Transcript & Slides: Rich and Poor

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Rich And Poor
By David Feddes

What causes poverty? There are two very different kinds of answers to that question. One kind of answer emphasizes that poverty is people's own fault. It's due to their personal faults. Poor people cause their own poverty by being wicked. They may be sexually immoral, and that leads to a lot of poverty because single mothers are often very poor. Or maybe they've been thrown into prison for various crimes and now have a hard time getting a job when they get out. So the poverty is their own fault for being wicked or for being foolish. They made a lot of bad decisions financially, and now that's resulting in poverty for them. Or they're lazy and wouldn't work hard. Or they're drunken or addicted to drugs, and that keeps them from holding a good job. Or they're just impulsive—they spend on impulse and they're always running out of money. Or they're wasteful, buying all kinds of stuff they don't need. Or they're careless and make no plans.

People who tend to be more conservative or politically right-wing often will emphasize personal faults as the reason why many people are poor. A quite different answer is given by people who see things from more what is sometimes called the left-wing point of view or the liberal point of view. They say that social injustice and social structures are what cause poverty. Rich people make others poor by oppressing them, by exploiting and taking advantage of them, by defrauding them and ripping them off, by discriminating on the basis of people's race and ethnic background, or discriminating against women—and so discrimination causes people to be poor—and simply by rigging the system to the advantage of the rich.

So you have these two quite different kinds of answers to the question of what causes poverty. Those who tend to be more conservative, more maybe what's called right-wing, emphasize the personal faults causing poverty. Those toward the left-wing or more liberal in their politics will often emphasize social injustice.

And you get a similar split when it comes to the question: what helps the poor? If you differ on what causes poverty, then your notion of how to help is also going to be quite different. One approach is to say, well, the poor need to take personal responsibility. Individuals must become moral instead of immoral, wise instead of foolish, hardworking instead of lazy, sober instead of drunk or addicted or high, steady instead of impulsive, thrifty instead of wasteful, careful instead of careless. And if they'll do that, then they won't be poor anymore.

Others say, “Well, if you want to help the poor, stop blaming the victim and do something about the corrupt system. Pursue public justice. The system must limit the powerful. It must lift the lowly and honor equality instead of discriminating people. And government structures must be fair, compassionate, and generous.”

Which of these approaches is correct? Well, if you look at the Bible, you'll quickly find that both are correct. In that some people become poor through lack of personal responsibility, and they can gain in their financial situation if they take more responsibility. But you also find that some people are poor because of a rigged system or because of injustices committed against them.

We sometimes, in politics and other approaches in our thought, say it's either/or. But the truth of the matter is that some people are poor through their own fault. Other people are poor because they've been oppressed and taken advantage of. And some people, it's a little of both—they've been oppressed, they've been trodden down by the system, and they're also making some bad decisions. So any approach to understanding the gap between rich and poor, and how to help the poor, has to take account of the fact that personal responsibility is important, but so is public justice.

Let's look at what the book of Proverbs says. Proverbs says very clearly that faults bring poverty: “Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth” (Proverbs 10:4). “He who loves pleasure will become poor; whoever loves wine and oil will never be rich” (Proverbs 21:17). They're too busy chasing their pleasures. “He who works his land will have abundant food, but the one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty” (Proverbs 28:19). And I could cite many, many, many other proverbs about the importance of planning wisely and not being careless, about working hard and not being lazy, about not being drunk, and so on.

You get the point very clearly from Proverbs that a lot of people are poor because they've made bad decisions. They've done foolish things, and now they're poor as a result. But that's not the only thing that Proverbs has to say. And keep in mind that Proverbs is saying a lot of these things in the context of a pretty good society. Remember, a lot of the proverbs come from Solomon. And Solomon was a very wise ruler, and a mostly just ruler. In a society that's run by a Solomon, then if you're poor, it's likely to be largely your own fault—though not maybe always—but a lot of the time it would be your own fault if you had a ruler that wise and structures that just all the time.

