Poverty
In the same conference on poverty referenced on page one, a Mr. Dionne made this observation:
Our friend, Jim Wallis, once said that if you cut everything Jesus said about the poor out of the Gospel you have a book full of holes. And these are evangelicals, Catholics and others who understand what the Scripture said.
This statement seems exaggerated; so how much did Jesus actually teach on this subject? One way to determine the answer is to see how many times Jesus used the words poor or poverty.
Chronologically, in the life of Jesus, He began His public ministry in Nazareth, where He read from a scroll of Isaiah. Included in that text was the fact that Jesus was anointed “to preach the gospel to the poor” (Luke 4:18). Later, John the Immerser sent messengers to ask Jesus, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” The Lord lists occurrences that should convince John of what he already knew to be true, and one of those was that the poor had the gospel preached to them (Matt. 11:5; Luke 7:22). Thus Jesus fulfilled what Isaiah foretold of Him, but neither of these passages contains any commands concerning the poor.
The first actual occurrence in the New Testament is in Matthew 5:3: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The “poor in spirit” are generally regarded as the humble, as opposed to the proud. The proud learn only what they desire to know or what fits into their mindset; the humble are willing to learn Truth. All of us should determine to be poor in this manner. As Luke records this passage (6:20), he omits the words in spirit, but the reader must assume that the concept remains there; otherwise the entire category of the poor would be in the kingdom—just because they were poor—whether or not they had faith or humility.
On a certain occasion, a rich man came to Jesus to ask what he should do to have eternal life, and He answered that he should keep the commandments (Matt. 19:16-19; Mark 10:17-19). The man affirmed that he had already done so—from his youth up. He asked, “What do I still lack?” Jesus perceived that, despite his keeping of the commandments, his possessions possessed him; they stood between him and God. Jesus therefore answered: “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me” (Matt. 19:20-22; Mark 10:20-22; Luke 18:18-23). This advice was never taught to all Jews; it arose from an incident and was not part of Jesus’ usual teaching. In this case, parting with all of his possessions was necessary to make the man perfect, which he had thought he wanted to be.
Zacchaeus, after hearing Jesus and having Him as a guest in his home, declared that he would repay anything he had stolen as a tax collector and that he would give half of his goods to the poor. Jesus said salvation had come to his house that day (Luke 19:1-9). So, giving money to the poor and preaching the gospel to the poor are proper things to do.
On another occasion, Jesus told a host, “When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your brothers, your relatives, nor your rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid. Instead he was to invite the poor, the lame, and the blind, who could not repay him (Luke 14:12-14). Following that teaching, Jesus told a parable about a man giving a great supper, in which those invited offered excuses for not coming. The master told his servants to bring in “the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind” (Luke 14:16-21). If these few teachings were absent, the New Testament would scarcely be a book full of holes.
Luke also records the teaching of Jesus, which warns everyone to beware of covetousness because a man’s life consists not in the abundance of the things he possesses (Luke 12:13-21). Although the word poor is not used of the beggar Lazarus, he obviously was poor, but Jesus demonstrated that even though he lacked this world’s goods, he was still saved (which is the reason that abortion and homosexuality are more fundamental issues than poverty) (Luke 16:19-31).
The Lord commended a poor widow who put her two mites into the treasury because, though the gift was small in amount, it was large in percentage—it was her entire living (Mark 12:41-44; Luke 21:1-4). On the night of His betrayal, after the Last Supper, Jesus told Judas, “What you do, do quickly.” The disciples did not know why the Lord had spoken these words to Judas, but since he kept the money box, they assumed that He told him to buy something for the feast or give something to the poor (John 13:27-29).
Six days before the Passover, Mary anointed the feet of Jesus with costly oil of spikenard. Judas Iscariot wanted to know, “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” It was not that Judas was a great humanitarian; he asked the question because he was a thief, and he used to take what was put in the money box that he kept (John 12:3-6).
Similarly, a few days later another woman (who is not named) came and anointed Jesus’ head. On this occasion, all the disciples complained that the fragrant oil could have been sold and the money received for it given to the poor (Matt. 26:6-9; Mark 14:3-5). Jesus rebuked the disciples on both occasions and commented thus: “For you have the poor with you always….”
