trusted online casino malaysia
Realizing the presence, promise, and power of the Kingdom of God.
ReVision

Work for Every Person

Workfare and guest workers.

Grace Economics (1) (3)

‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field when you reap, nor shall you gather any gleaning from your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger: I amthe LORD your God.’” Leviticus 23.22

The importance of work
One of the most reliable measures of any economy is employment. When employment is high, the economy is healthy; when it is low, the economy struggles. Everyone understands this.

This is because work is fundamental to a healthy economy. Indeed, without work it’s difficult to see how there could be any economy at all. So it’s no wonder that we have laws protecting people’s right to work, providing a fair wage, ensuring just and timely compensation, ordering safety and security in the workplace, supporting standards of quality and workmanship, and so forth. Whatever we can do to encourage productive work is at least worth considering.

In recent years, two major work-related questions have arisen in the American economy, and on each of these the Law of God can shed some light, if we will allow it to do so.

The first of these relates to poverty and welfare.

Poverty and welfare
From the 1930s to the 1960s a massive federal welfare regimen was set in place to care for the needs of poor people in America. Much of this effort, especially early on, was needed and benefited the nation as a whole, which was struggling to rise from the rubble of the great depression.

By the 70s and 80s, however, plenty of voices could be heard calling out for reform of a system that was creating more poverty than it was solving, by supporting an underclass of citizens dependent on the government for their wellbeing.

One solution that emerged from the welfare crisis is what has been referred to as workfare. This is the idea that people should be encouraged to work as long as they are able, and should not be dependent on handouts except as a final resort. Even the welfare system requires those who participate in it to seek work regularly, and to show evidence they have done so. We seem to know that entitlements should be short-term only, while work should be the norm for all who are able.

Such a view has Biblical foundations in the idea that human beings, made in the image of God, were made for work, as we have seen (Gen. 1.26-28). Work is not a curse; rather, it is part of the image of God in people that allows them to take responsibility for their wellbeing, and at the same time make a viable contribution to the economy.

In the gleaning laws of ancient Israel we see an early example of the workfare idea. The poor were not given handouts to sustain them; rather, they were expected to go into the fields and work to acquire the leavings graciously provided by landowners who obeyed the teaching of Scripture not to go over the lands twice, but to leave some portions of their fields for the poor and needy.

This statute had a double benefit, in that it also curbed greediness, as each landowner was required by law to leave a portion of his unharvested crop for the poor to glean. This meant that a man, in order to show love for his needy neighbor, was required to forego a certain amount of income and profit so that those who, for whatever reason, had become poor, could provide for themselves through dignified work.

Workfare solutions might replace the growing entitlements regimen in our country if, for example, business owners could make it part of their business plans to use some of their profits and personal income to create more jobs or to supplement other local businesses needing to hire workers. Either of these principles would be consistent with the Old Testament laws about gleaning.

Foreign workers
The other work-related question has to do with immigration and the hiring of non-citizens. As the laws governing this aspect of the American economy come up for review, Biblical law could shed the light of love on this situation. God commanded His people to love the sojourner (Lev. 19.33, 34) and to make it possible for strangers from other lands to find work in Israel without having to become citizens. Those strangers and sojourners were expected to abide by the Law of God while they were in the land, but the people were expected to recognize the value and importance of making room in their economy for guest workers from other nations.

Thus, guest workers laws are not a new idea in the American economy, but they could be expanded and improved. And looking to the Law of God, if only to remind us of the primacy of grace over greed, might help in reforming this area of the American economy.

God’s Law insists that every person should have meaningful work and be a contributing part of the local economy and society. The Apostle Paul showed his understanding of these principles when he exhorted the Ephesians to take up meaningful employment, so that they would have means to share with others, and when, in writing to the Thessalonians, he said that anyone who would not work should not eat (Eph. 4.28; 2 Thess. 3.10).

The Law of God points the way to an economics, not of greed and gain, but of honest work and love for neighbor.

For reflection
1.  What opportunities exist in your community for needy people to find work, if only of a temporary nature? Are any Christian organizations offering such opportunities?

2.  Government regulations and taxation can sometimes dry up business reserves, making it difficult for local business to expand and offer more jobs. Is this an example of grace economics or greed economics? Explain.

3.  Should Christians have a voice in the issue of immigration? Should they allow the Law of God to guide their thinking in this matter? Why or why not?

Next steps – Transformation: See what you can find out about local ministries that help poor people in Biblical ways. How can your church become more involved with such ministries?

T. M. Moore

This week’s ReVision study is Part 6 of a 10-part series, “The Kingdom Economy.” You can download “Grace Economics (1)” as a free PDF, prepared for personal or group study. Simply click here. For a background study of Kingdom economics, order the book, The Kingdom Turn,  from our online store, and learn what it means to enter the Kingdom, not just talk about it.

Start your day in the Word of God. Study with T. M. in our daily
Scriptorium newsletter, as he walks us through the ongoing work of Christ in the book of Acts. You can subscribe to receive Scriptorium each day at 5:00 am Eastern, or go to the website to download each week’s study in a free PDF.

Your gifts to The Fellowship of Ailbe make this ministry possible. It’s easy to give to The Fellowship of Ailbe, and all gifts are, of course, tax-deductible. You can click here to donate online through credit card or PayPal, or send your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Dr., Essex Junction, VT 05452.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He and his wife, Susie, make their home in the Champlain Valley of Vermont.
Books by T. M. Moore

Subscribe to Ailbe Newsletters

Sign up to receive our email newsletters and read columns about revival, renewal, and awakening built upon prayer, sharing, and mutual edification.