But let's face it—not every person in government is another Solomon, and not every society is as just as the golden age under King David and King Solomon. The fact is, not only can personal faults bring poverty, but injustice can too. And Proverbs is very clear about that: “A poor man's field may produce abundant food, but injustice sweeps it away” (Proverbs 13:23). The poor guy had a little property, he worked hard, it produced a lot—and somebody else just took it all. “A ruler who oppresses the poor is like a driving rain that leaves no crops” (Proverbs 28:3). “A tyrannical ruler lacks judgment, but he who hates ill-gotten gain will enjoy a long life” (Proverbs 28:16).

So Proverbs talks about the importance of personal responsibility, but it's very clear that unjust structures and unjust rulers can do a lot of damage: “The rich dominate the poor; a poor man pleads for mercy, but a rich man answers harshly” (Proverbs 18:23). “What do I care? I'm rich. I don't need to listen to you.” He can do what he wants, and a poor man can't do what he wants. He's always begging others either to help him out with money or help him out by giving him a job, or this or that. “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender” (Proverbs 22:7).

That's a proverb that can have a couple of different applications. One is, as we already saw in a talk on dealing with debt, that you want to stay out of debt as much as you can. You don't want to be a servant to lenders and become a slave to those who hold your loans. But the flip side is that sometimes the rich will use debt and high interest rates and all of that to rule the poor, to dominate them, and to take advantage of them. “The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern” (Proverbs 29:7).

Back when Moses was receiving God's law and setting up a society to be run by God's principles, the Lord said, “If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and are unable to support themselves among you, help them as you would a foreigner and stranger, so they can continue to live among you. Do not take interest or any profit from them, but fear your God so that they may continue to live among you. You must not lend them money at interest or sell them food at a profit” (Leviticus 25:35–37). When people are down, don't take advantage of them. Don't charge them high interest rates and become a loan shark. Don't sell them food to make yourself rich. Help them out so that they don't have to move to another society, or so that they don't simply starve. God did not want people to use interest to take advantage of people in difficult situations.

When the prophet Ezekiel was speaking of a contrast between wickedness and goodness, he said, “A good man does not commit robbery but gives his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked. He does not lend to them at interest or take profit from them” (Ezekiel 18:7–8). “An evil man oppresses the poor and needy. He lends at interest and takes a profit” (Ezekiel 18:12–13). Ezekiel also says, on behalf of God, “You take interest and make a profit from the poor. You extort unjust gain from your neighbors and you have forgotten me, declares the Sovereign Lord” (Ezekiel 22:12). That's the real heart of it, isn't it? When you're profiting from the poor, when you're seeing how much you can gain for your own advantage from them, you have forgotten God.

n the book of Nehemiah, we read about Nehemiah, who was a governor. He ruled under the supreme rule of the king of Persia, but Nehemiah was the governor of the area that the Jews were in, in Israel. When he took over as governor, he heard about things that had been done by previous rulers, and the people came and complained—especially the poor people. They said, “We're mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our homes to get grain during the famine.” So they're taking out loans against their own homes and property just so they can get grain. “We've had to borrow money to pay the king's tax. We have to subject our sons and daughters to slavery.” They had to sell their kids to work for somebody else just to keep them alive. “We're powerless because our fields and our vineyards belong to others.”

It's an unjust system, and the rulers had been profiting from it. Nehemiah says, “When I heard their outcry on these charges, I was very angry. I accused the nobles and officials. I told them, ‘You are exacting usury—high interest—from your own countrymen! We have bought back our Jewish brothers who were sold to the Gentiles, and now you're selling your brothers only for them to be sold back to us!’” (Nehemiah 5:6–8)

So Nehemiah and some other good-hearted people of power and wealth had been buying people who were slaves and setting them free, paying the price to get them back from non-Jewish people. Now some of the Jewish leaders were selling them right back into slavery again and profiting from them, and Nehemiah was furious about that.

He said, “I and my brothers and my men are also lending the people money and grain. But let the exacting of usury stop! Stop charging them interest! Give back to them immediately their fields, vineyards, olive groves, and houses, and also the usury you are charging them—the hundredth part of the money, grain, new wine, and oil” (Nehemiah 5:10–11). Give them back that percentage you've been charging.

