Ten Commandments of the Pro-Poor

As I’ve said in my previous blog post, I now advocate to live a simple life, full of humility and charity.

I recently attended a talk by Joguie Guillermo which challenged the way I think about living a “simple” life. He said that it is not money that makes life complex, it is the lack of it. 

Say for example, you are going to the supermarket with a very tight budget. You go through the aisles, check the prices, compare the price of one product to another, and then finally drop the cheaper brand to your cart. Once you ticked everything from your list, you find yourself materializing before the cashier computing for your cart’s worth, removing items when the cart’s worth exceed the budget. Such a hassle from just a simple errand! 

Granting you have the money, you now have a more flexible budget plan. You can afford go to the supermarket without even devising a list of things to buy, maze through aisles, put everything you want in the cart without comparing the prices, and then pay your dues at the cashier, saving time and effort. Isn’t that more simple?

With my advocacy in mind, I won’t be a hypocrite and hypnotize you into believing that money isn’t everything, that there is more to money and material possessions, and my personal favorite, that you can’t bring your riches to heaven. Saying that would be absurd. Rather, what I’m trying to say about living a simple life is living without the unnecessary extravagance. 

I am reminded by Phil Sajor of one of my Theology professor’s quotable quotes, “Live simply so that others may simply live”. There is so much wisdom one could learn from the Social Teachings of the Church course of Sr. Celia Vinoya,OP. I was not very fond of the readings mostly composed of social encyclicals of the Church during the course, but giving it a second look gives you that more profound understanding of others and the society. 

Well, the whole advocacy thing might be vague to you so let’s get it down to the specifics on how I can live a less extravagant life:

Ten Commandments of the Pro-Poor

1. Thou shall not discriminate the poor and the poor looking.
2. Thou shall buy what you need.
3. Thou shall not buy unnecessary things impulsively.
4. Thou shall not purchase overpriced coffee from overrated coffee shops no matter how tempting it may be.
5. Thou shall not eat, as much as possible, from fast food. It’s expensive, makes you fat and shows you are insensitive to those who can’t eat a morsel.
6. Thou shall give time and effort by joining medical missions and community works by being a volunteer.
7. Thou shall make a collective motion against anti-poor policies, commercials, etc.
8. Thou shall treat beggars humanely. Do not avoid, disrespect, or ignore the them. Say “sorry” or “patawad” when one is unable to give.
9. Thou shall not give monetary alms to the poor who are still capable of working. It’s illegal and promotes dependence.
10. Though shall give gifts to the needy. Feed the hungry, cloth the sick, etc.

Photo from here