People fall into poverty for various reasons, not all of them just.

“You shall not pervert the justice due to the sojourner or to the fatherless, or take a widow’s garment in pledge…” Deuteronomy 24.17

There will always be poor people in any society, and neighbor-love requires that policies exist to ensure proper care for them according to the teaching of God’s Word.

People fall into poverty for various reasons, some just, and some not. It seems strange, perhaps, to say that there might be “just” reasons for being poor. But let’s keep in mind that a society is just when love for God and neighbor are the defining features, not material prosperity. There will always be poor people in any society, but the presence of poor people does not make that society unjust. A just society will consist of both wealthy and poor alike.

Some people become poor because of deprivation, whether of persons or property. Orphans lose their parents; still, their basic needs must be met. Widows lose their husbands; the early Church was particularly diligent in caring for those who were true widows (cf. 1 Tim. 5.1-16). People whose property is destroyed by fire or storm may temporarily fall into poverty and thus require short-term assistance. Poverty can also befall those who become ill and are unable to work, such as lepers in both the Old and New Testaments. Some may be poor because, being refugees (sojourners), they have been unable to secure steady work.

These are, in Biblical terms, the truly poor. They deserve the love of their neighbors to sustain them during their season of impoverishment, until they can take responsibility for their lives once again. Those who will never be able to attain that state must be cared for indefinitely and ungrudgingly.

Those who become poor because they are unwilling to work to meet their needs, or because they prefer a life of indolence or revelry should not be considered among the poor for whom society has a responsibility. The Scriptures everywhere teach against supporting people in their laziness, indolence, or wastefulness. The word “poverty” must not be regarded as a universal term to describe people whose only common characteristic is a lack of income and wealth. Some who lack income and wealth may have fallen into that condition because of refusing to exercise good stewardship. In a very real sense, they do not deserve to have their status dignified by being referred to as “poor.” Such people must be encouraged to work and take responsibility for their lives; they must not be supported in their continuing disobedience.

The truly poor, however, deserve our compassion and our diligent efforts to establish policies that make it possible for them to have their basic needs met on a daily basis. They do not, however, deserve any kind of “preferential” treatment.

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