Poverty, an excuse?

Proverbs 30
8Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is^(A) needful for me,
9lest I be^(B) full and^(C) deny you
and say,^(D) "Who is the LORD?"
or lest I be poor and steal
^(E) and profane the name of my God.

Thank you for your prayers, I arrived back safely at my home base.

As I moved in and out of Manila, I have noticed the increase of depressed areas in the midst of high rise apartment buildings, something I am not accustomed. You see when I left more than 20+ years ago you could stand in the middle of the street and look high and would see blue sky . Not anymore. You will either see the smog or a high rise will block your view.

Last time I was here was 1999, but something acute has changed. It used to be that Filipinos have what they called "bayanihan concept", meaning, they will gladly help you without expecting anything in return. It used to be that people would be insulted if you try to pay them for the service they are gladly giving to you. Hmm, not anymore, the reverse is happening, and in a more profound way. They still will help but they expect you to tip them.

I know poverty is the cause of the 'Filipino Diaspora'. This has reaped families apart, a husband or wife goes to the Middle East and leaves his/her partner behind to earn and send money back home, but this has also introduced complications, loneliness and countless sufferings.

Upto what extent does poverty make people do things they know they prefer not to do?

In many ways I can appreciate that people will do things to earn a living so as to survive, but I am also asking, to what extent is poverty used as an excuse to engage in risky, dangerous and even illegal activities?

The Lord does not remove the poor so he can give us a job to do - to care and help them.