Markets and Wages (3) Poor

The Instructions for Economic Life put two other restrictions on free markets.

The Poor
Everyone with wealth has an obligation to care for the poor within their neighbourhood. Gleaning is an example of a transaction where the free market price did not apply (Deut 24:19-22). The landowner made grain available to poor person at a zero price. The gleaner had to pay with their labour, but the landowner received no return at all. The market price did not apply to these transactions.

Another example was loans to people in financial difficulty. The neighbour was required to make the loan for zero interest. The market interest rate would usually be well above zero, especially when an allowance for the risk of default was built in to the market rate. This is another situation where the free market was constrained, and a free market price was not legitimate. Charging the market rate of interest would be morally wrong.

Famine
Charging free market prices is not legitimate during a famine.

People curse the one who hoards grain,
but they pray God’s blessing on the one who is willing to sell (Prov 11:26).

Storing grain for tough times in the future is good and prices will always rise when food is scarce. This helps ration out scare supplies. But people who hold back grain and food during a famine just to force the price to excessive levels during a crisis, place themselves under a curse. People with surplus food should be careful about deciding what price they will charge. They must be careful not to just follow the market.

Economic Life (13) Loans to the Poor

The level of help given to the poor depends on the seriousness of the situation. If the situation of the poor person is not too serious, then someone in their neighbourhood should lend them money to enable them to get back on their feet again. Loans to the poor have to critical conditions.

1. A poor person must not be charged interest.

   If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender; charge him no interest (Ex 22:25).

   Do not charge your brother interest, whether on money or food or anything else that may earn interest. You may charge a foreigner interest, but not a brother Israelite, so that the LORD your God may bless you in everything you put your hand to in the land you are entering to possess ( Deut 23:19-20).

   Interest is a killer for people, because if they fail pay to pay it, the interest is added to the principle with penalties. A small loan can turn into a huge debt in no time. Interest changes a loan from a blessing to a curse.
   
   An interest free loan may be enough to get some poor people going again. It gives them a strong incentive to work, so they can repay the loan. The ban on interest prevents their debt from growing unnecessarily, if life continues to be tough.
2. Any loan to poor person that has not been repaid must be cancelled after seven years.

   At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel the loan he has made to his fellow Israelite. He shall not require payment from his fellow Israelite or brother, because the LORD's time for cancelling debts has been proclaimed (Deut 15:1-2).

   The aim of the loan is to help a poor person get back on their feet. If they fail to repay the loan, it must be wiped out after seven years. This means that the loan does not increase the burden being carried by the poor person, if they are unable to get on top of their problems.
   
   The reason for the seven-year limit is that we do not know the future. We should make commitments that we cannot meet. Any commitment beyond seven years is too risky, because we cannot know what our situation will be.

These loans are really a gift that must be repaid, if the person’s situation recovers. This is why Jesus told his followers to make loans without expecting to be repaid.

Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you (Matt 5:42).

Jesus principle of generosity was a restatement of a command in Deuteronomy.

If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward your poor brother. Rather be open-handed and freely lend him whatever he needs. Be careful not to harbour this wicked thought: "The seventh year, the year for cancelling debts, is near," so that you do not show ill will toward your needy brother and give him nothing. He may then appeal to the LORD against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be open-handed toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land (Deut 15:7-11).

If someone gets into financial difficulty, another person in their neighbourhood who is better off should give them a loan to help them through a difficult time. No particular person was responsible for making the loan, but those who were closest to the person in trouble would be expected to come forward. Given that the loan might not be repaid, it would not be surprising if people were reluctant to make a loan to a person in trouble, but this is not acceptable to God. He expects people to be generous. He says that generosity to neighbours is a condition for receiving God’s economic blessing. This makes sense. A community in which everybody is contributing will be stronger than one in which many of the people are struggling with poverty. Making a loan to someone who is poor, knowing that it might not be repaid back is an example of loving our neighbour.

Lenders have power over borrowers. This power can be used to intimidate the weaker person, but it divides the community undermining its strength. The Torah requires a lender to treat a vulnerable person with respect.

When you make a loan of any kind to your neighbour, do not go into his house to get what he is offering as a pledge. Stay outside and let the man to whom you are making the loan bring the pledge out to you (Deut 24:10-13).

The person with power must not enter the poor person’s house to create fear among his family or looking for valuables that could be claimed.