God had originally instructed through Moses that every seven years all debts were to be forgiven, and every fifty years all land that was originally assigned to families was to go back to those families—no matter who had taken it over or bought it in the meantime (Leviticus 25:10; Deuteronomy 15:1–2). This was a way of making sure that everybody had something and that disadvantages were not permanent.

So God wants people to have another chance. He does not want unjust systems ripping off and exploiting the poor. And it's not just the system—it's also the way people interact at a personal level. “The poor are shunned even by their neighbors, but the rich have many friends” (Proverbs 14:20). If you've got money, people are going to be nice to you because they want a little of what you've got. They know you can give them a job, give them favors. But if you're poor, you can't.

“Wealth brings many friends, but a poor man's friend deserts him. A poor man is shunned by all his relatives—how much more do his friends avoid him! Though he pursues them with pleading, they are nowhere to be found” (Proverbs 19:4,7). You don’t like some poor guy to keep asking you to give him money or to get him some favor, so you avoid poor people who ask for things. The poor are shunned.

“He who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth, and he who gives gifts to the rich—both come to poverty” (Proverbs 22:16). Here Proverbs is saying, “Hey, if you're taking advantage of poor people and you're always kissing up to rich people, just realize that in the long run God’s going to balance things out. And when you do that kind of thing, you're going to come to poverty. “Income from charging high interest rates will end up in the pocket of someone who is kind to the poor” (Proverbs 28:8).

“If a king judges the poor with fairness, his throne will always be secure” (Proverbs 29:14). By contrast, a king who is unjust to the poor will often find his throne is pretty shaky, or people will overthrow him.

The book of Proverbs says a lot of nice things about prosperity and about walking with the Lord and seeing financial blessing. But it's very important, when we think about financial fitness, to realize that money isn't everything. Part of financial fitness is understanding where poverty comes from, both in terms of personal behavior but also in terms of public structures. And it's also important to realize that whatever Proverbs says about the benefit and the blessing of prosperity, it also says there are times when you're better off being poor—when poverty is better.

“Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil” (Proverbs 15:16). You're better off if you've got God and not too much money than if you've got money and no God and lots of turmoil. “Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice” (Proverbs 16:8). There are situations where doing the wrong thing and being unjust will make you money, but in that case, it's better just to not have much and to do the right thing.

“Better to be lowly in spirit and among the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud” (Proverbs 16:19)—with the people who are taking advantage of the poor. “What a man desires is unfailing love; better to be poor than a liar” (Proverbs 19:22). Sometimes telling lies can make you money—a salesman who doesn't tell the truth might make some money off of it—but he'd be better off having less and being a truth-teller. “Better a poor man whose walk is blameless than a rich man whose ways are perverse” (Proverbs 28:6).

“A rich man may be wise in his own eyes, but a poor man who has discernment sees through him” (Proverbs 28:11). In a society, sometimes the TV camera admires the rich, and they follow the lifestyles of the rich and famous, and people think, “Oh, if only I can be like that.” And the rich think, “Oh man, I've got it made. I'm such a success.” And if they're living a wicked life—if their money came to them by shady means—a poor man sees right through that. He says, “I'd rather be poor than be like that. I'd rather have my character and less money than more money and no character.”

In thinking about rich and poor, Proverbs gives us this middle-class prayer: “Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God” (Proverbs 30:8–9). Notice, in both cases—poverty or wealth—he’s concerned that he not dishonor God.

“If I get too rich, I'll be tempted to become a fat cat and to think I don't need God. I can take care of myself. On the other hand, if you become super poor and you need something to eat, or you need to take care of your family, you get so desperate that you might steal, and then God will be dishonored.” And so he says, “Lord, just put me in the middle class.”

And that's a good prayer for most of us. There may be a few people who have the talent to make lots of money and who can use it wisely and who can maintain good relationships and can do well in their life even being super rich. But most of us can't, and so we need to shoot for the middle.

Many people might end this prayer by saying, “Give me neither poverty. Amen.” We don't want poverty. But—but—but—go ahead with the riches. For most of us, though, riches would be dangerous as well. And so, in this question of rich and poor, most of us should pray, “Lord, put me in the middle somewhere so that I don't get desperate and dishonor you by stealing, and that I don't get proud and dishonor you by forsaking you.”

