Tithes and Loans – The Law of God and Public Policy: Responsibility for the Poor (6)

Tithes and Loans

The Law of God and Public Policy: Responsibility for the Poor (6)

Neighbors must be prepared to provide monetary relief to the poor.

“At the end of every three years you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in the same year and lay it up within your towns. And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.” Deuteronomy 14:28 29

Every three years the communities of ancient Israel replenished their “community chests” of goods. At least some of these resources were made available for the needs of the poor. These may have been more along the lines of the “hand-outs” we typically see today in large cities where, through soup kitchens and clothes closets, the poor are provided for on a short-term basis.

Such hand-outs must not be the only means of meeting the needs of the poor; nor should they be the first line of defense. As we have seen, helping the poor to find meaningful and productive work is the first obligation of any community toward its poor neighbors.

Short-term loans could also be used to care for those who had fallen on hard times (Exod. 22:25, 26). These appear to have been personal loans between friends or family members—close neighbors—and were to be repaid without interest and in a timely manner. Those who were loaning to the poor should not seek to “make money” from the distress of their neighbors.

Neighbor-love requires that communities accept responsibility to care for the needs of the poor among them. Public policies should be adopted to encourage the practices we have outlined in this and the previous installment. However, public policies transgress the bounds of justice when they (1) treat the poor indiscriminately, on the basis of income or wealth only, (2) deny the dignity of the poor by failing to create opportunities for work, (3) make the poor dependent on government largesse, (4) transgress the property rights of the non-poor, or (5) create a class of people who make their living on the poor.

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore, editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.