Thinking Differently About Poverty

Being poor is not just about money, or the lack of it. Poverty is a multifaceted condition that requires an equally multifaceted definition. There has been much debate by Christians, NGOs, governments, and the United Nations on precisely what constitutes "poverty," but there is one element that has been too often overlooked by everyone when it comes to ministering to the poor -- poverty is fundamentally an inability to make meaningful decisions.

Think about all of the important decisions that you make in a day. [1] You must decide what you are going to wear, where you are going to eat lunch, whether you will gas up the car before or after work, or what you will make for dinner with your family. Or, maybe you're making more high-stakes decisions: What pediatrician will I choose for my children? Where will I go to college? Should I buy a sedan or an SUV? Will we have an indoor or an outdoor wedding? Should we move to a neighborhood that has better schools? Which church offers the best childcare program? These are all questions that the truly poor do not have the luxury of even asking themselves, because they don't have the resources to even execute them. This is why poverty is not ultimately about money; it is about not having the meaningful margins of life that money affords us.

The poor do not usually get to decide where to eat or what to eat. They eat when food comes along. It might be a handout of some sort, a meager paycheck from some temporary work, or the tiny bag of chips that were purchased with the quarter found on the ground that day. The poor do not get to pick the schools that their children attend. They will attend whatever school serves the poor community they live in, and, due to systemic inequalities, those schools are often sub par. They don't get to decide what to wear to a job interview or how to dress their kids so they won't get teased. They wear whatever they can get, whether it is made for their size and gender or not.

Poverty makes one a passive recipient at the mercy of the system, of the neighborhood, and of the wealthy that surround them (in other neighborhoods, of course).

The despair of endless meaningless days:

Imagine living this passive existence in which you make no meaningful decisions. There is no Sabbath in which your mind is free to reflect, to dream, to rest. It is just one unending week. Everyday is the same. Consider the father of three who daily feels emasculated by the fact that he can't be the leader for his family, because there are no meaningful leadership decisions to be made. Or think of the mother who desperately wants to feed her daughters more often than once per day. There are children whose only sure daily meal comes from school. This means the weekends and summers are times of famine rather than fun. It means that the parents' only moment of security for their child's welfare is when the family is not together.

It is likely that most Christians (including myself until only relatively recently) have never really thought of poverty in this manner. This aspect of poverty is so much more moving, because it no longer just involves money. What hangs in the balance is not a wage, but a person's sense of humanity. Christians ought to be in the business of reconciling people with their God-given humanity, which is created imago dei.

In light of this definition, how should Christians approach poverty and ministering to their poor neighbors? First, we must recognize that not all poverty is the result of sinfulness on the part of the poor person. While that may be the case some times (Prov. 13:18; 20:13), other times the poor are genuinely the helpless victims of circumstances, or worse, the injustice of others. (Prov. 13:23; Ecclesiastes 4:1; Psalm 12:5) Ignoring that the poor are sometimes poor due to the sins of others is a bit of willful ignorance, both of reality and of the Scriptures. In reality, it is probably a mixture of the two. This fact -- that our problems are caused by ourselves and by others -- is true of everyone. Nonetheless, God's desire for his people is that they care for the poor, the oppressed, and the weak.

In the Old Testament law that God gave to the ancient Jews, God built in structural protections for the poor. Although the OT law was fulfilled in Christ and does not apply directly to Christians, the spirit of the law does reflect the unwavering heart of God. In the old covenant, the land was to remain fallow every seventh year so that the un-landed poor may work it. (Ex. 23:11) The debts of the poor were to be cancelled every seventh year in order to break cycles of poverty. (Deut. 15:2) The poor were permitted to partake of the crops they passed by, so long as they only used their hands, a legal protection that Jesus and his followers took advantage of. (Deut. 23:24-25; Matt 12:1) Likewise, farmers were forbidden to harvest the corners of their field so that they may be left for the poor, like Ruth the Moabitess. (Leviticus 19:9-10; Ruth 2:2-3) Sodom was condemned for not helping the poor and needy. (Ezek 16:49)

God's concern for the poor is not limited to the OT. Take note of the many New Testament references to caring for the poor. (Luke 14:12-14; Luke 18:22; Romans 15:25-29; Romans 12:13; James 2:5-7; Galatians 2:10; Ephesians 4:28; James 1:27)

It is clear that God's own heart is with the poor, but the question is how should we love the poor?

Why a money-only approach does more harm than good:

On the surface, the most obvious solution to poverty is to give money to the poor. However, given the definition put forth here, money is not ultimately the problem. The problem is the inability to make meaningful decisions. Throwing money (or material things) at such a problem could actually only multiply problems. This is especially the case with multi-generational poverty. Imagine, for example, an adult who is poor and was born into poverty. She has likely never made a meaningful life decision. Now imagine that she spends the only dollar to her name on a lottery ticket out of desperation and wins one million dollars. Will she suddenly know how to make wise decisions with her money? No. How could she? She has never been equipped with the tools and wisdom necessary to handle such money.

Money alone is not the answer (although sacrificial giving of money will be required). What the poor need is to live (and love) in a community that will raise them up. This provision is made in OT law as well. In Leviticus, the Jews were required to help the poor as they would an alien or a temporary resident "so that he can continue to live among [the community]." (Lev. 25:35) The poor needed the community, and God would not permit the community to kick them out or hide them away in trailer park ghettos on the other side of town.

The same is the case here. More than money, the poor need our love, our friendship, and our community. They need discipleship. They need a hug, a person who knows their name and the names of their children. They need someone to give them advice, and they need someone to ask them for advice. They need to stand shoulder to shoulder with others with whom they are equals before God, worshiping Him in all his glory.

They need to feel significant. Before giving a poor person money, look her in the eyes, ask her name, and get to know her for the beautiful, image-bearing person she is. Then, break bread with her.

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[1] If you're reading this blog post, there is a very high probability that you are not living in poverty, as the truly poor do not usually enjoy the luxury of reading blogs.
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Comments, questions, and discussion are welcome.