Preparing To Serve: A Biblical View Of PovertyMuestra

A believer’s response

Throughout Scripture, God calls His people to join Him in caring for those living in poverty through concrete, practical actions. In Zechariah, God specifically commands His people to fight oppression and administer justice. 

Centuries later, James repeats the same admonition: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (1:27). 

But what does this call look like in a modern, complex world? 

Jeff Rutt, a homebuilder in Lancaster, PA, wondered just that. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Jeff and other members of his church traveled to Zaporozhye, Ukraine, where they witnessed economic devastation. They responded by sending food, clothes, and medical supplies. 

But after three years of this cycle, the pastor of their partnering church in Ukraine became concerned that his church had become dependent on these free goods. He asked, “Isn’t there a way you could help us help ourselves?” 

Jeff was learning that good intentions don’t always lead to good actions. 

While providing for immediate needs is important in cases like disasters, it is often not the best long-term approach. When we do for others what they could do for themselves, we can rob them of the opportunity to use their own God-given gifts and skills. Even worse, we can even affirm the damaging message poverty whispers: You are incapable. 

If material poverty is marked by deeply broken relationships, then poverty alleviation ought to work to restore what’s been broken. 

Jeff did some research, and the two churches turned to microenterprise development, providing small loans to local entrepreneurs to fund their own small businesses. Jeff would go on to start HOPE International, a nonprofit that has grown to serve hundreds of thousands of men and women around the world. 

There are many ways to address the concrete issues of material poverty. As you explore how to invest your time and resources, consider how well various approaches impact the dignity of those they serve, setting others up to reflect the image of God.