Back to our original question: what causes poverty? We've seen that sometimes personal faults do cause poverty. Poor people cause their own poverty by wickedness, foolishness, laziness, drunkenness, impulsiveness, wastefulness, and carelessness. But social injustice also causes poverty. Rich people do make others poor by oppressing, exploiting, defrauding, discriminating, and rigging the system. We need to realize both of these dynamics can be at work.

I sometimes think that when it comes to churches, they should exchange preachers more often. Sometimes you'll have preachers in comfortable suburban churches, where most people are quite wealthy, preaching that people need to be personally responsible and be wise and prudent and careful in the way they manage their money. And over in some poor quarter, you have a preacher saying, "Oh, we need to get rid of social injustice. The rich people have rigged the system. They're oppressing us," when in fact many people sitting in their congregation have been lazy or drunken or brought it on themselves. And many of those people in the rich congregation may need that sermon on social injustice, because they may be some of the people profiting from the way the system is rigged.

So sometimes we're hearing what we want to hear. Poor people say, "Oh, I'm just poor because it's somebody else's fault." And rich people say, "Well, I'm rich because it's..." and, "they're poor because it's their fault." So the poor blame their poverty on the rich people rigging it, and the rich people blame the poor for not doing what they should do. And the truth often is a little more complicated than that.

Some people, in order to deal with their situation, need to take personal responsibility. It's not just the system. You've got to become moral, wise, hardworking, sober, steady, thrifty, and careful—all the things we've been talking about when it comes to financial fitness. You've got to take responsibility for those things and not just blame the system all the time. But at the same time, we need to realize that sometimes the system is wrong, and the system has to be changed so that it limits the power of the powerful, or they'll just keep on gaining more power and more wealth.

It's got to lift the lowly. It's got to honor equality. People have got to be fair. The government's got to be fair and compassionate and generous. And where these principles have been followed, at least to some degree, then you see societies prospering. In fact, throughout history and throughout the world, you see societies that have had the largest Christian influence are often those who are prospering the most.

And a few reasons for that are found right here. Private property begins with the principles of the Ten Commandments: “You shall not steal” and “You shall not covet” (Exodus 20:15,17). You can't take something because it belongs to somebody else. And don't envy what somebody else has. Don't covet that so you can have it for yourself. Instead, work to earn something so that you don't have to take it from them. Private property—when people work to have something for themselves rather than stealing it, and rather than constantly going around envying or blaming others—they manage to earn some things for themselves.

Another aspect of Christianity is worthwhile work. Many civilizations have said that work is just something for slaves and for low-lives, and the real fine people can live in leisure and think and debate and not actually do any work. But Christianity has always valued work and says, “Do everything as unto the Lord” (Colossians 3:23). Work hard. And it also says, “The workman is worthy of his hire” (Luke 10:7), and the Bible condemns people who don’t pay the harvesters and the workers in the fields what they deserve to have coming to them (James 5:4).

So when a society values work—by praising it as well as valuing it by paying for it—people do work. And where they work, they become productive, and the society becomes more wealthy as a whole.

Stewardship and calling: God calls us into different areas of life. It’s not just my occupation but it’s God’s calling, and I’m going to do it to honor him. When people have that attitude towards work, they do a better job and they become more productive. In the end, they and their society become more wealthy.

Personal responsibility: not getting drunk all the time, taking care of your family, watching out for others, and the personal responsibility of owners and managers to provide good working conditions—these all help a society to flourish and to gain in prosperity.

Strong families: I've mentioned already that broken families are one of the leading causes of poverty in wealthy societies. And a lot can be blamed on the society, but the fact is if you don't stay married to people, if you're not faithful in your marriage, if you're not staying faithful sexually and you're having children by a lot of different fathers—and those fathers are fathering children by many different women—those children are put into poverty by the failure of the family, mainly, not by the failure of the broader society.

On the other side, when families are strong, when a husband and wife are together, when they’re looking out for their children and providing for each other, that family tends to prosper. In just societies where families are strong, they don’t usually stay in poverty over the long haul.

