LIES!! People who need assistance are usually degraded, disrespected, and treated less than human just because they want to feed their families, and are unfortunately unable to do that on their own! I know quite a few people who receive food stamps, and it is no where near enough to feed their families! Oh, and no these people aren't irresponsible, promiscuous, bad decision making, lazy women with no goals (contrary to the skewed picture of public assistance recipients)! Instead they are hard-working, tax paying women who still struggle with making ends meet.

             One woman in particular is a Desert Storm Veteran, who was exposed to chemical agents that caused her to have uterine bleeding, hair loss, and various psychological issues, not to mention PTSD! Because of this she was discharged from the military, but denied VA benefits, and unable to work. She applied for Food Stamps to feed her family of three and was on given $74 per month! That's right, three people can eat well with an overflowing refrigerator for only $74 per MONTH! Well, that's what the people who created the meme above would like you to think!

           This idea that if you make the "right" decisions and do the "right" things then life will be OK, is a total farce! That's not the case! There are tons of people in this wonderful country that can barely take care of themselves or their families, that have college degrees, work everyday, and have tried to make the so-called "right choices". Poverty and lack don't care about your choices, they only care about stealing your joy and keeping you bound and begging, while those with LITTLE more than you think that they have arrived and are so far from being where you are, because after all, you're that way because YOU DESERVE IT! If you would have kept your legs closed, worked harder in school, graduated, gotten a better job, and made better career/ relationship choices, you would be living the "good" life. SHAMEFUL! The truth of the matter is that NO ONE deserves to live in poverty, hunger, or lack! NO ONE deserves to struggle everyday just to survive, regardless of what choices they made! NO ONE deserves to be humiliated and shamed when they go to DSS to get assistance, yet most people are! I didn't grow up receiving public assistance, but through working in Human Services for several years, and struggling to make ends meet as a single adult, I definitely have A LOT of compassion for people who need it!

         As a believer, it's important to remember the poor. The Bible tells us that they that give to the poor lend to the Lord. One of the proofs that Jesus was/ is the Messiah was that the poor had the gospel preached to them! It was just as important as blind eyes being opened, and lepers being cleansed!! So in all of our pursuits of God and the things of God, let's be sure not to forget His heart for the poor. God loves everyone, and He has a special love for the poor, let's be the same way.


Below are a few scriptures that relate to the poor/ needy and how they should be treated.

Deuteronomy 15:7- 8

   7“If there is a poor man with you, one of your brothers, in any of your towns in your land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand from your poor brother; 8but you shall freely open your hand to him, and shall generously lend him sufficient for his need in whatever he lacks. 

Proverbs 19:17

One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD, And He will repay him for his good deed.

Leviticus 25:35
"'If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and are unable to support themselves among you, help them as you would a foreigner and stranger, so they can continue to live among you.

1 John 3:17
If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?

Isaiah 61:1

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,

Luke 4:18
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free,

Luke 7:18- 22
  18The disciples of John reported to him about all these things. 19Summoning two of his disciples, John sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?” 20When the men came to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, to ask, ‘Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?’” 21At that very time He cured many people of diseases and afflictions and evil spirits; and He gave sight to many who wereblind. 22And He answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM.


~ Tia