Empowering destitute people towards transforming communities

7.2Lessons learned from the destitute in Popup

In Popup, almost all of the destitute people finding shelter in the project spoke in terms of some form of religious belief. Their attempts to understand how God is involved in their lives represent their best efforts to discover meaning in what is happening to them and to continue to believe that their lives somehow make sense. Their understanding of God’s involvement in their lives varies and differs greatly. However, it would seem they all share a need for meaning.
Seltzer and Miller (1993:87-98) differentiated the following as ways in which destitute people try to understand and rationalize God’s involvement in their lives, as they try to find meaning in what they experience:

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  Vague religiosity
  
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  God is seen as judge
  
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  God as protector
  
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  God as comforter
  
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  God as justifier.
  

A “close-up” view of these responses reveals much about the personal experiences of the destitute.

7.2.1Vague religiosity

This refers to a belief in God that is maintained without a concomitant belief that God has much to do with specific life events. Such a position is often described in terms of a very private transcendent faith or prayer life that does not seem to impinge on one’s external life.
It almost claims: “God is there, He is at work in life, but He is not concerned with the finer details of my life”. One woman’s response to our question about God’s role in her life offers a good example: “Yeah, I believe in God. He didn’t help me through a lot of things, but I don’t get into all that other kind of religious stuff, all that cult stuff. I pray; I do my own praying.” While religion functions as a supporting factor in her life, she shies away from making any explicit connection.
Another woman said that God is “doing what He can….I don’t think God has anything to do with what I’m going through on this, I don’t know. But I believe in God. I don’t think He’s the one causing it.” When asked specifically whether God has any part at all in the solution of her problems, she responds “no”.
For other people, the connection between faith in God and the current situation is either unreflective or confused. One person says: “I pray every night. I don’t think there’s any relation between my situation and God per se. I do believe that if I didn’t have the faith that I do, I’d probably be a lot worse off.” Another woman denies that there is a connection between God and her problems but then asserts that “everything has a purpose” and that God must have a plan for what is happening to her family.
The few anti-religious comments by the respondents are surprising because they are so rare. They seem to stem most frequently from people who were raised in strict religious families and who have purposefully moved away from religion as adults, in reaction to what happened to them as children. One woman raised as an Old Apostolic member remarks: “I can see how people can get so wrapped up in a religion in a situation like this, because they need somebody to believe in, when they don’t believe in themselves. And it’s like, I’m telling you, I believe in me, and I’ve had a hard time just sticking that out.”

7.2.2God as judge

Those who are destitute voice questions regarding what is commonly known as the problem of theodicy, that arises because of three claims, held together in tension: God is the all-powerful creator of everything that is, and He is an all-good loving and caring force; yet evil and suffering exists in the world this loving God created.
Destitute people struggle to explain the existence of suffering, a suffering they experience first hand. One possible answer is that suffering is deserved. Although few people adopted the view that God was punishing them for their sins, it surfaced often enough to bear examination.
An example of this kind of thinking is that of a middle-aged woman who is a single mother who had recently escaped from an abusive marriage at the time of her interview. In recounting her experience with her partner’s drug use and physical violence, she reveals her belief that she is at fault: “ …couldn’t figure out if it was me, I was saying, maybe I’m not cooking right, or maybe the house isn’t clean enough, I was thinking it was me…. I’m trying to be Miss Perfect….but I came to find out it wasn’t me, it was him.”
It another example, an older man is convinced that he must have done something wrong to earn the suffering he has been undergoing: “I believe that God do nothing without a reason. I must have done something in my lifetime to be in this shape. He is punishing me for something that I have done. He’s not letting me down, he’s showing me what I don’t need to do and what I need to do, and when he does make up in his mind that he’s going to help me, I’m going to come up.”
A married couple adopts the same attitude. The wife comments, “I don’t blame God and I don’t fault God, because I know if I was doing what I should be doing as a religious person, as a mother, as a wife, then I wouldn’t be in this predicament, or like this.” Her husband responds that he feels the same way and that “you’re old enough to know right from wrong and basically that’s what it comes down to. God was right, and what was said was right, and I’m doing wrong, and I know it isn’t right.”

