Caring for the Poor

The New Testament teaches Christians to care for the poor. People who understand this requirement have been drawn to support governments that introduce welfare programs. This approach to poverty has been a huge mistake.

Government welfare programs have to be operated by a bureaucracy. Bureaucracies have to be rule-driven organisations to ensure that funding is controlled. The bureaucrats who administer welfare programs have to apply the rules in an even-handed way. These rules leave no room for love, and very little scope for flexibility to deal with individual circumstances.

When it is your job to care for the poor, it is almost impossible not to become hard and harsh with people who have continually messed up. What love the bureaucrat had when they started tends to get overwhelmed and numbed by the hardship and suffering they deal with.

Without love, welfare is demeaning. Recipients lose their faith and self-respect. The consequence is that many recipients of government welfare get locked into poverty.

Handing responsibility for caring for the poor to the state has been a huge mistake by the Church. The justification was that the problem was too big for the church, so they wanted to marshal the greater resources of the state to the task. This is an illusion, because the state has made the problem worse, so even more resources are needed.

Christians should be more effective in dealing with poor than governments. Love is essential for the task, and we should be experts on love. The Holy Spirit gives Christians the strength to keep on loving in the face of persistent hardship and despair.

Escape from poverty often needs a change of heart and mind. The Holy Spirit is an expert on changes of heart, so people who can bring him to the task have a huge advantage.

Taking care of the problem of poverty would be a huge responsibility, but a great opportunity for the gospel. It would need massive resources, but Christians own a huge amount of unrighteous wealth that could be used for this challenge.

This article is not a justification for voting against welfare programs. You can’t replace something with nothing. Taking state welfare away before we have established something better would be cruel.

Rather if Christians got serous about caring for their neighbours who are poor (1 John 3:16-17) and once that was done, moving into poor neighbourhoods where there are no Christians, poverty would gradually disappear.

The need for state welfare programs would shrink and they would gradually disappear. Welfare budgets could be cut, because they would not be needed.

Economic Life (16) Extreme Poverty

If a person got into poverty, they would find someone to employ them for a season, so they could support their family. If they got even deeper into debt, they might need to bond themselves to a more prosperous person in return for that person paying off all their debts.

If any of your people—Hebrew men or women—sell themselves to you and serve you six years, in the seventh year you must let them go free. And when you release them, do not send them away empty-handed. Supply them liberally from your flock, your threshing floor and your winepress. Give to them as the LORD your God has blessed you. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you. That is why I give you this command today (Deut 15:12-15).

If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free, without paying anything (Ex 21:2).

The prosperous person must settle all the debts. In return for that, they poor person would agree to work for them for seven years. They would hope to learn from working with someone who has managed better than they have. The bond is limited to seven years. God’s people must not give up their freedom permanently.

When the person is set free, they person who paid the debts must be generous towards the person they have helped. They should send the person away with some working capital, so they can get going again.

Do not consider it a hardship to set your servant free, because their 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 15:19).

People who are perpetual mis-managers may decide they would be better to stay as a bondservant.

But if your servant says to you, “I do not want to leave you,” because he loves you and your family and is well off with you, then take an awl and push it through his earlobe into the door, and he will become your servant for life. Do the same for your female servant (Deut 15:16-17).

Some people who are hopeless incompetent may need someone to manage for them. They could choose someone who will take care of them and their family and bond themselves to them.

This bond service is voluntary. It is for the benefit of the bondservant, not for the person holding the bond. The servant freely decides to be a servant. Since they voluntarily became a servant bondservant for live, they are free to leave at any time, provided someone pays the debt for them

The bondservant concept sounds odd in modern ears, but it is no more a loss of freedom than taking on a thirty-year mortgage.
Chattel slavery was not permitted.

If a slave has taken refuge with you, do not hand them over to their master. Let them live among you wherever they like and in whatever town they choose. Do not oppress them (Deut 23:15-16).

If a slave escaped from a different jurisdiction and sought shelter in a community, they must not be returned to their owner. They are to be set free to live in the community. God’s people are called to set people free, not to enslave them.
They did not have the ability or authority to use force to set slaves free. That was the American mistake, which enslaved more people.

Poverty and Politics

The left and the right positions on poverty are both a cop-out, to avoid dealing with the deeper issue.

The left assumes that a bit more tax on the rich, a couple of laws and a few extra programs can solved the problem. That is totally unrealistic. Dealing with poverty requires personal commitment and a huge amount of sacrifice. Governments programmes just do not have the capability to get the job done, no matter how much they tax the rich.

The right wants the government to keep out, but they forget that the government has got in, because Christian are not doing the job that they are called to do. Create a community where wealth flows down to those at the bottom who are struggling, and the government would not need to be there.

I find it odd that Christians keep looking over the fence for a solution to poverty, when the grass is greener on our side.

