A Christmas prayer to end poverty in our time

rtmadmincd

17 years ago

As 2.1 billion Christians in our world prepare to celebrate the birth of the most famous poor baby in history, I hope they and all people will commit to helping all the poor babies in our rich nation and world find a place in our hearts and at our tables

At a time when the gap between rich and poor in our nation and the world is at its widest ever, an economic downturn driven by the greed of a few has jeopardized the lives and economic security of all of us. I hope we will all raise a mighty voice to reset our nation’s moral and economic compass.

God help us to end poverty in our time:

The poverty of having a child with too little to eat and no place to sleep, no air, sunlight and space to breathe, bask and grow
The poverty of watching your child suffer and get sicker and sicker and not knowing what to do or how to get help because you don’t have a car or health insurance
The poverty of working your fingers to the bone everyday taking care of someone else’s children and neglecting your own, and still not being able to pay your bill
The poverty of having a job that does not let you afford a stable place to live and being terrified you’ll become homeless and lose your children to foster care
The poverty of losing your job because you cannot find reliable child care or transportation to work
The poverty of working all your life caring for others and having to start all over again caring for the grandchildren you love
The poverty of earning a college degree, having children, opening a child care center and taking home $300 a week or month if you’re lucky
The poverty of loneliness and isolation and alienation, having no one to call or visit, tell you where to get help, assist you in getting it or care if you’re living or dead
The poverty of having too much and sharing too little and having the burden of nothing to carry
The poverty of convenient blindness and deafness and indifference to others, of emptiness and enslavement to things, drugs, power, violence and fleeting fame
The poverty of low aim and paltry purpose, weak will and tiny vision, big meetings and small action, loud talk and sullen grudging service
The poverty of believing in nothing, standing for nothing, sharing nothing, sacrificing nothing, struggling for nothing
The poverty of pride and ingratitude for God’s gifts of life and children and family, and freedom and country, and not wanting for others what you want for yourself
The poverty of greed for more and more and more, ignoring, blaming and exploiting the needy, and taking from the weak to please the strong
The poverty of addiction to drugs, to drink, to work, to self, to the status quo and to injustice
The poverty of fear that keeps you from doing the thing you think is right
The poverty of despair and cynicism

God help us end poverty in our time in all its faces and places, young and old, rural, urban, suburban and small town too, and in every color of humans you have made everywhere.

God help us to end poverty in our time in all its guises–inside and out–physical and spiritual, so that all our and your children may live the lives that you intend.

Marian Wright Edelman is president of the Children’s Defense Fund.