Martin Luther King, Jr. Day will fall on Monday, January 21, this year. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a man who seemed to be ahead of his time. He spoke many words of wisdom as he worked for civil rights.
This quote, "The dispossessed of this nation--the poor, both white and Negro--live in a cruelly unjust society," (Harding, 2005, p. 83). This was true at the time that he said it originally and it is still true today. The only difference would be that it would have to include the Hispanic people in the description. Today's society includes many people who live in poverty or lack. Their heritage and their skin color seems to make no difference.
It is saddening how many people in America are either unemployed or underpaid. Even those who work, sometimes more than one job, get paid minimum wage or a little bit more. This still places them in the poverty level. To take this one step further, many of them receive no benefits of any kind. They live without the various forms of health insurance, they have no sick leave, vacation, or other "perks." This leaves very little opportunity for a person to advance in the world. When a person spends the majority of his or her time just trying to make ends meet, there is little time to enjoy life. Bills are always waiting to get paid, there are groceries to buy, rent or a house payment to make, and the other necessities of life demand attention and money. Even with a budget, it is difficult to get ahead, as life brings about emergencies and extra expenses on a somewhat regular basis.
How disappointing that such a statement as Martin Luther King, Jr. made so many years ago is still applicable today. One would hope that some sort of improvement would have come along by now. Instead, the injustices to the lower middle class and the poor continue on today.
Deuteronomy 15: 7-8 says, "If one of your kinsmen in any community is in need in the land which the Lord, your God, is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor close your hand to him in his need. Instead, you shall open your hand to him and freely lend him enough to meet his need," (The New American Bible).
There are local food pantries and ministries that serve those in need. Some that are located in Belton are Belton Assembly of God, Heart-n-Hand Ministries, and West Central MCAA.
Reference:
Harding, V. (1984). Martin Luther King, Jr.: Dangerous prophet. In Wallis, J. & Hollyday, J. (Eds.), Cloud of witnesses (Revised Edition), (pp. 81-89). Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books.
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