The Bible and Poverty: The Gospel as the Remedy

On Brian McLaren's blog some time ago, he endorsed some words from Rich Stearns regarding the Bible. Many in the Emergent community and among postmodern Christians argue that poverty is one, if not the, most important subject in Scripture. Stearns wrote:

Despite the fact that God's heart for the poor is mentioned in some 2,100 verses of Scripture, many of us simply miss it. In a recent survey of adults in America conducted by Harris Interactive, although 80 percent of adults claimed to be familiar with the Bible -- the best-selling book in history -- 46 percent think the Bible offers the most teachings on heaven, hell, adultery, pride or jealousy. In fact, there are more teachings on poverty than on any of those topics.

Regarding the particular statistics, I will have to take Stearns, and McLaren's, word for it. I am not about to start counting anytime soon. But that the sheer numbers are not the point. Is poverty the main concern of the Bible?

To answer that, we must go to the beginning. Genesis 1-3 introduce us to every major theological issue in Christianity: creation, God, salvation, eschatology, sin, etc. We must ask ourselves what poverty is and where it comes from. According to the biblical record, poverty is the result of sin. Even if one, as many Emergents do, define "sin" as primarily systemic rather than primarily the result of depraved humans fulfilling their original sin desires, we all admit that poverty is the result of sin.

It is tempting, as many do, to seek for the solution of poverty in things like politics, distribution of wealth, taxes, economic theories and policies, etc. Emergents tend to do just that. They're involvement in politics and the overthrow of the "evil" Capitalistic system is the result of their understanding of the solution to the problem.

But that is not the direction of Scripture. In Scripture, before the problem (in this case poverty) becomes a central issue God offers the solution: the gospel. A number of times in Genesis 3 God points us to the cross. Verse 15 makes mention of the Virgin Birth and the victory of the cross. In verse 21, atonement is pictured by the sacrifice of an innocent animal in order to cover the shame of Adam and Eve.

The solution to sin (however one defines the word) is the gospel. Yes, Scripture discusses poverty a lot and rightly so. Perhaps nothing else illustrates the gravity of the fall and the evil of sin. By doing so, Scripture points us to the cross; the solution to poverty. This is what is so interesting about the early church: they mutually and voluntarily gave up their possessions for each other. The early church suffered from real poverty as they became outcasts of their society and race. As a result, due to the saving work of the cross, they shared wealth and sacrificed for one another.

So let us move on, please. I am personally exhausted about all of the talk from postmodern social gospel proponents like McLaren, Jim Wallis, Tony Campolo, and others who offer only temporary solutions (if they ever solve anything) rather than eternal ones. Once again, we are reminded of the power of the gospel. The gospel redeems and it is the message of the gospel we must preach not economic and political flavors of the week.