Justice for the Poor: A Local Matter – The Kingdom Curriculum XVIII (5)

Justice for the Poor: A Local Matter

“If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be.” Deuteronomy 15:7, 8

From this and other passages we get the distinct impression that poor-relief is to be, in the first instance, a local concern. Exodus 22:25 uses the language “any of my people with you who is poor.” Leviticus 25:35 requires that we allow the poor to live with us during the season of their need, so that they may, soon enough, resume their place beside us in the community. Deuteronomy 14:28, 29 commands certain specific actions to be taken by communities on behalf of the poor “who are within your towns.”

Three specific kinds of programs are envisioned for local communities in caring for the poor in their midst. The first is a program of short-term loans (Deut. 15:7, 8). Local communities must make it possible for poor people, who can demonstrate responsibility, to secure temporary resources to meet their needs at a reasonable and workable interest rate (among believers, no interest is to be charged, Ex. 22:25). Such loans can be arranged through local banks, with believers or Christian entities serving as co-signers; alternately, churches may pool part of their diaconal resources to make it possible for the poor to borrow money over the short-term for immediate necessities. These loans can be paid back either in cash or by work on church grounds and facilities.

The second program relates specifically to local churches and requires that a portion of their normal tithes be set apart for the needs of the poor (Deut. 14:28, 29). The more churches can pool or coordinate their efforts in this matter, the more efficient the use of their resources will be. But churches must not make such funds available to believers only. “Sojourners” are also to be cared for in their need. We must not make some expression of belief in the Gospel a prerequisite to helping people in their needs. While helping the poor who are outside the Church provides an excellent opportunity to explain God’s grace through your gift, believing in the Gospel is not a requirement for benefiting from the compassion of the local church or the individual believer.

We must also be prepared at the local level to respond to situations of urgent need beyond our immediate vicinity, as Paul showed in canvassing the churches in Greece to provide for the relief of famine-stricken believers in Palestine. Normally, Christian agencies–denominations, international relief ministries, and so forth–are the most efficient means of making local church and community resources available in a timely manner for the larger needs of the poor throughout the world.

Reading and meditating on the Law of God is every believer’s duty and privilege (Ps. 1). Order your copy of The Law of God, a compendium of the commandments and precepts of God’s Law, by going to www.MyParuchia.com, point your browser to “Publications,” then click on the drop-down option, “Waxed Tablet Publications.”

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore.

T.M. Moore is 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.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.