Another aspect of Christianity’s contribution to prosperity is a positive outlook on things. If your business fails, you don’t say, “All is lost. Woe is me. Life is over.” Or if you lose a job, you don’t say, “Oh no, that’s it. I can’t possibly do anything else.” Instead, you say, “Well, this is hard. It’s really hard. But Lord, help me with that. And I know, Lord, because I belong to you, you have good things in store for me despite this painful setback. And so I’m going to try again. I’m going to go after another business or I’m going to seek another job. But I’m not just going to sit around feeling sorry for myself and licking my wounds because I believe that God has good plans for me.”

Moral capital is another aspect. In a society where markets are transparent, where contracts mean something, then business can be done. In a corrupt society, where contracts are constantly broken, where there’s no transparency in the markets and no regulation of how stocks are traded, then who wants to trade in those stocks when they don’t know what they’re getting? You need to have the moral capital of honesty and just dealings in order for a society to flourish.

Now, no society is perfect, of course, but you need a certain level of moral capital for the economic capital to flourish. And you just need public justice. You need to have a system that gives the poor a fair chance in court, that makes sure the rich don’t have too much money, that doesn’t rig all the tax laws for those with the best tax lawyers, but that pursues public justice. To the degree that various societies have made at least some progress in these areas, they tend to thrive—and these are in line with Christian principles.

Now, having said all that—having talked about rich and poor and the fact that we have personal responsibility as well as public justice—where does that leave us as Christians in terms of our own financial fitness, our behavior before God in the manner we deal with finance and these issues of rich and poor?

One thing it means is: “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute” (Proverbs 31:8). If you're in a situation where you have some influence and poor people don’t, and you can put in a good word for them, then do so.

“Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, ‘But we knew nothing about this,’ does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?” (Proverbs 24:11–12). One of the worst areas where people are being led away to death is in the millions and millions of unborn babies who’ve been aborted. They’re the poorest of the poor. Their own parents won’t look out for them. Nobody protects them, and we need to keep on speaking out on behalf of those who are being led away to death.

In some societies, there are people whose working conditions are dreadfully unhealthy for them, or other situations of their poverty are causing death or disease or trouble. And we need to do what we can to speak up and to rescue to the degree that we have some influence.

And we need to share. Back when God was speaking to the people of Israel and setting up a society for them—and we don’t follow all of those rules that God gave to the nation of Israel anymore—but we can still learn from the basic principles. God said, “There should be no poor among you, for the Lord your God will greatly bless you in the land he is giving you as a special possession” (Deuteronomy 15:4). God was going to give them a good land; there would be wealth for everybody to do well. So there should be no poor among you.

And then God says just a few sentences later, “There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land” (Deuteronomy 15:11). So those two sentences—“There should be no poor” and “There will always be poor”—mean that we need to be ready to share freely. Because some people, even if it’s through fault of their own, still may need a hand up. And certainly, if it’s through no fault of their own, they ought to get a hand up. But either way, there’s going to be some people who are poor, and if you’re not and you’re in a position to help, then do so.

Proverbs says: “One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. People curse the man who hoards grain, but blessing crowns him who is willing to sell” (Proverbs 11:24–26). There it’s talking about somebody who’s got a lot of grain, and people are wanting grain to grind up for flour. But there’s a famine, there’s a shortage, and the guy with the grain says, “Hey, if I hold out another week or another month, the price is going to get even higher. People are going to be desperate, and then I’ll sell it for gobs and gobs of money.” And the Lord says, “People curse somebody who does that.” But blessing crowns the one who’s willing to sell it to them when they need it.

So it’s saying: overall, you might think that keeping stuff for yourself is the way to prosper. It’s not. When you bless others, you get blessed. When you refresh them, you get refreshed. And that’s an important principle always to keep in mind when you’re thinking about financial fitness. Are you gaining through giving? Are you blessing others and being blessed in return? Generosity pays. Stinginess costs.

“A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor” (Proverbs 22:9). “A stingy man is eager to get rich and is unaware that poverty awaits him” (Proverbs 28:22). “He who despises his neighbor sins, but blessed is he who is kind to the needy” (Proverbs 14:21).

Are you getting the point yet? Proverbs is full of statements like this, and so is the rest of the Bible. “He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses” (Proverbs 28:27).

