« More Quotes to Consider from ayn Rand’s ‘Atlas Shrugged’ | Home | Did you know you have dogma? »
‘The Poor You Shall Have With You Always’
By The Apostle | August 19, 2007
Recently a verse from the Christian Bible has stuck with me in an odd way. “The poor you will have with you always…” (Matthew 26:11).
I’m not so concerned with the context (it has some alleged connection to the whole Mary Magdalene issue) but in that particular phrase.
It can be taken as a gloomy prophesy from a holy or wise man, but for the sake of our universal base, I’ll assume it’s inspired by wisdom, and thus an gloomy insight. What does this say about humanity as a whole, that some 1600-year-old document states that poverty will never be eradicated and, thus far, it has not been proven wrong? For one, it says we’re a greedy, selfish lot.
I remember hearing the world distribution of wealth being represented as a restaurant with 100 customers. They were seated by levels of wealth, and were served accordingly. The rich at one table, the poor at another, and varying classes seated at tables in between the extremes.
The analogy (which I cannot seem to find now) hits home when the service is described – the wealthiest table, with only a handful of people seated there, is overflowing with food, while the poorest table is overcrowded and served a small or modest portion for all to share.
Is it really a matter of the human condition that we cannot share? That there are those of us in America with roofs over our head, ample food for our families, and even cable TV dare allow ourselves to be labeled “poor” in comparison to the poverty that is experiences elsewhere in the world?
Tags: poor, Mary Magdalene, insight, poverty, distribution of wealth, wealth
Topics: For Consideration | No Comments »
