Grown Children

Last week featured grown folk behaving badly and adults gone wild. From Serena Williams’ temper tantrum and tirade at the U.S. Open tournament to Kanye West’s disgusting and ill-timed protest of an MTV VMA award winner and from Republican U.S. Representative Joe Wilson's disrespectful outburst during President Barack Obama’s speech at a joint congressional session to the hissyfit thrown by conservative pundits, politicians and parents who jumped up and down to prevent the President’s speech to school children from being shown in class and labeling it as a “scheme to indoctrinate our youth into the president's socialist cult,” the cuttin' up rolled on seemingly out of control.

However, while grown people acting childish - impetulant, irrational, impatient and self-preoccupied – is ugly and sad, the growing presence of children who, because of the current economic crisis are forced to prematurely bear the weight of grown-up pressures is even more shameful, disgusting and disgraceful. It is also a subject that goes almost unnoticed.

Only 20 percent of teens are able to get jobs leaving over 1.5 million unemployed and 12 million young people without food. There are 14.1 million children or one in five, who are poor and living in poverty in the richest nation on earth according to The Economic Policy Institute. In 2009 a quarter of all children in this country will be living in poverty and by 2010 the child poverty rate will be 26.6%. This would represent an increase of 10.4 percentage points from 2000 to 2010. The EPI terms it – truly a lost decade.

Nearly 800,000 homeless youth are in schools attempting the nearly impossible feat of learning while simultaneously sharing in their parents' physical and mental anguish concerning how they will eat, handle illness, buy daily necessities, and pay for utilities, rent or mortgages.

I used to fret over what was termed "the first generation of African American children who grew up outside of the black church." But to also have to grow up in the hopelessness and despair of the 21st century's economic crisis and never experiencing access to the jobs and material resources of previous generations is exponentially worse. It means that the normal stage of innocence and children's future have been stolen by having to shoulder poverty, unemployment, crime, drugs, violence, HIV/AIDS, teenage pregnancy and other effects of inequality and economic disaster.

Growing up too late is a pity, but growing up too soon is a tragedy.

The Dark Side of Christmas

Christmas brings many images to mind including angels, bright stars, shepherds, wise men, and most importantly a baby who was born into poverty. Wisdom recognizes in young life a new start or fresh beginning, but also sees in it a growing power for good. The Wise Men searched to give honor and reverence but Herod, however, viewed this young potential as a threat to the status quo and attempted to get hold of and to destroy it.

During this critical time in America's history, it is imperative that our children overcome the evils that attempt to extinguish their potential and the world's future, especially the evil of poverty and its derivatives. Let us continue to raise our voices loudly that our leaders may give attention to ending poverty in our time.

We can also pray the following prayer by Marian Wright Edelman, Executive Director of the Children's Defense Fund:

God help us to end poverty in our time.
The poverty of having a child with too little to eat and no place to sleep,
no air, sunlight and space to breathe, bask and grow.
The poverty of watching your child suffer and get sicker and sicker and not knowing
what to do or how to get help because you don't have a car or health insurance.

The poverty of working your fingers to the bone every day taking care of someone else's children and neglecting your own, and still not being able to pay your bills.
The poverty of having a job that does not let you afford a stable place to live and being terrified you'll become homeless and lose your children to foster care.

The poverty of losing your job because you cannot find reliable
child care or transportation to work.
The poverty of working all your life caring for others and having to start all over again caring for the grandchildren you love.

The poverty of earning a college degree, having children, opening a child care center, and taking home $300 a week or month if you're lucky.
The poverty of loneliness and isolation and alienation—having no one to call or visit, tell you where to get help, assist you in getting it, or care if you're living or dead.

The poverty of having too much and sharing too little and having the burden of nothing to carry.
The poverty of convenient blindness and deafness and indifference to others,
of emptiness and enslavement to things, drugs, power, violence and fleeting fame.

The poverty of low aim and paltry purpose, weak will and tiny vision, big meetings and small action, loud talk and sullen grudging service.
The poverty of believing in nothing, standing for nothing, sharing nothing,
sacrificing nothing, struggling for nothing.

The poverty of pride and ingratitude for God's gifts of life and children and family and freedom and country and not wanting for others what you want for yourself.
The poverty of greed for more and more and more, ignoring, blaming and exploiting
the needy, and taking from the weak to please the strong.

The poverty of addiction to drugs, to drink, to work, to self, to the status quo and to injustice.
The poverty of fear that keeps you from doing the thing you think is right.
The poverty of despair and cynicism.

God help us end poverty in our time in all its faces and places, young and old, rural, urban, suburban and small town too, and in every color of humans You have made everywhere.
God help us to end poverty in our time in all its guises—inside and out—physical and spiritual, so that all our and Your children may live the lives that you intend.

You Shall Know Them By Their Fruits

Every Sunday morning before and after worship, scores of children trickle into my office to greet and hug me. For a long time, I thought that I possessed some type of "It" factor which made me popular with children and young folk, until an observant and spiritually wise First Lady deflated what is the bane of many preachers - my ego. She said to me "These children are hungry." They had been walking out with goodies on my desk and which I keep around. I did notice that I had to replenish quite frequently.

A growing number of those coming into the church are women. This is no surprise, however the overwhelming number are those who are unmarried, have children, and are living at or below the poverty line. There are disturbing trends in child poverty and extreme child poverty. One in three black children are poor and one in six is in extreme poverty. Poverty increased to reach 3.8 million black children and extreme poverty increased to reach 1.8 million in 2006. At my church, we have instituted several programs which provide food in addition to other program goals. We also provide food and childcare to children whose mothers come to ministry meetings and other church-related functions. None of the food has gone to waste. In addition, our mentoring sessions reveal growing incidences of stress-related illnesses and many other traumatic consequences experienced by women who are trying to navigate poverty.

In the chapter 21 of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus caused a tree that produced marvelous foliage but lacked fruit to wither because it was useless. Likewise any institution, including the church, governmental administration, leader, or organization - regardless of ornamentation - that does not satisfy the hunger of the times (physical or spiritual), is useless and will eventually fade into insignificance. The question that needs to be asked, particularly of our presidential candidates in this perilous economy, is what have you done to satisfy the hunger of children and their mothers?

Please look at the scorecard that reveals the voting records of the presidential candidates in order to see who is working for children and who isn't. Obama has worked for children 85% versus McCain, who is one of the worst advocates in the entire congress.

In addition, we need politicians whose policy priorities include closing the gender gap by supporting increased funding in the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) fund, family planning, child care and head start, nutrition programs, unemployment compensation benefits which because of out-dated eligibility rules disproportionately disqualify women, paid sick leave legislation, and restoration of rights to challenge pay discrimination.

"You shall know them by their fruits."