Jesus made this observation in Matthew 26:11, Mark 14:7, and John 12:8. Notice that Jesus never called for a “Stamp Out Poverty” campaign. Rather, He acknowledged that there will always be poor people. That does not mean that people should not be compassionate, but it is unrealistic to think that poverty can be wiped out. Speaking of the word poverty, it is not used in Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John.
Poverty appears three times in the New Testament; Paul uses it once in connection with the brethren in Macedonia who gave a generous gift, though they themselves lived in deep poverty (2 Cor. 8:1-5). Shortly thereafter, he calls to their attention that Jesus, “though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9). Obviously, Paul was not referring here to an economic system.
The only other occurrence of poverty in the New Testament involves another contrast of economic versus spiritual. Jesus has John write to those in Smyrna: “I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich)…” (Rev. 2:9). Again, if Christians do not constantly talk about helping the poor, the reason is that, no matter how much we help, poverty will never be eliminated, and the poor can yet be rich spiritually and eternally.
Why Are People Poor?
Society today has changed greatly from 200 years ago, let alone 2,000 years ago. When the Industrial Revolution occurred, the United States (and eventually other countries as well), went from an Agrarian society to an urban culture. Of course, cities existed before, but most people did not live in large ones. Now the majority of people are urban and suburban dwellers. In smaller towns and communities, where everyone knew everyone, the local population knew who was poor, who was lazy, who was ambitious, and so on. In today’s world, people often don’t know their neighbors whether in an apartment building or in their own neighborhood. Whereas once, a small town might come to the aid of someone who was sick and unable to work, now they often help able-bodied scammers.
Solomon wrote clearly that some are poor because they are lazy and refuse to work. He wrote: “Do not love sleep. Lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with bread.” (Pr. 20:13). Another cause of poverty in the wise king’s days was also spelled out: “For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe a man with rags” (Pr. 23:21). Solomon includes a description of those who bring their poverty on themselves.
How long will you slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep—so shall your poverty come on you like a robber, and your need like an armed man (Pr. 6:9-11).
The same is true today. Many are just lazy, or they are poor because of their moral choices, whether it be gambling, cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana (or other drugs), or divorcing one wife and paying alimony while attempting to support another family as well. Some simply lack the discipline to manage with a livable income. What kind of obligation do people have to those who are poor by choice? Paul said, “If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat” (2 Thess. 3:10). No one should mind helping those who cannot help themselves, but none of us like to be taken advantage of. With 47% of Americans on food stamps, something is clearly wrong. Our government programs are helping more than just the poor—they are helping those who do not merit assistance.
However….
That having been said, it is wrong to oppress the poor and take advantage of them—especially when they have so little, but this has always been a problem. Consider the following Scriptures.
He sits in the lurking places of the villages; in the secret places he murders the innocent; his eyes are fixed upon the helpless.... He lies in wait to catch the poor…. That the helpless may fall by his strength. He has said in his heart, “God has forgotten; He hides his face; He will never see it” (Ps. 10:8-11).
The poor man is hated even by his own neighbors, but the rich man has many friends (Pr. 14:20).
He that oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker, but he who honors Him has mercy on the needy (Pr. 14:31).
All the brothers of the poor hate him; how much more do his friends go far from him? He may pursue them with words, yet they abandon him (Pr. 19:7).
Whoever shuts his ear to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be heard (Pr. 21:13).
He who oppresses the poor to increase his riches, and he who gives to the rich will surely come to poverty (Pr. 22:16).
Do not rob the poor because he is poor, nor oppress the afflicted at the gate (Pr. 22:22).
Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! … Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out…. You have condemned and murdered the just; he does not resist you (James 5:1, 4, 6).
All Christians ought to stand for justice for all—rich or poor. All Christians ought to exercise compassion on the poor and the afflicted. Caution, however, should be exercised, since many are fraudulent—including some charities and foundations. Individuals in a community can probably make the determination of who is worthy to receive help better than the government. Society cannot lift all out of poverty but should help the poor when possible (Gal. 6:9).