“Redistribution comes from community, not before community”

While I don’t agree with all of Shane Claiborne’s analysis of social problems, I do agree with his statement above.

Only 3 ½ months have passed since Rey, Elijah and I stepped off a plane into our new world, but already I am learning that everyday life for Hondurans is an entirely different scenario than what I am used to in the states.

o Many people here wait on income like we do the water (it comes whenever it feels like it). Sometimes it arrives gushing, sometimes not at all…and you learn to conserve when you have it.

o When the world is reckless with the environment, it touches those in developing countries more deeply in food riots, natural disasters, and seasonal change affecting the foundation of our economy.

o Enduring discomfort is less important than family and friends (because life is short) and you will stand for two hours in 100 degree weather to see your pastor get married.

Sometimes I think I am living in solidarity with the people of Honduras…but Rey and I have a consistent income that we can count on. If we overspend on groceries it means we have to eat food that we don’t like, or isn’t very healthy, but we still get to eat. If Elijah is sick and we don’t want to wait hours to see if the pediatrician will arrive to the clinic, I can call and get advice from an excellent nurse in the states.

Living in community with those of a different economic bracket and culture turns a mirror onto yourself to see the privileges into which you were born…moving your heart to want to redistribute those resources more fairly.

I ask my friends the same question Shane Clairborne posed in his book: how many people in the states actually know a person who is truly poor, personally? If not, why don’t we?