My mom lived during the Great Depression, which lasted from 1929 until the early 1940's, and would often tell us stories about it. She was 11 years old when it began and in her early 20's when it ended. The experience of the Great Depression made my Mom very frugal. I certainly did not appreciate that characteristic about her when I was a boy. She seldom spent money on any luxury or frivolous indulgence except during Christmas. I used to think that she was just a tight wad and was being unfair. Later on, I understood that the pain of having lived through the Great Depression had deeply affected her. It was one of the most difficult and shameful times in our nation. It occurred partly because of the world war of 1914 - 1918. The stock market collapse of 1929 also greatly contributed to the damage. However, it was not because money had suddenly evaporated from our nation. There was just as much money during the Great Depression as before it. The problem was that not much money was circulating. Wealthy people had vacuumed money into their coffers at a rate that had sucked the life out of the economy. During my research of the Great Depression, one statistic really snared my attention. It declared that in 1929 total income of the top 0.1 percent of Americans equaled the entire income of the bottom 42 percent. As wealthy people closed their fists and their wallets, the disparity between the rich and poor became an impenetrable wall. At the same time, a great number of Americans were spending more than they earned and became slaves to credit. The stock market crash set off a chain reaction of factories and businesses shutting down, which suddenly caused millions of people to become jobless. This caused a sudden declension in production and sales of merchandise, which produced more unemployment. In a matter of months, after losing their houses and most everything that they owned, many families were struggling just to survive. At the peak of the Great Depression, more than a quarter of the nation's work force was unemployed.

Millions of people became destitute and were starving during that era. The news that jobs were available in a certain venue sent thousands of families down the road with all their belongings. Often they would arrive to discover all the jobs were taken or that they had been chasing a rumor. As a result, shantytowns sprung up almost overnight. They were packed with stranded families that had no place to go. With no food, no money, no job, and no home, they fought another great burden—hopelessness. The Great Depression did not play favorites. It slammed its brutal fist down on the lost and saved alike. It was untold misery for the people at the bottom of society. As usual, the lower and middle class took the brunt of it all. However, people of color suffered much more than Caucasians. The Great Depression stained their souls with fear and denied them any sense of security during the remainder of their lifetimes.

Looking back at history, during famine, war, plagues, and poverty, the same effect always occurs when they roll in. Nothing can make up for their catastrophic power to break the human spirit and they bring out the best and worst in people. One thing that stood out in my mother's tales was the acts of kindness. These benevolent deeds were not done by rich people, moved by pity for the hoards of starving masses. Instead, it was poor people helping poorer people. The Christianity of these people shined its brightest during this dark period of human tragedy. Other people slammed their doors in the faces of people who begged them for food. The shameful behavior of those people during the Great Depression must have haunted them to their grave and beyond.

The memories of that dark and poignant period of human suffering have all but faded away. Only the children of the Great Depression remain today, and most of them were too young to remember its effects. However, today another economic disaster is testing our nation. I do not believe that we will get close to another Great Depression without another major catastrophe, but it could happen. The terrorist attack of 9-11 and the two subsequent wars, combined with the stock market woes, have exacerbated an already receding economy. History is repeating itself. Factories and businesses are shutting down at an alarming rate. Consumer spending is extremely low. Wealthy people are closing their fists on vast reserves of money that they have reaped from the 80's and 90's economy. Many people are over their heads in debt and millions have lost their jobs. Business and personal bankruptcies are occurring more than any other time since the Great Depression. Families are losing their homes and savings and having to start all over from scratch.

As it was in the Great Depression, the burden of a fractured economy is falling on the backs of the poor and middle class. There are many people suffering today. I urge true Christians to recognize the great need that exists today to help poor people. One of the most satisfactory things one can do is to help someone who is truly in need. It does not matter about their skin color or nationality, poor people have souls and God loves souls. Just as in the Great Depression, charitable institutions are being overwhelmed as a result of the vast level of need. During a bad economy, it is the charities that suffer the most. Our instincts are to close ourselves in—to close our hearts and our hands. If we pass out money to strangers, we may not always know if our money is being used for the purpose that we gave it. I do not give money to street beggars because I do not want to supply their drug and alcohol addictions. They may or may not be homeless, but most of them do not appear to be hungry. However, there are qualified institutions that can insure that our money is actually helping a deserving soul or souls.

Christians also need to show compassion and mercy. Although the government may sustain some people to a degree with food stamps and other aid, there is no government agency that dispenses compassion and encouragement. A family going through financial devastation faces more than the loss of their material possessions. They face the shame and scorn of society, plus a plethora of emotions ranging from a sense of worthlessness to the torment of failure. Some people look at the poor with condescending disgust. They believe that it is the poor persons own fault that he or she is poor. That may or may not be so, but if a person is hungry and facing homelessness, what does it matter. In the Bible, a man named Job lost everything he owned. Even his wife and friends treated him with disdain. In that time, it was believed that God had cursed people who suffered such calamities. God set the record straight at the end of Job's suffering. Jesus said that we would always have to minister to poor people. Today we have more than enough recipients for our compassion and mercy. The question is; do we care enough to help them?