Does God love the poor more than the rich?

Is this the right question?

God and the poor

The conversation at coffee was lively, as usual when an interesting question arose:

Q: “Does God say He loves the poor more than the rich?”

A: “God seems to have a heart for the poor.”

Q: “Yes, but does God say He loves the poor more than the rich?”

A: “God talks mostly about the poor.”

Q: “Yes, but does God say …?”

You can get the circular direction this is going. Circular because it is the wrong question (although I add my two bits at the end). The better question is, “What does God say about the relationship between the poor and the rich?”

This answer is - “Lots”.

Brief background: I had begun to do a child sponsorship, back in the early 90’s through an agency, Food for the Hungry, headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. I noticed an opportunity to go to Phoenix for a week of education and training regarding global poverty, hunger and intervention. It was an eye-opening experience.

While I was browsing in a lounge area, I spotted a book titled, “Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger” by Ronald J. Sider. It rocked the Christian world at that time and it rocked mine. Many “Bible believers” at the time of its release attacked and scorned the book. One even wrote a Bible-based counterargument titled, “Productive Christians in an Age of Guilt Manipulation: A Biblical Response to Ronald Sider”. Clearly a nerve had been touched. There have been books written validating the prosperity gospel, others promoting voluntary simplicity - a new kind of monasticism, and others promoting prudency and balance, which, ironically, fits middle class America quite well. All appeal to scripture to make their case. Welcome to an ancient debate. I will add my 2 cents.

Who are the poor? (The following definitions came a pamphlet titled “Sharing God’s Heart for the Poor” by Dr. Amy L. Sherman)

First off, there are several words used in the Bible to describe the poor, Hebrew words used in the Old Testament are as follows:

• Dal – Used 50 times defining those who compromise the lower class who lack the material wealth of the upper class.

• Ani – the “oppressed poor”, emphasizing the pain the socially powerless experience the powerful take advantage of them.

• Ebyon – those in dire want, dependent upon others, used often in Psalms. Often a righteous person suffering loss from wicked enemies. 

• Rus – those who are desperately poor, weak and unprotected. They lack the necessities of life and are vulnerable to oppression in the courts or from the powerful.

Greek words used in the New Testament are as follows:

• Penes – the working poor, wage laborers who are poor relative to the well-to-do. Interestingly, 2 Cor 9:9 implies it is appropriate for Christians to help them even though they are not technically destitute.

• Ptochos – this is used far more often in the New Testament describing those reduced to a beggarly situation. They are clearly dependent upon others for help.

The point is that the diversity of words used to describe the conditions of poverty show God’s broad-ranging concern for the poor.

There are abundant scriptures revealing God’s feelings, judgements and actions on behalf of the poor found in the books of Psalms and Proverbs and a multitude of warnings on bad treatment or simply ignoring the poor in the books of the prophets. For now, I want to focus on how the treatment of the poor was supposed to function using scripture as a guide. First, a look at how business enterprise (agriculture) was supposed to function:

Lev 19:10 Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien.

Lev 23:22 'When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien.

Ex 23:10-11 "For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what they leave. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.

What is our modern guide for enterprise using these commands as a guide? What we are given here is a command not to squeeze the last drop of profit out of your enterprise, leave something for the poor to harvest (which implies some effort is made by the poor being helped). Note that this is not the result of employment, even the unemployed should find resources to feed their family.

Then we have this command:

Deut 15:1- 5, 7-11 At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel the loan he has made to his fellow Israelite. He shall not require payment from his fellow Israelite or brother, because the Lord's time for canceling debts has been proclaimed. You may require payment from a foreigner, but you must cancel any debt your brother owes you. However, there should be no poor among you, for in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you, if only you fully obey the Lord your God and are careful to follow all these commands, I am giving you today. … If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs. Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: "The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near," so that you do not show ill will toward your needy brother and give him nothing. He may then appeal to the Lord against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. 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.

“Should be no poor”. “If there are poor”. “There will always be poor”.

Really? The intent of the commands of the Lord towards the people is that there are to be no poor people in the land resulting in a just society. However, the reality, given the nature of people, is a downhill slide where there will be inequity resulting in the need for charity. The point is that the need for charity is a result of an unjust society.

Now let’s look at what Jesus had to say about the coming Kingdom of God.

Luke 4:14-21 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."  

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

This brief homily almost got him killed. But to confirm his acting this out we have this passage:

Matt 11:2-6 When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?" Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."

The incarnation of the prophetic proclamation was Jesus. He embodied “the good news being preached to the poor”. What was preached was not stated but that it was happening was clear. The Kingdom of God was coming and it included good news for the poor. How does that work?

The answer may be found by taking a look at how the Kingdom of God played out in the early church:

Acts 4:32-35 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.

Was this the “good news”? In the nascent church it sure looked like it. Alas, this socialized model did not last very long. There were many commands and requests to the fellowships Paul planted in the book of Acts of the Apostles that they be generous and charitable to those in need. What went around in the Old Testament seemed to come around in the New. The format for implementing the Kingdom of God was a good idea but it didn’t last, so charity was called upon to fill the gap. Regardless, God doesn’t let us off the hook. i.e. James, speaking like the prophets of old in chapter 5, is particularly harsh to the greedy rich:

James 5:1-5 Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.

Holy cow, this is not one of those verses one would put on a refrigerator magnet. I included this only to show the gravity of the intent of what God expects of us. Now, what do we do with all this?

Mea culpa! I have found that the those who have a lifestyle of giving generously appear to those who do not to be either foolish or saintly. Yet, often the generous givers, conversely, they feel that they themselves could always be more generous in their giving.  In my case, I find myself acknowledging a cognitive dissonance in my financial outreach, hoping to develop a looser grip on my resources and a bigger heart for those in need. There is always room for improvement.

PS: My answer to the first question “Does God say He loves the poor more than the rich?” is that God’s love, especially as expressed through Jesus, is unbounded and unconditional. So, my answer is, “No”. (Note, I am not a Calvinist)