7.2.3God as protector

Another way by which destitute people can find meaning in what is happening to them is to believe that God protects them no matter what may occur. In this way their suffering is given meaning by reaffirming their faith.
One married woman describes herself as “a born again Christian and reports that she prays often and hard about her problems: “We believe God will help us find what we need and if we do our part and keep trying, things will work out.” She believes that God is indeed answering her prayers: her serious health problems are in remission, and their arrival at the shelter has improved their prospects.
Another woman reports that she believes that God is “with me and helping me, and guiding me, because a lot of things that I had set out to do, I never would have come through if he hadn’t been by my side.” This understanding of God as guide is shared by another homeless woman who remarks: “I thank God for everything, every little thing, I’m thanking Jesus for everything, for the shelter, and even my children are saying, ‘Thank you Jesus for everything.’ And it’s been a lot of help. And I know that God will open more doors for me and my family.” Note the ways in which such an attitude allows her to experience faith in the future and to trust that there are ways out of even the darkest rooms.
These attitudes seem to be overly optimistic and maybe even unrealistic, yet this anchor is what many destitute people believe and hold on to.
Sometimes the view that God protects one comes extremely close to denial that real suffering has occurred at all. A strongly committed Christian woman responds pointedly to the suggestion that God might be letting her down by admitting that “I have had that feeling at one time, but I know that he would never let us suffer.” Her time of doubt was related to a physical illness, but she has arrived back at a place of firmer faith: “When I found out that I had this lump in surgery, I thought that he was making me suffer, but I prayed every night, and I think he was making a way for us.”
An elderly man views his present situation as a “mission” and a “quest” that God has placed him on in order to “build up strength within ourselves.” God is “watching over us,” and he attributes each event that might have turned out more badly to God’s presence and protection.
An even more dramatic story of transcendent intervention comes from a woman who was stabbed savagely by a man with whom she was living. She relates (in a somewhat amazed tone) what happened to her during that episode:

I wasn’t very religious at the time, but I heard a voice say, “Ask the man for a hug. “You’re kidding! This man is stabbing on me, and you want me to give him a hug? I didn’t question who was talking...” And I heard another cool calm voice say, “Give the man a hug, ask the man for a hug.” Well, I don’t know any other way out of this situation, so I said, “Will you give me a hug?” And the guy kind of snapped to reality again… And said, “Let go of my arm.” I had hold of his arm with the knife in it. And I heard the voice say, “Trust him”…I said, okay. I let go of his arm. He dropped the knife, gave me a hug, and took me to the hospital. I never asked, “Why me?” because I knew why me… Down the road, I started pondering, “Who was speaking to me?”

People cry out for a caring and protective God at their most extreme moments. A woman tells of how hysterical she became when she was about to be evicted from her apartment: “I said, ‘Oh God, what am I going to do?’ And I prayed and I cried, say, ‘God, help me get through this.’” She believes that praying in this way mattered, for God helped show them the way to this shelter.
God can function as a protector in many subtle ways. For example, a woman we interviewed speaks proudly of her refusal to become a prostitute, linking this decision with her religious identity and faith: “I have a spiritual side of myself, and I believe in God, I believe in Jesus Christ, and also I believe He is my helper. So because of my spiritual background and my belief in God, that’s what brought me through, and not to lower myself to a standard of money.”
She delivers a long sermon-like explanation of her situation, making the following specific theological assertions: (1) if you don’t do what God wants you to do, you “really can’t rely on God protecting you and taking care of you”; (2) the Bible provides the basic guidelines people have to follow; (3) she has experienced both sides of God’s presence and is convinced that if “I choose to be disobedient, I choose to live the way I wanted to and get off from the things I want to get off into, I reap what I sow”; (4) having chosen in that way, “I don’t feel like God is responsible for where I’m at, I feel like I myself is responsible for why I’m in this situation”; but (5) she has not “given up on God,” and she still recognizes that God is really there although she is the one responsible for her own life.
In another explanation of suffering offered by the destitute, the responsibility for it is split, with God acting to protect us only when we take the first step. Such a view can be combined with a judgmental orientation, whereby the individual’s guilt prevents God from helping us until we are ready. These are the views of a middle-aged woman who sees God as continually giving her “a way out,” then waiting for her to take it. “But now that I did, he’s making things look brighter and brighter for me.” She is convinced that God is providing help to her gradually: “He’s not going to just put it at my feet; he’s giving it to me gradually so I can grasp the whole and see exactly what he’s trying to show me.”
It is clear that God is seen as “The Protector” who functions as an anchor and encouragement in many ways in the lives of the destitute. In a way He is conveniently bigger and stronger than our worst problems; hence people can believe He is the protector, in spite of suffering.