Efforts to help poor people must no harm to them This is why the loans was interest free and cancelled at the end of seven years, if the person was still poor. This is the opposite of the world’s way. Poor people have no security so they have to go to loan sharks, who charge very high interest rates, often up to fifty percent per month. The poor person usually fails to pay the interest, so it is added to the loan. In a very short time, the loan is enormous. The lender seizes all of the property of the poor person to cover the debt and they are left destitute. God’s way is different. Poor people must not be forced deeper into debt. If they cannot repay the loan, they are left no worse off than before they received it.

This full series can be found at Instructions for Economic Life.

Economic Life (12) Duty to the Poor

In every community, some people do well and others do badly. God’s instructions for economic life provide safeguards for the poor.

When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the LORD your God (Lev 19:9-10).

When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow (Deut 24:19-21).

The people in a neighbourhood are to leave some of their crops for the poor to harvest. This is not a hand out, because the poor have to work to get the produce.

This assistance is not just for immediate neighbours. It must be offered to foreigners who have chosen to live in the neighbourhood. Ruth was a Moabite (Moab was an enemy of Israel) yet Boaz allowed her to glean on his fields.

Gleaning only works in agricultural societies, but the principle applies everywhere. God expects his people to find ways to give some of what they have produced to the poor. Giving to relief organisations is not enough. God prefers that we find ways to emulate gleaning by blessing the poor living around us in our neighbourhoods. People in business have an obligation to assist the people in their neighbourhood. Much is expected from those who have been given more. This is what loving your neighbour means.

The command about gleaning does not mean that everyone has a free hand to reap other people’s crops. A duty of care remains.

If you enter your neighbour’s vineyard, you may eat all the grapes you want, but do not put any in your basket. If you enter your neighbour’s grainfield, you may pick kernels with your hands, but you must not put a sickle to their standing grain (Deut 23:24-25).

A hungry person walking past a vineyard can take a few grapes, but they are not to use a container. A person walking through a wheat field can take a few grains in their hands to calm their hunger, but they must not use a sickle to cut the grain. Jesus and his disciples were acting this command when they were challenged by the Pharisees for working on the sabbath.

He was passing through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples began to make their way along while picking the heads of grain. The Pharisees were saying to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath” (Mark 2:23-24)?

The Pharisees were wrong, because the disciples were not harvesting. The command that permitted them to eat grains, explicitly forbade the use of sickles, so it was not harvesting.

Caring for the Poor

Poverty is a central issue for Christians. To be credible in the modern world, we must provide proposals for the cure of poverty. In this article, I will outline several biblical methods for dealing with poverty.

The scriptures do not give responsibility for caring for the poor to rich people of society. Rich people are cautioned against trusting in their wealth. They are warned that their wealth may quickly disappear. They are also warned that they may die before they have a chance to enjoy t heir wealth. However, the Bible is realistic and does not expect the rich to do good to the poor.

Furthermore, Jesus is not in the business of forcing rich people to be generous. The modern approach to poverty is to tax the rich and give their money to the poor. The implicit argument goes like this. Rich people are not as good as the rest of us, so they cannot be trusted to be generous of their own accord. They should be forced to be generous. We should tax the rich more, so the money can be used for the poor.

The problem with this approach is that Jesus never forced people be good. He never forced the rich to be generous. The Bible gives responsibility for the poor to Christians, not the rich. Christians who want to tax the rich to bless the poor are “passing the buck”.

More here.

Secular Capitalism (3)

The New Testament brought an even better solution to the problem of inequality. Acceptance of the gospel of Jesus leads to a great outpouring of giving that can counteract the flow of wealth from the bottom to the top.

Paul explained God’s will.

Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality (2 Cor 8:13).

God does want those who have much to get more and those who little to get less. He prefers the opposite; that everyone should have what they need and no one should have more than they need.

Christians should not hand out money and property willy nilly. Deacons have an important role in ensuring that wealth is not wasted. They will direct capital to those who could use it wisely. They will teach poor people how to live carefully and productively.

The major flaw with secular capitalism is the increasing inequality that it inevitably produces. Free-market capitalism needs to be tempered by Generous Christianity for long-term success.

Coping with Social Collapse (11) - Caring for the Poor

As society falls apart, Christians should ramp up their efforts in caring for the poor and homeless. The best way to deal with evil is to resist it with love.

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Rom 12:21).

Opportunities for helping people in trouble will abound. Rather than fleeing away, Christians should be running to meet the need.

Caring for the Poor (25) - Provide Employment

Sometimes the greatest need of a person who is poor is for well-paid work. Christians can help the poor by becoming employers. Being an employer costs more and is more risky than being an employee. This is a common reason for unemployment. Not enough people are willing to be employers.

