Poverty is a widespread issue that has been a concern since the very beginning of time. With so many different avenues society can approach poverty, I will focus on a Christian Ethics approach to the moral dilemma of poverty. The question that I will attempt to answer in this essay is,” What can the Church do to help fight poverty?”. Like stated before I will use a Christian Ethics approach to deal with this moral dilemma. Christian Ethics as in asserted by our textbook, uses the Bible as its primary resource, “supported by careful thinking and sensitivity to the heart and conscience.” The Bible is key to understanding how Christians and the Church can help fight poverty.
Christian Ethics
Christian Ethics is heavily supported by the Bible and is a focal point of understanding how to approach moral dilemma’s such as abortion, capital punishment, and poverty. With so many different opinions on what is considered to be right or wrong, moral or immoral. There is no better answer or guide than what God has gifted this universe with. Like it stated before, I personally decide what is moral or immoral by following the Christian approach to ethics to the best of my ability. Although I find myself straying from the life of a Christian from time to time, I know the life God intended me to live on this earth. Christian ethics asks what the whole Bible teaches us about which acts, attitudes, and personal character traits receive God’s approval and which ones do not.
Although it is not as simple to just pick up the bible and read it front to back, and when you finish have a complete understanding to what action is precisely considered morally right or wrong. Studying the bible and learning what is being said, can be difficult at times. But once you start to get a good understanding you discover that the bible teaches us how to live. God delights in his own moral character, which is supremely good, unchanging, and eternal. Living a Godly moral life and obeying the commands that can be found in the bible is a major key to knowing what is right or wrong. For example, God commands us in the book of Exodus chapter twenty verse sixteen “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor” . God is commanding to not lie to another. To lie is considered a sin and not morally right in the eyes of god.
As we can see, the bible is a gold mine when it comes to ethics. It is black and white and a document that should never be tampered with. Although we live in a sinful world, we have all witness people or groups that attempt to change what is truly being said in the Bible to their advantage. In the Book of Revelation chapter 22 verse 18-19 states, “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll”. Such a powerful warning, that is laid out upon this world. After reading that verse the tone should give any believer in Christ, a picture of how serious it is to tamper with the word of God.
The Bible is full of life guidance, the Ten Commandants is the foundation of Christian ethics. People can find the Ten Commandants in the book of Exodus and Deuteronomy. God commands Christians to follow these set of rules. Breaking a commandant should not be taken lightly, as it is a major sin to do so. Knowing how to approach the moral dilemma is found through the word of God and the only way to discover these ethics is by studying the Bible. In the rest of this paper I will be using Christian ethics to approach poverty and how the church can help aid poverty.
Poverty
We see poverty when we drive through cities and towns all throughout our country and the world. We hear the never-ending debates from politicians and their approach to ending poverty. The left side saying the we should get taxed more to help take care of the poor while the right side believes more jobs is the key to ending poverty. But what is the Christian approach to poverty. Our duty as human beings and Christians is to take care of other human beings. It is written in the word of God, “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed” (Proverbs 19:17) , and Proverbs 14:31, “Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him.” God says it is our duty, and therefore we must honor his word.
The bible teaches us a clear message that we should help the poor. So, what is the right way to approach poverty? Is it money, free programs or jobs? Like I mentioned previously the left believes higher taxes to support programs for the poor and the right who wants to give jobs to help the poor. I personally believe both sides are using a Christian approach. They are both being generous to the poor, in which the Lord will repay you for your deeds.
But what can the church do to help stop poverty? The Bible states in the Book of Hebrews chapter 13 verse 16, “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God” . Reading that verse you can pretty much understand what is being said, be good and share what you have because it pleases the Lord. The Christian church for the most part in history has been very helpful in the case against poverty. For example, the church that I attended has held food drives to assist local families, part of the weekly giving of the church is used to help others. There are countless different types of community fundraiser held each year to help aid people in poverty.
The question of exactly how much can you give to help aid poverty is always a dilemma. We live in a time that is much different than when Jesus walked this earth. Some might of heard of the saying that the poorest people in the United States would be some of the riches in other parts of this world. In my opinion, I believe giving enough to make sure nobody truly suffers in enough. Also long as people in poverty are getting enough to stay healthy and have shelter is appropriate. Nobody should starve to death and I believe anybody that follows a Christian approach would feel the same.
The church is huge part of a community and I believe it should be the center of a community. The church that truly follows the Bible and doesn’t make exceptions that wouldn’t please God is approaching poverty the right way, because they are staying loyal to what God wants us to do. The Church needs to continue to stay involved outside of its doors and spread the fruit of the word of God far and wide.
Conclusion
Using a Christian approach to poverty in my opinion is the right choice. We have a duty to help others in need. I believe that here in America we do a pretty good job of taking care of our poor. A strong church that continues to follow the word of God and fulfill what is spoken will help aid poverty. As we continue to feed the love of God to everyone and help bringing them to accepting Jesus Christ as their savior will accelerate the aid to poverty.
Bibliography
Grudem, Wayne. “10 Things You Should Know about Christian Ethics.” Crossway Articles, July 24, 2018. https://www.crossway.org/articles/10-things-you-should-know-about-christian-ethics/.
Jones, Michael S. Moral Reasoning: An Intentional Approach to Distinguishing Right from Wrong. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt, 2017.