7.2.4God as comforter

From the perspective of the destitute, many voice the belief that, even though God may not be able (or even willing) to protect them from suffering and tragedy, faith may be able to comfort them throughout these experiences, if only by reminding them that they are not alone. One of the most common ways in which the destitute try to make sense of their troubles is to hold onto the belief that God remained with them, even when He was not protecting them from terrible trials. For example, one woman says that she believes in God and sees Him as support, placing the emphasis more on God’s presence than on His explicit help: “Times are going to get bad for all of us, and we got to keep the faith, and keep the faith means we have to be strong, don’t give up.”
Comforting can be as simple and gentle as a sense of presence and positive feeling at the end of a difficult day. As one woman expresses it: “Sometimes when I feel so insecure, I pray to God to help me….to believe this and that. And sometimes I’ll go to sleep and I’ll suddenly wake up and I don’t know what it is, and I’ll go, ‘Oh, maybe because I didn’t pray.’ I’ll pray, and I’ll feel better.” For another troubled woman, the key is to remember that although “there will be trials and tribulations,” God has said that “I won’t give you any more than you can stand, so that’s a relief.”
The experience of God’s comfort can also merely involve a sense that He is involved and will act somehow, whether or not it is to protect or save. The difference between focusing on protection and focusing on comfort is revealed in the comments of a woman who says that, “…even down as far as I feel I have gone I still feel that the Lord is taking care of us in here somewhere too. That’s probably why I haven’t totally fallen apart.” She admits that “it’s very easy to ask: “why is God doing this to me?” But it is “a very humbling thing” to recognize that “there are people living here who are much worse off than I am.” God does not protect her from experiencing pain or tragedy, but her awareness of God prevents her from falling apart in the midst of her problems.
A woman who was brought up in a religious family speaks simply about the centrality of prayer and faith: “As long as you believe and have the faith, things will work out.” She recognizes that she cannot make it on her own: “You are going to always have problems, but these problems here is a little bit more difficult than anybody can handle.”
Some destitute people describe God’s comfort being experienced in more dramatic ways. A woman whose son died was unable to forgive her sister for allowing this to happen until she had a powerful religious experience: “I was just laying there one night sleeping, and all my lights went out in my apartment, and there was just like a glow, and there was my son standing there, and he told me, said I must forgive and forget and must make up with my sister, I must go out because he wouldn’t want this, it’s just like a disturbance to him. And I made amends with her, I went and talked.”
Belief in God’s comforting presence can also make sense of suffering by providing a baseline beyond which no harm really matters. A woman with cancer reports in a calm and almost detached tone of voice: “Death to me will be a beautiful day…I’m not afraid to die. I’ve never let that bother me one bit.” She teaches her children to pray and believes that God provides answers that help her deal with life: “You’re walking down the street, and all of a sudden there’s an answer.” She insists that “the good Lord’s going to guide us, and that’s that.” What has happened to her is her responsibility, not God’s, but God has “always been there” for her in the worst times, “and it’s been open for me, I just have to reach out and get it.” The “it” is not so much protection or even guidance, but a presence, a sense of God upholding and comforting her family. There is a deep element of humility in her attitude, evinced by her comment that “He gave his only begotten son for us, so who am I? Who am I to deny God’s presence, and who am I to feel that I don’t deserve that presence?

