Healing For a Broken World; Christian Perspective on Public Policy by Steve Monsma

Author:Steve Monsma
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Spiritual & Religion
Publisher: Good News Publishers/Crossway Books
Published: 2008-05-16T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8 - Poverty

"Be Open-Handed toward the Poor and Needy" (Deuteronomy 15:11)

Patti is a friend of mine who dropped out of college to marry the man she loved. They soon had two little boys. She was a full-time mom, while her husband worked as a teacher. Theirs was an all-American, even idyllic, family. Or so it seemed. Then suddenly Patti's husband left, moved to another state, and sued for divorce. Patti soon discovered that her husband had left her with back rent owed on their house, as well as other unpaid bills. She had never held a full-time job and, having left college early, had few marketable skills. Her husband made only sporadic child-support payments; because he had moved to a different state, a cumbersome, inefficient child-support system was unable to collect the financial support that was due her and her two little boys.

Patti was at the end of her rope. She struggled to feed her children and faced the very real prospect of being homeless. Not knowing where else to turn, she obtained welfare through the Aid to Families of Dependent Children (now called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families [TANF]). With the help of her caseworker who was willing to bend a few rules, she returned to college, completed her degree, obtained full-time employment, and was able to leave the welfare rolls.

There is much we can learn from Patti's story. Poverty can strike suddenly and through no fault of one's own. Government- sponsored welfare programs can work as intended, providing desperately needed temporary help while someone obtains skills needed to obtain a job and become a self-supporting, contributing member of society.

But not all stories are like Patti's. Some people are poor because they made wrong, sinful choices and are unwilling or unable to work hard to obtain the training that will lead to employment. Still others are poor due to ill health or deeply embedded psychological problems. Their family backgrounds may never have taught them the attitudes and values needed to compete successfully in the world of work.

The Bible repeatedly calls us to be concerned and to offer help to the poor. That much is clear. Exactly how to translate our concern and offers of help into concrete, practical acts is less clear. And when it comes to the public policies of government, what ought they to do and not do? How ought we as Christian citizens apply the biblical principles discussed earlier in this book to the problem of poverty? These are the questions this chapter explores.

Poverty Today

The poor are still very much with us. The United States Census Bureau has judged that a family of three with an annual income of less than about $15,000 is living in poverty. Based on this standard, it estimates that as of 2005 there were 37 million people, or 13 percent of the American population, living in poverty. Of these 37 million people, 13 million were children under eighteen years of age. Poverty varies by racial and ethnic groups. It was

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