Redistribution God's Way

Deut. 15:4-11
However, there should not be any poor among you, for the Lord will surely bless you in the land that he is giving you as an inheritance, if you carefully obey him by keeping all these commandments that I am giving you today. For the Lord your God will bless you just as he has promised; you will lend to many nations but will not borrow from any, and you will rule over many nations but they will not rule over you. If a fellow Israelite from one of your villages in the land that the Lord your God is giving you should be poor, you must not harden your heart or be insensitive to his impoverished condition. Instead, you must be sure to open your hand to him and generously lend him whatever he needs.

Be careful lest you entertain the wicked thought that the seventh year, the year of cancellation of debts, has almost arrived, and your attitude be wrong toward your impoverished fellow Israelite and you do not lend him anything; he will cry out to the Lord against you and you will be regarded as having sinned. You must by all means lend to him and not be upset by doing it, for because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you attempt. There will never cease to be some poor people in the land; therefore, I am commanding you to make sure you open your hand to your fellow Israelites who are needy and poor in your land.

2 Cor. 8:12-15

For if the eagerness is present, the gift itself is acceptable according to whatever one has, not according to what he does not have. For I do not say this so there would be relief for others and suffering for you, but as a matter of equality. At the present time, your abundance will meet their need, so that one day their abundance may also meet your need, and thus there may be equality, as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”

Gal. 2:10

They requested only that we remember the poor,

the very thing I also was eager to do.

I've become convinced that socialism is more than a counterfeit of God's way of providing for the poor - it's a blight on the church. From the earliest days of Israel - before they even entered the land - God expected that the "haves" would take care of the "have nots". He would bless them, to be sure - but they were expected to take care of the poor.

In fact, a good argument could be made that one reason both Moses and Jesus asserted that there would always be poor among us is that having someone needier than we are keeps us from loving wealth too much. It keeps us focused on being a blessing, rather than being blessed. Generosity is the best protection against greed.

Whatever the purpose, God asserts that the poor among us are not to be ignored but cared for. As economic systems go, both socialism and capitalism have their natural pitfalls, their natural human bents toward sin nature. Capitalism has a tendency to despise the poor - think Ebenezer Scrooge. In such a context, socialism can be seen as attractive - as the "duty" of a nation.

In reality though, it's the covenant community - the people of God - who should be taking the lead in caring for the poor. Many evangelical believers shy away from such talk, because of the imbalance of the "social Gospel" that prioritized human need over eternal truth. Yet as we peruse the pages of Scripture we encounter a God who perfectly melded both temporal help and eternal hope. And He calls us to do likewise.

God wants us to give generously to the poor as He blesses us. Without hardening our heart, meet their needs. Failure to do so is sin. Failure to do so can easily lead to our wealth controlling us. God's method of redistribution is personal, not governmental. Be generous and sacrificial; give from the overflow as well as out of need.

Governmental redistribution should never be needed. As we walk through an economic crisis, let's heed the call of Scripture to give. Now, more than ever, when people are holding tight to every penny, let's show true dependence on God by not decreasing our giving.

May you be blessed to be a blessing this Thanksgiving week.