Biblical foundations

CPJ’s Envisioning Canada Without Poverty campaign has ended. We thank CPJ members and supporters for contacting their MPs and sharing the important message that poverty must be addressed. Thanks to you, the campaign was a success. For new opportunities to get involved in the fight against poverty, check out CPJ’s new campaign: Dignity for All.

For CPJ, the goal of reducing poverty and inequality stems from the biblical call to do justice. As a national, Christian organization engaged in active citizenship, CPJ takes seriously the biblical command to create a society where there is no poverty (Deut. 15: 4-5). That is part of what the Kingdom of God, that Jesus proclaimed, looks like. So when we pray the words of the Lord’s Prayer – “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” – we are fully aware that God’s will is that there should be no poverty in our society. And we are all called to help make that vision a reality.

The Bible has numerous references to poverty and treating the poor. How many times have we heard the verse, “the poor you will always have with you” (Matt. 26:11)? It is usually invoked whenever someone talks about serious efforts to eradicate poverty. That famous quote from scripture, spoken by Jesus Christ no less, is often uttered as a fatalistic excuse for inaction. But the Bible offers no justification for complacency when it comes to poverty. The passage that Jesus quotes ends with the injunction to be open-handed toward the poor and needy (Deut. 15:7-8). Indeed, earlier in that passage from the book of Deuteronomy comes the assertion that “There should be no one in need among you.” That claim flows from a promise from God to bless the land with abundance and a commitment from the people to follow the commandments laid out by God.

Part of those commandments included the Sabbath and Jubilee laws. (Lev. 25 and Deut 15: 1-15.). The jubilee laws have been publicly recalled in efforts to eliminate the international debts of poor countries. Those laws also called for periodic redistribution of the means of production – land, grain and livestock. They called for public practices to allow periods of rest for all people and for animals and the land. The Sabbath and Jubilee principles are still relevant. They indicate that in today’s circumstances we need to create policies that ensure people have the means to exercise a sustainable livelihood that provides a livable income. They require that we make sure everyone has access to an adequate income and the resources necessary for well-being even when we are not able to secure all we need through paid work. They also indicate that we must exercise care in the use of natural resources, that we must respect the world of which we are a part.

Another biblical example of poverty follows Jesus’ teaching about the reign of God, particularly as seen in the parable of the vineyard workers. In that parable, the owner of the vineyard goes to the market to hire laborers, returning several times to hire all the workers who have not found work. At the end of the day, when it comes time to pay the workers, the owner orders that the last who are hired be paid first and gives them a full day’s pay. When the workers who were hired at the beginning of the day grumble at getting the same pay, the owner responds “Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ (Matt 20:13-15)

Most people today, even many Christians, sympathize with the workers in the story who were hired at the beginning of the day. It reflects how thoroughly we are instilled with the values of the present age, where it is presumed that one’s worth is measured by the amount or type of work one does. Yet, the story must be seen in its context. It relates back to laws in the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. In Jesus’ parable, the owner pays the wages at the end of the day just as the law in Leviticus stipulates: “You shall not keep for yourself the wages of a labourer until morning” (Lev. 19:13). Deuteronomy elaborates on the reason for the law. “You shall not withhold the wages of poor and needy labourers, whether other Israelites or aliens who reside in your land in one of your towns. You shall pay them their wages daily before sunset, because they are poor and their livelihood depends on them” (Deut. 24:14-15).

The parable of the vineyard workers is about poverty. The owner hires all the workers to ensure that they will have employment that day. He pays the full day’s wage even to those who only worked a short time because they are poor and need the money to meet their needs and carry out their responsibilities towards those who depend on them. The attitude of generosity toward the poor expressed in the parable of the vineyard workers shows that the reign of God proclaimed by Jesus fulfills the law laid out in the Hebrew Scriptures. “Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, ‘Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbour in your land.’” (Deut. 15:11).

CPJ’s understanding of public justice and poverty makes us aware that the call to do justice cannot be reduced to a call for everyone to take personal responsibility for their actions. Nor is it simply a call for us as individuals to be charitable towards neighbours – although that is part of what justice requires. Nor is it that we meet the needs of the poor through voluntary organizations, although that, too, is part of what justice requires.

In addition to all of that, public justice means that the role of government is to create policies, programs and structures that reduce poverty and that equitably distribute resources in society so that all people and all parts of society can flourish and fulfill their callings, contributing to the common good.