Our Lord Jesus Christ himself told a story which could be a sermon based on this statement. Jesus told of a rich man who lived in great luxury, and of a poor man named Lazarus who lived out in the street nearby—no home, nothing decent to wear, wounds on his body and sores, and nobody would take care of him, certainly not that rich man. Dogs came and licked his sores.

Then they both died. The rich man was buried at a fancy funeral with high honors, and Lazarus’s body was dumped somewhere. But Lazarus found himself in the home of the blessed, and the rich man found himself in hell, begging for just a drop of water, wishing he had done differently, wanting somebody to warn his brothers, and being told, “Even if someone rises from the dead, they will not listen if they won’t listen to what they already have in the Law of Moses and the Prophets” (Luke 16:19–31).

Well, we've seen what Moses and the Prophets and the Proverbs have to say. It says, “He who closes his eyes to the poor receives many curses” (Proverbs 28:27). And we saw too that a person who lives that way is doing so because he’s out of touch with God. He’s forsaken God. It’s not that you are saved by being nice to the poor, but if you are saved, you’re going to have a heart for the poor because God has a heart for the poor. And if you’re saved, you’ve got the Spirit of God in your heart. If you don’t have God’s heart, you don’t have God.

And so, being kind to the needy is God’s great call for us. Rich and poor—there’s a lot they don’t have in common, but they have this in common: “The Lord is the Maker of them all” (Proverbs 22:2). “The poor man and the oppressor have this in common: the Lord gives sight to the eyes of both” (Proverbs 29:13). Don’t forget who our Maker is, and we’re all going to be answering to him.

“He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God” (Proverbs 14:31). You’re not just being nice to a needy person—you’re honoring God. God takes it personally. “He who mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker” (Proverbs 17:5). “He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward him for what he has done” (Proverbs 19:17). So you’re not just doing something to another person; you’re doing it to God himself.

Again, our Lord Jesus Christ speaks with the greatest power and authority on this. He takes the message of these Proverbs and tells what will happen at the end of the age when he sits on the judgment throne and all people are gathered before him. He says they’re going to be separated like sheep and goats—some on his right and some on his left.

He’ll say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me” (Matthew 25:34–36).

And they’ll say, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison?” And Jesus will say, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40).

“He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward him” (Proverbs 19:17).

But to those, the goats on his left, he will say, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. I was a stranger and you did not invite me in. I was naked and you did not clothe me. I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me” (Matthew 25:41–43).

And they’ll say, “Lord, when did we see you and not help you?” And he’ll say, “Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me” (Matthew 25:45). God takes it personally.

So let us love our neighbor as ourselves—but also, let us love our neighbor as we love our God. 

 

Rich And Poor
By David Feddes
Slide Contents

What causes poverty?

• Personal faults: Poor people cause their own poverty by being wicked, foolish, lazy, drunken, impulsive, wasteful, or careless.
• Social injustice: Rich people make others poor by oppressing, exploiting, defrauding, discriminating, and rigging the system.

What helps the poor?

• Take personal responsibility: Individuals must become moral, wise, hard working, sober, steady, thrifty, and careful.
• Pursue public justice: The system must limit the powerful, lift the lowly, and honor equality. People and government must be fair, compassionate, and generous.

Faults bring poverty

Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth. (10:4)

He who loves pleasure will become poor; whoever loves wine and oil will never be rich. (21:17)

He who works his land will have abundant food, but the one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty. (28:19)

Injustice brings poverty

A poor man’s field may produce abundant food, but injustice sweeps it away. (13:23)

A ruler who oppresses the poor is like a driving rain that leaves no crops. (28:3)

A tyrannical ruler lacks judgment, but he who hates ill-gotten gain will enjoy a long life. (28:16)

Rich dominate poor

A poor man pleads for mercy, 
but a rich man answers harshly. (18:23)

The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. (22:7)

The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern. (29:7)

No profit from the poor

If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and are unable to support themselves among you, help them as you would a foreigner and stranger, so they can continue to live among you. Do not take interest or any profit from them, but fear your God, so that they may continue to live among you. You must not lend them money at interest or sell them food at a profit. (Lev 25:35-37)