7.2.5God as justifier

While we may not believe that God protects us from bad experiences or even comforts us in the midst of our suffering, we might still believe that God will somehow cause everything to turn out all right in the end, even if it takes another life to reveal that to us. For example, one person reports that God’s caring means that he will eventually be helped in some way: “I feel like when I’m going to heaven, because I’m not that bad of a... I’m not no, what do you call them people who go to church four times a week and do wrong four times a week? – hypocrite, I’m not a hypocrite.”
Two related cognitive moves are apparent in this statement. He is assured that he will go to heaven, and thus that his suffering is not permanent. But also (and perhaps more significantly), he can believe that what is happening to him is not really his fault because God will not punish him for being as bad as a hypocrite. He has done his best, and that is all God can expect from him.
God may also justify our suffering by redeeming it. One woman repeatedly tells herself that “maybe right now I’m going through all of this, maybe God’s getting me prepared for when I am older where I have everything that I possibly might want.” Her mother used to tell her that when you have problems, you just have to keep going; God is carrying you and all of your troubles.
An even clearer statement of this viewpoint stems from a woman who regularly talks to God and admits to Him that she doesn’t know why she is going through all of this turmoil. But she is convinced that “I’m going through this for something. I don’t know what it is yet, but maybe it’s to make me a better person, or to make me more sensitive to other people.” When her husband asks her why their children are also suffering, her response is, “Hey, it’s going to make them stronger adults.”
A woman who shares this view repeatedly defines her homelessness as “a learning experience” through which God is putting them for the sake of other people: “I’ve never been in this situation before, but once I know we’re going to get out of it and we’re going for it, once we make it we can help other people, we can help somebody else.” When her husband became depressed about his inability to provide for them, she replied that “this is an experience that God wanted us to go through, and this is his way of showing us how to make it through, this is a learning experience.”
Another way in which suffering can be justified is by recognizing that God is ultimately in control of it. A shelter resident struggling to understand what has been happening to her attempts to maintain a balance between utter pessimism and unrealistic optimism. Her solution is to trust that God must be involved in the process somewhere, and therefore she cannot – indeed, she must not – try to control or understand what is happening. “I just keep trying, keep looking, something’s eventually going to turn up….I said, “Well Lord, I tried to do it on my own, I just get failure after failure. I’m going to just put it in your hands. If it’s for me, I know You’ll give it to me. If not, I know it’s not for me.’”
She also believes that part of the purpose of suffering is to move to the point of acknowledging her dependence on God: “Some things, He’ll allow some things to happen before, for you to realize that he is God.” She believes that “everything is done for a purpose” and that God “will turn the devil on you, but he won’t let him destroy your life…The main thing is to have enough faith.”
A mother of two uses the image of testing in relation to God’s ability to redeem human suffering:

When I get mad, sometimes, I say, “AAHHH, why’d you do this to me?” But I feel that God’s there, He’s there. Right now we’re all being tested to see how we can handle things, and it’s just like truth or consequences, you do something and every single day you’re going to make a decision that’s going to affect the rest of your life, I don’t care what it is…….Everything we do is our decision……that’s ours, that’s not God who’s making you do it, that’s us. I feel like, if you get in a jam and you need the help, you can call on him and ask for help.

A single father is committed to his faith that “with Jesus Christ on your side, can you lose?” He attributes his beliefs to his mother, who helped him to see that God is the greatest “ally” which a person can have. When he considers the troubles he and his daughter have experienced, he falls back on his belief that God is trying to remind him of what is truly important and that their suffering therefore is serving God’s higher purpose: “I understand why He’s doing it….It’s bringing me back to reality, remember who you are, where you’re from, what is real and what isn’t real.” Reality for him involves being wrenched out of the everyday material world, and the proof of this perspective is the course his own life has taken: “I’ve had realty, I’ve had a number of cars, I’ve had seven cars at one time, I’ve had rental property, I’ve had bank accounts and things of this nature, and everything I had I worked for. And I lost it all. I’ve lost it all.” The loss of everything is a sign, not that God has deserted him, but rather that God is revealing something new and unexpected to him.