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A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.
Proverbs 22:9
He who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth and he who gives gifts to the rich — both come to poverty.
Proverbs 22:16
A ruler who oppresses the poor is like a driving rain that leaves no crops.
Proverbs 28:3
He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses.
Proverbs 28:27
The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.
Proverbs 29:7
If a king judges the poor with fairness, his throne will always be secure.
Proverbs 29:14
Whoa! It is so clear that the Bible speaks of BOTH individual responsibility AND social or group responsibility when it comes to the poor, poverty and social justice issues. Too many texts about the role and duty of leaders--in the case of contemporary America, elected leaders--in a nation to do the right thing by the weak. Makes a person think as we head toward November 2006 and beyond. . .
ReplyDeleteLarry,
ReplyDeleteIs there any Biblical founding to our country's emphasis on "personal responsibility"?
America suffers under an illusion called The American Dream. The idea that people living in poverty can pull themselves up "by their bootstraps" makes for good fiction, but bad public policy.
Anonymous 1:10 - I'm thinking of Paul's admonition to the Thessalonians (2nd I think, towards the end of the letter) that "those who don't work, don't eat" - I think that's where many Christians pull their "personal responsibility" ethic from.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the posts. Certainly, the Bible contains many texts that focus on personal responsibility, ethics and morals. No doubt about that.
ReplyDeleteWhat is usually overlooked, as Anonymous 12:32 points out, is the equal emphasis on community responsibility and on the responsibility of community leaders to act with mercy, compassion, fairness and justice both as individual leaders and as shapers of community policy and order. This reality escapes many Christians, especially on the conservative side. or at least it seems this way to me.
If we're picking favorites, I'd have to say I like the fourth one the best. I think we constantly turn a blind eye to the needy... We may have a theoretical debate about poverty, but how often do we actually LOOK at those in need? I'm afraid we think we know all the answers without actually looking at people...
ReplyDelete