Fighting against God

Poverty rates remain very high in the Philippines, despite its recent economic successes. As in other countries, the rich, and the rich alone, have benefited from economic growth. Some of the country’s children have all the food, comfort, education opportunities, recreation and travel they need, while others, the greater number, are hungry, often stunted, live in crowded, violent neighborhoods, and can’t benefit from school because they are often hungry, lethargic and unmotivated.

There are many suggestions on what to do from legislators, business people, and others, but no one thinks to consult the patients. The poor, like people in a doctor’s office, know best what is wrong with them and what they need. We can discover their problems and inmost goals in life if we investigate not only what they say they would like to see happen, but also, and even more closely, the goals for which they are willing to work and sacrifice. Above all, we have to look for poor people who are working in solidarity with their neighbors for their human rights; they can tell us what the poor value and what they want to work for.

This is important because we believe with the Church that God has a preferential love for the poor and therefore has a very special providence for them. The longings of the poor for their human rights are put in their hearts by God, who wants the poor to labor for themselves, and who helps them achieve those rights.

If we don’t do what is in the hearts of the poor, if we oppose the demands of the poor, we may end up “fighting against God.” These were the words of the old and very respected Pharisee Gamaliel when he spoke to the high priest and Sanhedrin as they were about to kill the Apostles for preaching Jesus: “Fellow Israelites,” he warned, “be careful what you are about to do to these men… If their activity is of human origin, it will fail, but if it is from God, you may find yourself fighting against God.” The Sanhedrin let the Apostles go free (Acts 5:25-42).

There are other more secular reasons for consulting the poor. It is a common understanding among all in development work, for example, that people will work for the issues they believe in. Issues introduced from above rarely catch fire. If we don’t do what the poor want, we are missing the drive and intelligence of 25 percent of our people.

Gamaliel might point out that all over the world poor people are becoming aware of their human, God-given rights and organizing into various forms of people’s organizations, in order to press in a democratic and nonviolent manner for these rights to be realized in their own lives. This worldwide storm surge of poor people for freedom, dignity and a more human life is from God, he would say, and those who oppose it are “fighting against God.”

We can also add to Gamaliel’s prophecy this clarification, that a call for respect for the organizing poor is not an endorsement of demagoguery or a claim that the poor can aspire for whatever they want in any way they want. It is rather the belief that God wants all people to live freely, which, as Bishop Fulton J. Sheen has defined freedom, is the ability to do and choose what they should do and choose as human beings. When the poor demand food, a small piece of land, a job that allows a man or woman to support their family, freedom to speak and vote as they please, and to organize and struggle politically, all in a nonviolent way, they are impelled by God’s Holy Spirit. These are goods God intends for His children. It would be a rash government that is prepared to oppose the Holy Spirit.

The government is not forced to take direction from what the people want when it is presented in its raw estate. There is always room for negotiation: The people’s positions must be harmonized with the country’s common good. The government must make sure, however, that the desires of the poor are substantially included in the final agreement.

For example, a beginning urban poor demand might be: “A man or woman who works in the city has a right to live in the city.” This is part of the “Covenant with the Urban Poor” signed by President Aquino in 2010. Such a goal may not be possible because of the very high cost of urban land and construction. The original demand may be negotiated to “a man or woman who lives in the city has a right to live in the city, or near enough to the city, so that they can commute daily at affordable rates.” The heart of what the people want is preserved—namely, jobs, a healthy environment and good basic services. Society’s needs are accommodated.

Gamaliel might even use Matthew’s Gospel to drive home his point: “Then the king shall say to those on his right, come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the World. I was hungry and you gave me food, thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me” (Mt. 25: 31-46). Gamaliel may add: “We resisted government efforts to evict our families and you sympathized with us. We rallied for jobs and you helped us with food and drink. We worked to have our voices heard in the decision-making that deeply concerned us, and you listened to us.”

Denis Murphy works with the Urban Poor Associates [[email protected]].