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If you grow up in a poor community, it can take a while to realize you’re poor because everyone else is, too. Being poor has its disadvantages, but that doesn’t mean you’re disadvantaged. Two of the finest athletes from the state of Arkansas are Marcus and Malik Monk. I visited their hometown, Lepanto, and saw The Woods, a weed-covered lot with a cracked concrete slab basketball court where they played as boys. Marcus went on to play football and basketball at the University of Arkansas before a career in the NFL. Malik starred in basketball at the University of Kentucky before a career in the NBA. Today, the brothers lead a non-profit company that helps to fund small schools with educational and athletic needs. Their momma didn’t allow disadvantages to make her boys disadvantaged!
Born in a time when racial slurs and segregation were norms, weighing 4.5 lb., the 20th of 22 children, Wilma contracted pneumonia, then scarlet fever, then polio. Overcoming a limp, she competed in the 1956 Olympics, winning a bronze medal. Then, in the 1960 Olympics, Wilma Rudolph became the 1st woman to win 3 gold medals in track & field. She was named fastest woman on earth and became a role model for females of all ages and one of my heroes. She once told a reporter, “My doctors said I would never walk again. My mother told me I would. I believed my mother.” Disadvantages? Yes. Disadvantaged? No way!
Dolly Parton was born into poverty and raised in a one-room cabin in rural Tennessee. I can’t add anything you don’t already know about her success in music, movies, TV, theater, writing, Branson and Dollywood. You also know the success story of Oprah Winfrey, born in rural Mississippi. She faced poverty and abuse; today she owns a vast media empire and net worth in excess of $3B. Mention the name Oprah or Dolly to anyone; they won’t need a last name to know who you mean. Disadvantages? You bet. Disadvantaged? Not hardly!
Tyler Perry wrote plays and stories and movie scripts about faith and family. He did some of his best writing in his car because that’s where he lived. He was homeless, jobless, accepting any assistance to have something to eat. With the help of his alter-ego, Madea, Tyler Perry has built a billion-dollar entertainment empire and is still going strong. Disadvantages? For sure. Disadvantaged? I don’t think so!
You can add Helen Keller, Stephen Hawking, Maya Angelou, and many others to the long list of men and women who overcame disadvantages, refusing to be labeled disadvantaged.
One Sunday morning, I saw 3 long-time friends in the audience, all were preachers. As I introduced them, I said with a smile, “These men are all better speakers than I am; they are more intelligent, better educated and have more Bible knowledge. If not for my ability to do a terrific Tarzan yell, I might be intimidated.” Disadvantages? Yep! Disadvantaged? Nope!
Everyone has disadvantages. With God on our side, we don’t have to accept being disadvantaged. And remember, you are greatly loved!
–Jackie Chesnutt, Chaplain and Emotional Support Coach for Myers-Davis (5/11/2026)