A good man does not commit robbery but gives his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked. He does not lend to them at interest or take a profit from them… An evil man oppresses the poor and needy… He lends at interest and takes a profit. (Ezekiel 18:7-13)

Profiting from the poor,
 forgetting the Lord

You take interest and make a profit from the poor. You extort unjust gain from your neighbors. And you have forgotten me, declares the Sovereign Lord. (Ezekiel 22:12)

Power and poverty

Poor Jews were saying, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards and our homes to get grain during the famine… We have had to borrow money to pay the king’s tax… We have to subject our sons and daughters to slavery… We are powerless, because our fields and our vineyards belong to others.”  (Nehemiah 5:3-5)

When I heard their outcry and these charges, I was very angry. I … accused the nobles and officials. I told them, “You are exacting usury from your own countrymen! … we have bought back our Jewish brothers who were sold to the Gentiles. Now you are selling your brothers, only for them to be sold back to us!”

“I and my brothers and my men are also lending the people money and grain. But let the exacting of usury stop! Give back to them immediately their fields, vineyards, olive groves and houses, and also the usury you are charging them—the hundredth part of the money, grain, new wine and oil.” (Nehemiah 5:3-11)

Poor are shunned

The poor are shunned even by their neigh-bors, but the rich have many friends. (14:20)

Wealth brings many friends, but a poor man’s friend deserts him… A poor man is shunned by all his relatives—how much more do his friends avoid him! 
Though he pursues them with pleading, 
they are nowhere to be found. (19:4, 7)

Power and poverty

He who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth and he who gives gifts to the rich—both come to poverty. (22:16)

Income from charging high interest rates will end up in the pocket of someone who is kind to the poor. (28:8)

If a king judges the poor with fairness, his throne will always be secure. (29:14)

When poverty is better

Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great wealth with turmoil. (15:16)

Better a little with righteousness 
than much gain with injustice. (16:8)

Better to be lowly in spirit and among the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud. (16:19)

What a man desires is unfailing love; 
better to be poor than a liar. (19:22)

Better a poor man whose walk is blameless 
than a rich man whose ways are perverse…

A rich man may be wise in his own eyes, 
but a poor man who has discernment sees through him. (28:6, 11)

Middle class prayer

Give me neither poverty nor riches, 
but give me only my daily bread. 
Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, “Who is the LORD?” 
Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God. (30:8-9)

What causes poverty?

• Personal faults: Poor people cause their own poverty by being wicked, foolish, lazy, drunken, impulsive, wasteful, or careless.
• Social injustice: Rich people make others poor by oppressing, exploiting, defrauding, discriminating, and rigging the system.

What helps the poor?

• Take personal responsibility: Individuals must become moral, wise, hard working, sober, steady, thrifty, and careful.
• Pursue public justice: The system must limit the powerful, lift the lowly, and honor equality. People and government must be fair, compassionate, and generous.

How Christianity 
Increases Prosperity

• Private property
• Worthwhile work
• Stewardship & calling
• Personal responsibility
• Strong families
• Positive outlook
• Moral capital
• Public justice

Speak up and rescue

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. (Proverbs 31:8)

Rescue those being led away to death; 
hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? (24:11-12)

Share freely

There should be no poor among you, for the Lord your God will greatly bless you in the land he is giving you as a special possession… There will always be some in the land who are poor. That is why I am commanding you to share freely with the poor. (Deut 15:4, 11)

Gaining through giving

One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. People curse the man who hoards grain, but blessing crowns him who is willing to sell. (11:24-26)

Generosity pays,
 stinginess costs

A generous man will himself be blessed, 
for he shares his food with the poor. (22:9)

A stingy man is eager to get rich and is unaware that poverty awaits him. (28:22)

Kind to the needy

He who despises his neighbor sins, but blessed is he who is kind to the needy. (14:21)

He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses. (28:27) See Jesus' parable of Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31).

Maker of rich and poor

Rich and poor have this in common: The LORD is the Maker of them all. (22:2)

The poor man and the oppressor have this in common: The LORD gives sight to the eyes of both. (29:13)

God takes it personally

He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God. (14:31)

He who mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker. (17:5)

He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him. (19:17)

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." (Matthew 25:31-46)