Poverty and the Value of a Cup of Water
I recently read Barbara Ehrenreich’s book Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America. It’s an excellent resource on the nature of poverty in America, and I recommend it. It made me want to run out and save the world … but I was instantly checked, because I don’t have the untold billions of dollars it would take to help all the poverty-stricken people in the world. A feeling of helplessness washed over me.
Fortunately, the words of Jesus recorded in Mathew 10:42 came to mind: “Whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.”
A cup of water. Now that, I can give. That might be a $20.00 bill from my wallet, a regular donation of groceries to the local food pantry, or an offer to provide childcare free of charge to a single mother. I can’t change the world. But I can change the world for a few people.
Too often, because we can’t do everything, we do nothing. Don’t fall into that trap. Remember the value of a cup of water to someone dying of thirst.
© 2009 Paula Marolewski
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