One of the jobs I had while working my way through seminary was serving as a valet car parker at private parties in the homes of wealthy people in Dallas. Going to the Turtle Creek mansions of wealthy and important people and parking their guests’ Cadillacs, Rolls Royces and Corvettes gave me a fascinating peek into the private lives of Dallas’ upper crust and served as a stark counterpoint to my residence in an impoverished community in that same city.
My luxury car parking experience taught me that my monochrome view of the wealthy as entitled jerks needed adjustment: the privileged class definitely includes the snobs, the crude, and the rude. But it also includes many really nice, humble and generous people.
On the other hand, I had another monochrome class view that came crashing down in the face of reality during my seminary days. Prior to living in that previously mentioned impoverished community in Dallas, I had a pollyanna understanding of the poor as always oppressed and always in the right. But after living and interacting with my poor neighbors for two years in east Dallas, I realized that I was wrong. The poor class certainly includes those who, through no fault of their own – either through the accident of birth or through circumstances beyond their control – suffer greatly. But there were others who were poor simply because they had made bad, and often stupid and/or immoral, decisions. In other words, the poor class includes the oppressed and the foolish, the righteous poor and the rightfully poor.
I know, it’s bad form these days to suggest that people are responsible for their decisions and deserve to suffer for the bad ones. But the reality is that, while there are poor people who suffer through no fault of their own, there are also poor people who are suffering the consequences of their actions. And what is interesting is that the Bible teaches both of these views.
One the one hand, there are many biblical passages that teach us to have compassion on the widow, the orphan, the immigrant and the oppressed. Here are a few of them.
- 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. Deuteronomy 24:19
- You are the helper of the fatherless. You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more. Psalm 10:14, 18
- Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan. If you do, they will cry out to me and I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused and I will kill you with the sword, your wives will become widows and your children fatherless. Exodus 22:22-24
But on the other hand, there are also many passages that teach that foolish behavior results in poverty and is not to be condoned.
- Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth. Proverbs 10:4
- As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so are sluggards to those who send them. Proverbs 10:26
- Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense. Proverbs 12:11
- For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” 2 Thessalonians 3:10
Putting this teaching in modern parlance, Democrats and liberals will stress biblical passages that teach compassion on the poor while Republicans and conservatives will stress biblical passages that teach allowing the poor to suffer the consequences of their actions.
But God is neither a Democrat nor a Republican. He’s a realist who knows when to when to help a poor person and when not to, when to extend a helping hand and when to put it back in his pocket.
And as Christians, we should practice that balance too.
This post first appeared in NewCommandment.org.
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Learn how to form teams of men for every widow, single mom
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