The free market is great for producing goods and services effectively through the division of labour and economies of scale. This benefits everyone by making the things that they need cheaper to buy. However, those who produce most effectively are rewarded with growing incomes, while other people are left at the bottom of the heap, so free markets cannot eliminate poverty.

Government programs to deal with poverty have been expanded now for more than sixty years, but the problem is getting worse, because the solution is personal. Government bureaucrats simply do not have the wisdom, love, discernment, compassion and commitment that is required.

The gospel is the best solution to poverty. Mary understood this (Luke 2:53) and the early church seemed to see the results (Acts 4:34). Christians should stop arguing about whether government or market is best for dealing with poverty and get on with the good news.

I have described some of the ways that the gospel works for the poor at caring for the poor.

Jesus on Money (19) - Poverty and Work

When dealing with unrighteous wealth, there are several traps that must be avoided. The person who gives away all their unrighteous wealth might end up in poverty. The Christians around them will have to ensure that they have financial support. This will be quite humbling for the new Christian. They will go from a position of power and independence to a place of dependence on others. This will be had to deal with, but will be good for their character.

In the past, they have will have gained wealth by manipulation and control. They need to be taught how to earn their living by honest work.

He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need (Eph 4:28).

Making this change will be very difficult, so the new Christian will need strong support from Christian elders and friends.

Whoever is faithful with very little is faithful with much, and whoever is unrighteous with very little will also be unrighteous with much. (Luke 16:10)

If the person has been unrighteous with much, they will need to learn to be faithful with a little for a while.

Free Markets (23) - Unequal Outcomes

The exchange of goods and services in a free market will often produce unequal outcomes. People will generally reject transactions that make them worse off, but a few will make mistakes that push them into poverty.

Some mistakes will be made when naïve or innocent people are “ripped off” by bad people (they should be forced to make restitution), but most poverty is not the result of evil actions, but flows from the vagaries of life. Trade in free markets can push people into poverty without any immoral action being taken.

• A bad decision in a free market can produce a huge loss.
• An unwise offer will sometimes be accepted.
• A desperate seller may be forced to accept a very low price.
• Some people are foolish buyers.
• Others are foolish sellers.
• Some people are not as clever as others.
• People with rare skills can achieve higher pay than others.
• People who do not use their skills and capital may find themselves in poverty.

  Lazy hands make a man poor (Prov 10:4).

• The sick and handicapped will struggle to prosper by buying and selling.
• Producing goods that no-one wants will leads to losses.
• People with surplus goods can improve their situation.
• Market only benefits those who participate.
• People in desperate circumstances may have not surplus to sell.
• People with nothing to sell gain nothing from free markets.
• Many are harmed when the people they depend make mistakes.
• Employees are harmed by the mistakes of their employers.
• Economic power is really the power to harm other people.
• People caught up in a war can lose everything they produced.
• Droughts, tornadoes and floods push innocent people into poverty.

Markets provide opportunities, but some people will be unable to take them up. Some people will benefit more than others. Transactions in a free market can produce inequality, even when every participant is honest and good.

Do we Need the Government? (6) - Protection from Poverty

Some people believer that we need the government to care for us if we fall into poverty. Actually various options are available for people who are afraid of poverty.

• Insurance allows people to share the risk of irregular invents
• Insurance allows people choose the level of risks that they want protection from.
• Families should provide for those in poverty.
• Deacons in the church will often help those who are poor.
• Belonging to a caring community is a good option.
• Someone might feel sorry for you.

Government have put enormous resource into caring for the poor. Their efforts have tended to increase the amount of poverty in the world, so I doubt that they are a viable solution. They also take a large share of income to do something fairly ineffective, so I am not certain that this is a good reason for government.

Corporate Generosity

A common question is whether companies or corporations should make donations to charity. Do companies have a responsibility to the poor. We should remember that the mangers and directors of a company are watching over capital/assets that have been entrusted to them by their shareholders. They are stewards acting on behalf of their owners. They can only take actions for which they have been given approval by the shareholders. The articles of the company put boundaries on the range of actions that can be taken by managers and directors.

Managers cannot take the assets of the company for themselves, as that would be stealing. In the same way, unless the articles of the company provide for donations to charity, managers would be stealing if they gave the property of the company away to the poor.

Most Christians will generally do their own giving. Then they can pray and give as God leads. This will generally be more effective than trusting a company to give money away on their behalf. On the other hand, there may be some large projects that can only be funded by a large company. However this should only be done if it is provided for by the company’s articles of incorporation.

Caring for the Poor (22) - Sharing Capital

An important part of caring for the poor is to get capital goods into the hands of the poor. This will make their efforts more productive, which should increase their income and wealth. A more equal distribution of capital will be an important step toward the elimination of poverty. The prophet Isaiah looked forward to a time when every person would own their own capital.

Every man will sit under his own vine and under his own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for the LORD Almighty has spoken (Mic 4:4).

