The Overlooked

A Tuesday Pause™ Reflection

I was born and raised in Kannapolis, a small town.

Kannapolis today looks and feels nothing like it did 20 years ago. And to some, that’s a good thing. The city is cleaner, more developed, and more appealing to the eye.

But there’s a population of people the developers don’t consider at all—the underprivileged.

While the city is beautiful, inside that same city are homeless individuals and families.

I remember the first time I saw someone pushing a grocery cart filled with all their belongings down the street.

I was appalled.

Not because of them, but because of what it represented.

Sadly, this isn’t limited to Kannapolis. I see it often now—land being purchased by developers, communities being built with homes priced far beyond what the current residents can afford.

And it’s laughed off.

The city looks better.

It’s becoming “wealthier,” they say.

But is it really?

Buildings are going up, yet people are being pushed out. Property value increases, yet humanity seems to decrease.

And I know we like to blame the homeless for their homelessness.

We say they’re lazy.

We say they made poor choices.

We say they didn’t try hard enough.

But what about those who are doing everything they can to maintain in a system that feels rigged against them?

After all, we are only as strong as our weakest link.

And if that’s true, then the condition of our chain—our community—should concern us all.

A chain doesn’t break at its strongest point.

It breaks at its weakest.

As a Christian and as a human being, this broke my heart today.

Pause & Reflect

Who are we becoming in the name of progress? Are we building communities… or just buildings?

And what does it say about us if the most vulnerable among us are the ones we overlook?