Why are people poor? The Bible offers a few reasons,
but one is primary.[1]
1.
Natural Causes: Things that happen beyond human
control often have economic consequences. For example: disease of people,
animals or crops, drought, locust plague, etc.
2.
Wickedness: In Deuteronomy 28, most of the
covenant curses for disobedience have economic aspects. So, in some
cases, poverty may result from God’s curse. (It does not follow that all poor people are
cursed!)
3.
Laziness and/or Stupidity: Some become poor
because they are reckless or wasteful with money (Prov 12:11; 21:17; Luke
15:11-17). Conventional wisdom says you’re poor because you don’t work hard
(e.g., Prov 14:23; 20:13). This answer is common in America, where we value
determination to rise above tough circumstances. The poor, we say, are just
lazy or irresponsible. At times this is true, but it fails to recognize three
key things: 1) “Rags to riches” stories are rare even in a capitalist economy
and were nearly impossible in the ancient world where people basically stayed
in the socio-economic class into which they were born. 2) Some people,
especially in the developing world, are trapped in circumstances and cycles of
poverty that are virtually impossible to escape. 3) People don’t generally just
decide to be poor; they fall into a downward spiral in which bad choices are triggered
by external factors such as neglect, abuse, a fractured family, etc.
4.
Oppression: The most common cause of poverty in
the Bible is exploitation of the weak and vulnerable by the wealthy and
powerful. The rich use their power to take from the poor. In the Bible, this
takes various forms:
a.
debt slavery (2 Kings 4:1-7; Neh 5; Amos 2:6)
b.
taking clothes, other critical possessions, or children
as collateral for a loan (Amos 2:8; Job 24:3; cf. Deut 24:6, 12-13, 17-18)
c.
corruption of justice in court (Isa 10:1-2; Amos 5:7,
10-12; ; James 5:6)
d.
withholding wages from hired laborers (Jer 22:13; Mal
3:5; James 5:4; cf. Deut 24:12-13)
e.
royal taxes and forced labor (1 Sam 8:10-18; 1 Kings
5:13-18; 12; Jer 22:13-17)
f.
stealing land (1 Kings 21; Job 24:2; cf. Deut 19:14;
Prov 23:10)
g. luxurious
self-indulgence by the rich and neglect of the poor (Amos 4:1; 6:1-7; Luke
6:24-25; 12:15-21; James 5:3, 5).
All these oppressive tactics appear in the litany of
Jerusalem’s sins in Ezekiel 22:6-7, 12, 25-29. All of them still happen in our
world today.
Most often in the Bible, then, poverty doesn’t “just happen.” Poverty is caused when the rich take advantage of the poor.
Who is most vulnerable to the oppression that causes
poverty? Those without social and economic power. The Bible refers to four
groups whose weakness puts them at risk:
1.
Orphans with no family, especially no
father, and probably no land, are especially vulnerable to being used, abused
or falsely accused.
2.
Widows without connection to a male head
of household quickly run out of economic assets and end up poor, disgraced and
defenseless against those who would take advantage of them.
3.
Foreigners have no land inheritance and
therefore no means of economic security. Often objects of racial discrimination
and hatred, they are easy targets for exploitation.
4.
Levites have no inheritance of land and
depend on the tithes and offerings of their fellow Israelites. If they become
tightfisted and fail to give, the Levites may become poor.
How does God call his people to respond to poverty?
God’s poverty-elimination program includes a number of strategies (see esp.
Leviticus 19 and Deuteronomy 24-26):
1.
Don’t demand inalienable possessions as a pledge for a
loan (Deut 24:6, 12-13, 17)
2.
Don’t deprive vulnerable people of justice in court
(Deut 24:17)
3.
Pay workers promptly (Lev 19:13; Deut 24:14-15)
4.
Share the overflow of God’s blessing! Leave the edges
of fields, olive groves and vineyards for the poor to glean (Deut 24:19-22; Lev
19:9-10; 23:22). Boaz is a shining example in Ruth 2.
5.
Care for widowed relatives by giving them an heir and
redeeming their land (Deut 25:5-10)
6.
Don’t steal (Exod 20:15 ; Lev 19:11; Deut 5:19)
7.
Don’t cheat or defraud people; use accurate weights and
measures (Deut 25:13-16; Lev 19:13, 35; Prov 20:10)
8.
Don’t show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the
rich (Lev 19:15; James 2:1-9)
9.
Defend the cause of the poor (Ps 82:1-4; Isa 1:17; Neh
5)
10.
