Don't Eat the Rich to Feed the Poor

Dr. Phil McGraw once argued that if you took a rich man and a poor man, exchanged their wealth status, within a matter of months the two individuals would be right back where they started.

Oprah Winfrey helped conduct a similar social experiment, but instead of having a rich man and poor man exchange their wealth, she worked with a media team to arrange for a homeless man to find $1,000,000 dollars in a trash bin.

The individual, who enjoyed living in poverty, declaring that he did not have to answer to anyone, had all that he needed, wept when he found the money. Right away, he rented a motel, bought an expensive new truck, then visited family in Northern California. He also got married.

Within a short time, however, he ran out of money, and he ended up deeper in debt than when he had found the money in a trash bin.

When Oprah interviewed the man, he was still blaming others for his problems, unwilling to own his own foolish mistakes and misplaced hopes and dreams.

James Q. Wilson, the celebrated socially conservative social scientists, demonstrated through erudite research that poverty in this country is not a result of a limited number of people becoming wealthy, but rather a lack of education, skills, and illegitimacy among single parents and their children. By dealing with these factors, youth can overcome obstacles to wealth creation in their own lives.

Governor Paul LePage of Maine also argued for better education for youth. The only way that he escaped from an abusive family and certain poverty was through the careful education that he received from adopting parents who took him in when he was younger. An education is vital for anyone who wants to avoid the vapid whirlpool of poverty that traps other people.

More importantly, though, the unbelief and fixed thinking of many people has deprived many of the thrill and will of taking on economic challenges in their lives.

Like the Prodigal Son in Luke 15, impoverished people must "come to themselves", decide  that they deserve to seek something better. It's the bad thinking, the stinking thinking, the wrong set of values, which impoverish people.

Inspire individuals to know who they are, to find the wealth and worth that they can receive or bestow on themselves, and anyone can break free of the cursed cycle of poverty!