If every person owns some capital they will be able to provide for themselves in most circumstances.

The market will not provide equality of capital, because it tends to reward the most successful entrepreneurs by increasing their capital. Through the normal working of the market, some people will accumulate capital as they make good decisions and others will lose their capital either through mistakes or adverse circumstances.

The land laws of the Old Testament were designed to maintain equality of capital in a time when land was the main form of capital. If someone became poor and sold their land, it had to be restored to them at the time of the Jubilee. This ensured that the distribution of land remained roughly equal.

When Christians get serious about dealing with poverty, we will have to find ways to share capital. Interest free loans are one way of transferring capital, but we will need to find others others that work in the modern world.

The complete series can be found here.

Caring for the Poor (21) - Justice and Mercy

Mercy should always be much busier than justice. Justice has nothing to do in many situations, because there is no injustice. Mercy should be busy all the time, because there will always be people who are worse off than others and in need of assistance.

I am concerned about an increasing trend to use the word justice, when mercy is really required. Some Christians see all inequality as a cause for justice. They equate justice with equality of income or equality of wealth. Every inequality requires justice, whether Gods law has been broken or not. This confusion is dangerous, because it turns mercy into a legal obligation.

Confusing justice and mercy causes every inequality to be seen as an injustice that someone has a legal obligation to correct. Often that obligation is placed upon the civil government, so mercy-converted-to-justice becomes the basis for state sponsored redistribution.

Justice and mercy are both concerned with equality, but in different way. Justice requires equality before the law, so that everyone receives justice, whether they are rich or poor. Justice should provide equal justice to everyone, but it will not give everyone equal incomes or equal wealth.

Mercy is much less concerned with causes and is more concerned with equality of outcomes. Mercy works through voluntary giving and sharing. As mercy becomes more effective, incomes and wealth will become more equal.

Caring for the Poor (20) - Justice and Mercy

Justice has become a common catch cry for Christians in the modern world, but the word is used in a variety of different ways. I am concerned that mercy and justice are being confused. Mercy is helping a person in trouble, regardless of what caused their problems. Mercy is the outworking of compassion, so it should be normal for Christians.

Justice is different from mercy, in that it has a judicial context. Working for justice means correcting injustices. An injustice occurs when a person or group of people are harmed as consequence of someone breaking one of God’s laws. For example, if someone steals my car an injustice has be done. The biblical solution to that injustice is for the thief to make restitution to their victim. Restitution restores justice.

In the same way, if multinational company takes native lands without payment or permission, a theft has occurred. This crime breaks God’s law, so it is an injustice. Justice can only be achieved by the restitution of the land or equivalent financial compensation. Christians should be calling for justice in every situation where an injustice has occurred.

However, there are many other situations where a person or group of people are in dire circumstances through the circumstances of life. They may have made some mistakes or experienced an accident, but no injustice has occurred. These situations require compassion and mercy, not justice. There is no injustice to put right, because none of God’s laws has been broken. However, there is plenty of room for mercy, because Christians should always be assisting those in need.

Injustice requres judicial action to restore justice. Harmful situations require mercy. We must understand the difference. Christians should be zealous for justice and mercy.

The complete series can be found here.

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 (1) - Key Issue

Poverty is a central issue for Christians. To be credible, we must provide proposals for the cure of poverty.

Many Christians advocate a reduction in taxes and welfare benefits. These things will eventually happen, but we should not even think about these policies, until we have alternative solutions in place and working. Compassion demands nothing less.

In this series of posts, I will outline several biblical methods for dealing with poverty.

Limits of Power (2)

The civil government does not have to the power to eliminate poverty. In the last fifty years, western governments have taken billions of dollars of dollars from the rich and given it to the poor. However, poverty is getting worse and not better, because government programs tend to lock people into poverty.

Poverty will only be resolved by people who care. A good example is Professor Muhammad Yunus, who used his own money to start the Grameen foundation in Bangladesh.

The Grameen Bank makes small loans, usually less than $200, to individuals, usually women, to establish or expand a small, self-sustaining business. For example, a woman may borrow $50 to buy chickens so she can sell eggs. As the chickens multiply, she will have
more eggs to sell. Soon she can sell the chicks. Each expansion pulls her further from the devastation of poverty.

As loans are repaid, usually in six months to a year, they are re-loaned. This continual reinvestment multiplies the impact of each dollar loaned.

The village phone program makes cell phones available to people who would otherwise have to travel five or six miles from their homes. This can mean leaving work and losing out on desperately needed income.

The success of the Grameen Foundation shows what one person with compassion and a clear vision can do.

The odd thing is that interest free loans to the poor are a biblical idea (Deut 15:7-11). Unfortnuately, Christians have put so much effort into using government power to resolve poverty that they did not find God's way: the loan to the poor.

God does not hold people down, but gives them a "leg up". Administering loans to the poor is part of the ministry of the deacon.