Oftentimes when people are struggling financially it affects them emotionally as well. They will often refer to themselves as being poor, or have that label applied by others. While you may view this as a discussion of semantics, I think there is value in the distinction.

Dictionary.com defines poor as the following:

1. having little or no money, goods, or other means of support
2. Law. dependent upon charity or public support

When viewed in light of this definition, there aren’t really that many people that can consider themselves truly poor. If you’re in debt and are struggling to pay your bills, it doesn’t really make you poor. There are still things that you have to be grateful for, such as a job that allows you to support yourself and all of your possessions even though you may not view them as plentiful.

Broke on the other hand means that you’re “lacking funds”. This is usually more of a temporary situation or something that can more easily be overcome. You may be broke until you get your next paycheck, but that doesn’t mean that you’re necessarily poor.

The reason I’m going into this is because of those among us who actually are “poor”. There are those who are unable to support themselves and are definitely less fortunate than most of the rest of us. Instead of falsely lumping ourselves in this category with them, we ought to take some time to count the many blessings and privledges that we do in fact enjoy. And especially at this time of year, it would be a nice gesture to help someone in need who may “actually” fall into the poor category.

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