Jamin Bradley

I’ve long heard the argument that the government should not be responsible for charity and that such efforts belong to the church. While I agree that such dynamics give the church a chance to display its good works, the belief that the government doesn’t have to take care of the poor is biblically misguided.

Before Israel forced God to give them a king, God helped them create rules that ensured everyone was cared for. He even programmed a reset button meant to be pushed every 50 years. When that time came, everything that had gone wrong in people’s lives was to be restored. Those who lost their properties were to receive them back. Those who had debts to pay were to be forgiven.

God’s judgment upon the nations and their gods was that they judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked rather than give justice to the weak and needy and uphold their rights. When Paul reflects on the role of the government, he recognizes that its role is to create rules that bring about justice and goodness while addressing wrongdoing. (Granted, it doesn’t always go that way, as evidenced by Paul’s stints in jail.)

As God’s people, Christians are always called to charity because God loves good works. Indeed, one of the first outsiders that God chose to bring into the Christian faith as a mega-statement to the church that he was now reaching outsiders was Cornelius, who was known for giving generously to the poor.

This being said, when we say that the government shouldn’t care for the poor and that this is the church’s job, there are several things we don’t take into account: (1) The Bible understands government to exist, in part, so that the poor are cared for. (2) Right now, both the government and the church care for the poor, and their collected efforts are not enough. (3) People do not financially give to churches like they used to, so our abilities are limited.

The church must always do good works: it’s a requirement of being a Christian. But we do not need to create a theology that offloads this work from the government and puts it squarely on our shoulders.