Beyond the Poor – The Law of God and Public Policy

Beyond the Poor
The Law of God and Public Policy

Distributive justice reaches to others besides the poor.

“For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’” Deuteronomy 15:11

The practice of caring for the poor was the responsibility of families (Deut. 15:7, 8), first of all, and of the communities in which poor people lived. Distributive justice is thus, in the first instance, a concern of local government.

Distributive justice extends to religious workers as well. Priests and Levites, who did not own property in ancient Israel, and whose working life was devoted not to creating material wealth but to nurturing spiritual health and well-being, did not have the time to provide for their own needs. This was the responsibility of the community served by such people, through their tithes and offerings. It is not hard to see how such benefit could be extended to other public servants in a wide range of occupations.

Distributive justice also worked to make sure that inheritances were kept intact and could be passed on to legitimate heirs without interference or loss. Wages were determined on the basis of distributive justice, as Jesus demonstrated in the parable of the workers (Matt. 20:1-16). Workers and employers were expected to reach agreement on compensation, worker by worker. And employers were expected to distribute those wages in a fair and timely manner.

Visit our website, www.ailbe.org, and sign up to receive our thrice-weekly devotional, Crosfigell, featuring writers from the period of the Celtic Revival and T. M.’s reflections on Scripture and the Celtic Christian tradition. Does the Law of God still apply today? Order a copy of T. M.’s book, The Ground for Christian Ethics, and study the question for yourself.

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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.