The government cannot create jobs. Only employers can create jobs, so the best solution to unemployment is more employers.

Christians can help the poor by becoming employers. They have the wisdom of God and the confidence of faith, so they are well placed to start a business. If they already operate a business, they can look for ways to employ other people. Often the best thing that a Christian can do to help a poor person is to start a business and provide them with an opportunity for employment.

Free Markets (11) - Poverty?

Blaming the market for people being in poverty does not help them much. There are several reasons why a person may have lost their employment and become poor.

1. Their employer might have been hard hearted and enjoyed punishing people by destroying their work opportunities.
2. The employee might have been sinful and cheated their employer.
3. The people who brought their employers output may have found a better supplier, or changed their tastes. They may now be buying something different.
4. A pirate may be preventing the employer from getting their products to the market.

In the first case the employer is responsible for the poverty. In the second case, the employee is responsible. In the third case, no one is morally responsible. In the final example, the pirate is morally responsible.

Finding the real cause for the person losing their employment is more useful than blaming the market. Blaming the market is like blaming the football game for a football injury. If someone has sinned or done evil, they should be exposed and encouraged to repent. Christians with the spirit of wisdom and a prophetic edge should be really effective at exposing these evils. However, if the person is suffering was the result of a risky choice that went wrong, looking for someone to blame will not help. It is more helpful to give them some assistance.

God understood that economic uncertainty would result in some people ending in poverty through no fault of their own. In both the Old and New Testaments, he put in place methods for caring for the poor. The New Testament gives this responsibility to the church. This is what we are called to do. The church is responsible for the poor. If people are suffering on the street, the church is not doing its job.

This full article can be found here.

Caring for the Poor (24) - Justice and Mercy

Mercy does not need to be very discerning. Wherever there is a need, mercy responds immediately, regardless of the cause. Mercy does not wait to work out whether the cause is bad luck, poor stewardship or injustice, but responds to the human need need as soon as it appears.

Mercy is never wasted. If the cause of povery is injustice, mercy is still the best initial response. Dealing with injustice takes time, so the mercy assists the while justice is being established.

Mercy gives without asking too many questions and imposing to many requirements. It is happy for the recipients to give account to God for how they use the gifts they have received.

Mercy will sometimes be ripped off, but that does not matter because our blessing comes from giving, not from the righteousness of those who receive. Jesus was ripped off many times, so we should not be suprised that we experience the same.

Mercy helps people who have been messed up their own lives by poor economic stewardship. Mercy is right at the heart of what Christians are called to be. Mercy must triumph over judgement, so being merciful is more important than identifying bludgers.

On the other hand, Christians should be leaders in identifying and challenging in justice. We have the wisdom of God, so we would be the first to identify injustice. We have the boldness of the Spirit, so we should be shouting the loudest against injustice. If we had a fully developed prophetic ministry in the church, we would be zealous in exposing and challenging injustice.

God is just, so his people should never be blind to injustice. Unfortunately, the church has got rather good at supporting the status quo. Part of the problem is that we are not even certain on what injustice is anymore. Injustice is hard to find if you do not know what you are looking for.

Justice and mercy are not in conflict. They work together. Christians must get better at both.

The complete series can be found here.

Caring for the Poor (23) - Jacob and Laban

Jacob and Laban were both shifty operators, so they are not really good examples to follow, but they do provide an example one person helping another to build up their capital. When Jacob went to live with Laban he owned no capital. Laban captialised Jacob's wages by paying him with breeding ewes. Jacob was able to build up his own flock, while not neglecting Laban’s flock. This was an early win-win situation.

Christian business operators could look for ways to help some of their employees build up their own capital. Shares for salary is one possibility, but it would better to provide employees with capital that would supplement their skills and equip them to start their own businesses.

Businesses people could see themselves as reverse apostles, training up skilled people and sending them out to start new businesses. This is the opposite spirit to the world, which always tries to bring new things back under the control of the centre.

A Bit More on Caring for the Poor (19) - Justice

A key aspect of caring for the poor is assisting them to obtain justice.

Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits (Ex 23:6).

Poverty is often the consequence of illegal activity by powerful people and companies. Poor people often do not have the resources to do battle against those who would deny them justice before the courts. They often give up, when faced by a rich adversary. The justice system often does not help them, because it tends exclude outsiders.

Christians should get involved whenever the legal rights of the poor are being "rolled". We should be the first to assist poor people to obtain justice. Christian lawyers should take up some of these cases and take on the people who using their legal skills to walk over the poor. Other Christians might provide legal support for lawyers who assist the poor. God is on the side of the poor, so Christian lawyers who work for the poor are working with God.

