Part 344. The way it is.

There was a time when I was recently divorced, penniless, homeless, unemployed and living many miles from my home town. I was sofa-surfing in properties situated in an area of multiple deprivation.  Eventually I secured employment, accommodation and rebuilt my life.  It was a torrid time but I had some advantages: a degree, a driving licence and determination to climb out of the morass I had walked into.

For me poverty and destitution are not concepts. They are a reality I have experienced.  The desperation, despair, fear and depression that comes with poverty is very real. Many in such a situation perceive no way out or end to their misery or misfortune.  It is a life sentence with little prospect of parole.  It is a life in chains created by a society that cares little for them.  Mitigation may be available in the form of foodbanks,  warm areas, soup kitchens and free clothing. But such provision does not resolve the causes of the factors leading to poverty and destitution.  The so-called safety net is not fit for purpose.

For followers of Jesus the imperative must be for systemic change to achieve social justice and indeed bring his kingdom on earth.