A Biblical Understanding of Poverty

Poverty is an issue I have been thinking about lately.  I am currently reading “The Irresistible Revolution,” by Shane Claiborne.  Shane obviously has a remarkable passion for Jesus.  In my book, that ranks above all else.  However, sometimes his application of biblical principles is flawed, in my opinion, on the issue of poverty.  I am finding him a very interesting case study on the “social justice” wing of modern Christendom.

For example, in discussion of the church (writ large) he dreams of, he comments:

We dreamed ancient visions of a church like the one in Acts, in which “there were no needy persons among them” because everyone shared their possessions, not claiming anything as their own but “sharing everything they had.”  We knew we could end poverty. (emphasis mine) 

I love his passion, but wonder if his faulty presupposition will hamper his effectiveness or even cause more harm than good in certain circumstances. 

The faulty presupposition is this:  It is possible in this life to end poverty. 

It is no more possible for mankind to end poverty than it is for us to prevent all war or cure all disease or remove the sinful nature of mankind, as the words of Christ demonstrate:

Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.   
So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him.
Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said,
"Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?"
Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it.
Therefore Jesus said, "Let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of My burial.
"For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me." (emphasis mine)

                                                           - John 12: 1-8

I wish this were not so.  We can and should (as followers of Christ we are mandated to do so) help the poor.  The New Testament is replete with examples of Christ ordering us to help the poor.  However, we will always have the poor with us. 

Economic utopia is not possible in this lifetime.  Because mankind is not perfect, there will always be social problems…in this case, poverty.  There can be no man-made total eradication of poverty.  However, there are strategies and policies that have proven to minimize it.  Shane may not want to admit it, but the capitolistic, market economy of the U.S. has actually minimized poverty to an amazing extent when compared with other countries and economic systems. Many of the "poor" in the U.S. are not poor at all when compared to others around the world.

Comments

[Don Sherfick]

Ryan, I truly believe that you don't personally subscribe to this, but I've too long hear through my some 70 years people using Christ's quote concerning "the poor always being with you" as an excuse for ignoring poverty, with government or otherwise. That seems to be to epitome of callousness, and maybe helped give rise to the term "compassionate conservatism". While I appreciate (and largely agree with) the statement concerning the beneficial role that capitalism plays in the reduction of poverty, there seems to be bothersome element in what you say that enshrines capitalism with some nearly theological dimensions such that Scripture gets quoted to support it rather that it being only one secular tool used by Chistians to follow the Lord's commands.

[Bob G.]

Ryan:
I've spoken to this point about poverty (both the REAL as well as the "perceived") many times.
I agree that we have many people who feign poverty in America that simply have NO inkling what TRUE POVERTY really is.
I suppose a bus trip to the Appalachian region in PA might make a point. Or perhaps Darfur...or Kenya...or even Mexico.

-You simply cannot be "poor" when you can't afford some $80 Nikes, right?
-No one is poor when all they have to drive is some POS-mobile in several shades of rust.
-And just becasue you don't have the money to buy some bling, doesn't mean you drop out of school letting others provide the necessities of life to you gratis.
The stream of poverty flows much deeper than that.

Even the truly poor in America honestly DO have it better than the masses in 3rd world nations...
In those countries we see generation after generation born INTO poverty, while whatever government that is ruling sits in abject splendor.

We send food to relive the suffering...and it promptly gets waylaid by some rival faction in some civil war.

I also firmly believe that we, as the HUMAN race (and made in God's image) DO indeed have the means to if not end poverty across the globe, to radically minimize it and allow those without to finally enjoy some of the fruits of OUR labors.

(didn't mean to preach...sorry)

B.G.

[Kenn Gividen]

Average annual household income for black Americans is over $30,000. In Africa it's about $300 per year.

While free trade and open markets may not have succeeded in erasing the economic racial disparity, it has elevated all who participate.

Looking forward to Christian economist Schansberg's opinions.

[eric schansberg]

A few things to add... (Thanks for Don for telling me this was a thread!)

I appreciate Ryan's balance here-- that we are called to help the poor (and the other marginalized members of society), but we shouldn't expect utopia. I would add that this injunction is especially true in the face of oppression (within the market or much more often, by the government).

To Bob and Kenn, the comparison of our country's "poor" with those who are far more profoundly poor across the world is another important point to make.

I would add to Ryan's remarks about the book that Acts 2,4 speak to a voluntary charitable arrangement in a small community-- rather than a large-scale government welfare program. (The shenanigans in Acts 5 make this even more clear.) It's apples and oranges-- or moreso, apples and rocks-- to equate the two.

Finally, to Don's point: too often, "conservative" Christians ignore or are ignorant of the many examples of govt-imposed injustice on the working poor. (I address these at length in my book.) These probably do not rise to the level of abortion as a public policy issue. (Abortion is more important, but the use of politics to fix/help it is less clear.) But these issues certainly surpass gambling and protesting Father Daniel on NBC as issues of import within a coherent Christian worldview.

[Craig Ladwig]

Thank you, Ryan, for this discussion. It is important that we understand that our obligation to the poor is personal and individual, not corporate or governmental. Dr. Schansberg, of course, has written the book on this issue. It should be a manuel for Christian policy-makers.