On the other hand, we must not be biased against the poor. Some people who care about the poor want to resolve poverty by taking political action against the rich. This is as wrong as refusing justice the poor.

Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd, and do not show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit. (Ex 23:2,3).

God requires justice to be impartial. His justice does not favour the rich or the poor. True justice always penalises law-breakers and favours their victims.

Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly (Lev 19:15).

Caring for the Poor (18) - Final Post

Poverty is one of the more persistent problems faced in the modern world. Governments have spent billions and billions of dollars on social welfare schemes with only limited succsess. They have donated billions of dollars as foreign aid, but the problem of poverty in the third world has hardly been dented. The problem is that man’s way always fails. God has provided clear wisdom and guidance for dealing with poverty. We will only eliminate poverty from the world, when we do it God’s way.

The full text of this complete series can be found here.

Caring for the Poor (18) - Bonded Service

An employer is also required to treat the bonded employee well. If the employer does physical harm to a bonded employee, he or she must be set free from their debt.

If a man hits a manservant or maidservant in the eye and destroys it, he must let the servant go free to compensate for the eye. And if he knocks out the tooth of a manservant or maidservant, he must let the servant go free to compensate for the tooth (Ex 21:26-27).

When the bonded employee has repaid the amount of the bond, they are to be set free. The employer must be generous to the departing servant.

Supply him liberally from your flock, your threshing floor and your winepress. Give to him as the LORD your God has blessed you. Do not consider it a hardship to set your servant free, because his service to you these six years has been worth twice as much as that of a hired hand. And the LORD your God will bless you in everything you do (Deut 15:13,18).

The employer’s help allow the departing employee to get started in their new life. The employer can be generous, because they will receive God’s blessing for providing help in this way.

This complete series can be found here

Caring for the Poor (17) - Bonded Service

The bonded employment option is only used for really serious poverty. Sometimes a person will have a financial problem that is two serious to be dealt with by an interest free. This is most like to occur where a person has to make restitution for a crime and has no credit record to justify the loan and no family member willing to act as guarantor to a lender.

The poor person will bond themselves to an employer for up to seven years in return for a lump-sum advance in wages.

If a fellow Hebrew, a man or a woman, sells himself to you and serves you six years, in the seventh year you must let him go free (Deut 15:12).

The length of the loan will depend on the amount advanced and the productive capacity of the person receiving the loan. During the time that the person is bonded, they will not be able change employers or move to a different place of residence. The employer would give them enough to pay for food and shelter, but the rest of what they earn would go towards paying back the loan.

The employer making the loan is running quite a risk, because they would not know how useful their employee will be. He may end up advancing more wages than he can recoup within seven years, especially if he is generous. There is also a risk that the bonded employee might abscond.

Caring for the Poor (16) - Modern Gleaning

Gleaning is a third way that Christians can help the poor. This is a biblical principle.

When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. (Deut 24:19-21).

When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God (Lev 19:910)

Land owners were required to leave some of their crop for the poor to glean.
The interesting thing about this approach is that the poor person has to work quite hard to get the grain. Gleaning is harder work than harvesting, because the easiest part of the crop has been already been harvested. This hard work develops good work habits. It also contributes to the self respect of the gleaner.

Developing modern gleaning is a challenge for Christian business owners. They should be looking for ways to give some of there surplus stock or spare capacity to poor people in ways that will help them get ahead. This will require creativity to be effective.

Rural gleaning is not practical for people living in urban cultures. Business people should be looking for opportunities to apply the gleaning principle by helping poor people through their business.

An ISP operator might provide free access to the Internet for job searches. Another business might provide training on how to use machines or equipment during the evening. Businesses could give surplus machinery or computing equipment to poor people starting a business.

Caring for the Poor (15) - More on Poor Loans

Loans give an incentive for the person to get back onto their feet. Most people do not want to be in debt. They will usually work hard to pay back the loan.

The worst effect of government social welfare is the effect that it has on the incentive to work and succeed. People no longer have to work to supply their needs, because the government will provide for them. Those who do work are taxed heavily, to pay the cost of social welfare. They soon get the feeling that it does not pay to work hard and the whole economy is weakened. Poor loans strengthen the economy.

Poor loans are an excellent method for helping people in third world countries. The greatest problem is lack of capital. Local lenders often charge exorbitant interest rates that enslave people for life. Providing people with an interest free loan to start a business if often the best way to help them. They will often be able to repay the loan quite quickly. An effective business will provide financial support for the entire life time. Those who are successful will be able to help families. Interest free loans are often the best way to help the poor.

