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The Way
by Kevin Pauley
"If there is a poor person among you, one of your brothers within any of your gates in the land the LORD your God is giving you, you must not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Instead, you are to open your hand to him and freely loan him enough for whatever need he has. Be careful that there isn't this wicked thought in your heart, 'The seventh year, the year of canceling debts, is near,' and you are stingy toward your poor brother and give him nothing. He will cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty. Give to him, and don't have a stingy heart when you give, and because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you do. For there will never cease to be poor people in the land; that is why I am commanding you, 'You must willingly open your hand to your afflicted and poor brother in your land.'” – Deuteronomy 15:7-11 HCSB
We should not be stingy about charitable work[1], but should seek to provide for those who will never be able to pay us back.[2] We should extend interest-free loans to the poor so that they can free themselves and become financially independent.[3] We must establish systematic means for the poor to be able to gain access to and use some of our surplus.[4]
Systematic standards must be developed by which we determine who receives aid. There will always be more poor than we can actually help. We have limited resources and we do no want to waste them on the lazy or those who lack character.[5]
Notice that God did not command Israeli farmers to give a certain portion of the harvest to the poor. He wanted the poor to actually go out into the fields and work in order to gain access to the grain or grapes. This is a working principle. Nothing is simply given to the poor because that approach only teaches laziness and dependence. The system we develop must include some means for the poor to trade in kind (i.e. labor or services for goods).
Even the poor should be taught to place Christ’s kingdom first and to give toward its furtherance.[6] All of us, regardless of our economic status, must make benevolence a regular part of our budgets[7], for the Bible teaches that one of the purposes of our work is to be able to care for those who are in need.[8] However, we are not to give to the poor to the point where it damages our ability to provide for our own. The Bible teaches equality – giving out of excess – not giving to the point of damage.[9]
We do not preach a social gospel. We do not believe in salvation by good works. We must keep our priorities straight.[10] Further, the war against poverty is ultimately unwinnable. There will always be poor people among us. This fact should not deter us because we are trying to save individuals from poverty, not conquer poverty itself. We are not called to win the battle but to fight bravely and wisely.[11]
[1] Psalm 37:21,26; 112:5-6; 2 Corinthians 9:6-7
[3] Exodus 22:25-27; Leviticus 25:35-40
[4] Exodus 23:10-11; Leviticus 19:9-10; Deuteronomy 26:12-13
[6] Mark 12:41-44; 2 Corinthians 6:10
[7] Deuteronomy 14:28-29; 1 Corinthians 16:2-3
[9] Luke 3:11; 2 Corinthians 8:12-15
Kevin Pauley is a pastor and writer. He lives in Illinois with his wife, Lynn, their five children and two dogs. His internet address is Berea.
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