Include servants, Levites, foreigners, fatherless and
widows in harvest festivals (Deut 16:11, 14; 26:11)
11.
Give the triennial tithe to the Levite, foreigner,
fatherless and widow, so they may eat and be satisfied (Deut 26:12), just like
the rest of the community (Deut 8:10).
12.
Care for foreigners who have no land and family (Lev
19:33-34)
13.
Every seven years, generously suspend (or cancel) debts
and free servants with ample provisions (Deut 15)
14.
Lend freely and generously to fellow Israelites who
fall into poverty (Deut 15:7-11)
15.
Help poor Israelites by either 1) redeeming their land
(Lev 25:25), 2) giving them an interest-free loan (25:35-38; cf. Exod 22:25) or
3) hiring them for wages instead of enslaving them (25:39-43).
16.
Every fifty years, proclaim Jubilee by returning
ancestral land to its original residents, canceling debts and freeing Israelite
bonded laborers (Lev 25).
Why all these
commands to do justice and show radical compassion to the helpless? First,
God’s people are to show practical concern for the poor and needy because
that’s what God does. “He is a father
to the fatherless and an advocate for widows. God rules from his holy palace”
(Ps 68:5). God’s economic commands for Israel flow from his own compassionate
and gracious character.
Second, these laws
exist because generous justice is the proper response to God’s prior grace. “Remember
that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord
your God redeemed you (i.e., bought you) from there. That is why I command you to do this”
(Deut 24:17; cf. 15:15; 16:12; 24:22). Forgetfulness
breeds arrogance and injustice. That is why every harvest the Israelites were
to recall their history, remember God’s grace, rejoice in his blessing, and redistribute their abundance to those in
need (Deut 26)!
If Israel fully obeyed the economic plan in the Torah, God’s
bountiful blessing would sufficiently eliminate poverty among them (Deut
15:4-5). It never happened, of course. But God anticipated that. He knew the
human tendency to trust wealth and serve Slave Master Mammon. He knew insidious
greed that plagues people’s hearts. He knew “there will always be poor people
in the land” (Deut 15:11). So he commanded the Israelites not to be
“hardhearted or tightfisted toward them. Rather, be openhanded and freely lend
to them whatever they need” (Deut 15:7-8).
Though poverty prevailed in Israel, the vision for a
community without want was realized – even if only briefly – in the early church.
The first Christians knew their wealth was God’s, not theirs (Acts 4:32), so
they shared it with his family. “And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in
them all that there were no needy persons among them” (Acts 4:33-34)! Radical
generosity became a powerful demonstration of obedience to their Lord Jesus,
whose resurrection they proclaimed (Acts 4:33)!
How should we obey?
This leads to the challenge. We, too, have been redeemed by God’s extravagant
grace. At our deepest points of need, God went to great lengths to save us from
our misery and mess. Just as Jesus became poor for our sake, so that that we
might become rich (2 Cor 8:9), so we should give generously and sacrificially
to those in need in many dimensions of life, including financial. What might
this look like? Here are a few things to consider.
1.
Has God given you more than enough to “eat and be
satisfied” so that you have something to share with those in need? Why not
support a relief or justice organization? There are many out there. Some of the
big ones are Compassion International, Samaritan’s Purse, World Vision and
International Justice Mission. There are also many smaller ones. They do all
kinds of creative things to help the poor, from mosquito nets to microloans. Find
one and give.
2.
For you, what would be the equivalent of leaving the
edge of your field for the poor and needy?
3.
Do you owe anyone money? Pay them.
4.
Are you willing to lend needy people money without
interest (Duet 15:7-11)? Or even without expecting anything in return (Luke
6:34-35)?
5.
Do your giving and your church’s budget reflect God’s concern
for the needy (Deut 26; Acts 4)?
6.
Do you take advantage of people who are weaker than you
so that you gain at their expense?
7.
Are there poor or lonely people you know who need your
friendship along with or even more than your financial aid?
8.
Do you invite poor people and social rejects to your
holiday parties? God invites them to his banquet; perhaps we should do the same
(Luke 14:12-24; cf. 4:18-19; 7:22).
Do these efforts
matter? Absolutely! They anticipate and embody the coming reign of Messiah,
when “Everyone will live in peace and prosperity, enjoying their own grapevines
and fig trees, for there will be nothing to fear” (Micah 4:4 NLT; cf. Isa
65:21-23)!
[1]
This section is based on Christopher J. H. Wright, Old Testament Ethics for
the People of God (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2004), 169-71.