Caring for the Poor (11) - Qualifications of Deacons

The qualifications for the selection of deacons are listed in 1 Timothy 3:8-13. These are relevant to the nature of their work.

1. A deacon must be a person who does not pursue dishonest gain. Because they are responsible for the money of the Church, deacons must be trustworthy. They must have proved that they can handle money wisely and responsibly.
   
2. A deacon must be able to manage his household. If a man cannot manage his own household, then he will not be able to manage the finances of the Church. The elders should look at the way a person’s household is functioning for evidence that he has the ability to do the work of a deacon. However, there is another reason why household management is important. The deacon also has a teaching role. He does not just give money to the people who are poor. He also teaches them how to manage their households better, so that they can manage on their own in the future without help. A deacon could not do this unless he was skilled in managing his own household. This would mean that monetary help would always be given on a short-term basis.
   
3. A deacon must also have a clear knowledge of the truths of the faith. This is because he also has an evangelistic ministry. The Christian gospel is always directed to the whole person. If a person is hungry, it is no use preaching the gospel to them, without feeding them. On the other hand, feeding a hungry person is no use without doing something about their spiritual needs. Deacons have a total ministry to the poor. As they distribute food and clothing, they will also preach the gospel. This is why they must have a good knowledge of the faith.
   
   Some evangelists will start their ministry as deacons. Philip and Stephen both began their service as a deacon and then went on to a successful ministry as an evangelist.
   
4. People skills are more important than knowledge of finance and administration. The early Church chose deacons who were skilled in working with people.
   
5. Deacons should be full of the Spirit (Acts 6:2-4). They will need the discernment and wisdom that only the Holy Spirit can give. They would have personal contact with those that they are helping, so they could quickly weed out those who were bludging. The money would go to those with genuine needs.

Caring for the Poor (10) - First Deacons

The ministry of the deacon is the important for the care of the poor. In the New Testament, deacons were the social “welfare arm” of the Church. The record of the appointment of the first deacons is in Acts 6. Men like Barnabas, when called to a Christian ministry, had sold their property and "brought the money and laid it at the apostles feet". The twelve used this money to provide for those in need.

When the number of disciples had increased, some of the Grecian Jews complained because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and of wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word (Acts 6:2-4).

This proposal pleased the whole group so they appointed seven men who were full of the Spirit. They presented these men to the apostles who laid hands on them. The result was that the word of God spread, and the number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly.

The deacons were responsible for the offerings of the Church. They used them to provide for the needs of the poor and the sick. In doing this they were fulfilling the parable of the Good Samaritan. When he found a person in trouble, he took action to meet the immediate need. He then took further action to find a permanent solution, taking responsibility for the cost himself. This is a good pattern for the ministry of a deacon.

Caring for the Poor (8) - Visible Witness

Sharing is important because it makes the gospel visible. Jesus promised that if we love each other, people will be drawn to him.

A new commandment I give you: Love one another as I have loved you, so must you love one another. All men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another (John 13:34,35).
I when I am lifted up from the earth,will draw all men to myself (John 12:32).

The people of the world are entitled to look at a Church to see if its members love each other. The problem is that love is not easy to see. Forgiveness and encouragement will often not be visible to those outside the Church.

The best way for Christians to make their love visible is by sharing their possessions. In a world where riches and poverty are normal, a Church with “no needy people” will be a very visible witness to the love of Jesus.

A sharing Church would be a tremendous testimony to people living close by. Christianity is not just a personal relationship with Jesus. His death on the cross also broke down the barrier of sin that divides us from other people. His people must demonstrate their restored relationships. In a world that is hungry for love, the best witness may not be a believer saying “Jesus loves me”, but a group of Christians freely sharing their possessions.

Caring for the Poor (7) - Equality

Most people feel that large variations in income or wealth are wrong. This is confirmed in the Bible. God’s goal is equality.

Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality (2 Cor 8:13,14).

This is the same goal as the socialists, but the method of achieving the goal is different. Socialists use compulsory taxation to transfer income and wealth from the rich to the poor. This makes the rich angry and leaves the poor still poor.

God also wants equality, but his way is by sharing. The theme of the entire chapter is not compulsory redistribution, but generosity and sharing.

For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will. (2 Cor 8:3-5).

Paul’s is a radical vision. He believed that if Christians grabbed hold of this sharing concept, the result would be equality. We are a long way from Paul’s vision, because we have not understood that sharing our wealth is the normal response to Jesus death on the cross. Generous sharing should be normal for Christians.