"None of these businesses had anything to do with the injustices of Ferguson and its criminal justice system, but many may never open again, or even have a desire to come back. And given that 92% of all jobs in America are private sector, this means that a community that had few jobs before the Michael Brown crisis, now will have significantly less still.

And what Ferguson, especially the youth of Ferguson, need almost as much as they feel a need for social and criminal justice, are JOBS. Or maybe even a few more Steve Jobs, emerging from our inner-cities."

"I am convinced that the only thing that will enable the poor to emerge from poverty is a decent job. I am further convinced that the best chance of creating decent jobs lies with our free market capitalists. Does this mean that capitalism is the Divine design for bringing about Shalom? I suspect not. Nor is any economic system devised by flawed humanity. But in spite of its bent toward self-interest, even with its excesses and inequities, capitalism has an historic opportunity to create shared prosperity that can benefit every person on the globe. What capitalism needs in order to fulfill its promise is sanctified self-interest."

"In a strange sort of way, for-profits are cleaner than non-profits.  For-profits must produce.  Their product must sell, their service must meet a real need, or they will burn through their start-up capital and be out of business.  They cannot long exist on unfulfilled promises or failed expectations.  But non-profits are different.  Their bottom line is evaluated by good accomplished, not money earned.  And good accomplished is much harder to measure than monetary gains.  Non-profit activities may be measurable – number of meals served, number of clients seen, number of garments distributed – butactivities are hardly the same as outcomes.   As a matter of fact, many non-profit activities actually do more harm than good.  It is very difficult to gauge when a soup kitchen meal is a survival safety net or dependency deepening subsidy.  Thus, non-profits’ stock and trade are meaningless numbers, questionable outcomes and heart-warming stories.   You see why I say for-profits are cleaner than non-profits?"

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At first glance, the Bible demonstrates that God cares about the poor and about how they are treated. Should we conclude from this that God is on the side of the poor and opposes the rich? This is a tempting conclusion, but is it supported by a careful reading of Scripture? Answering these questions requires determining what the Scriptures mean when they talk about the poor and the rich.

Who are the Poor?
In a vast majority of cases, poverty refers to material poverty – the situation when people are hungry, naked, homeless, etc. Economic poverty is typically accompanied by a broader lack of resources and connections that makes the poor particularly vulnerable to oppression and abuse.

While the Bible clearly promises to judge those who oppress the poor, the poor are not de facto virtuous. To be sure, poverty is not necessarily a sign of God’s displeasure. The poor can be blameless (Proverbs 28:6) and wise (Ecclesiastes 9:15). But other scriptures verses warn us that drunkenness, gluttony, and laziness can cause poverty (Proverbs 23:21).

A telling passage that sorts out the difference between different types of poor people is 1 Timothy 6:9-10, which says,

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
This passage is frequently associated with those who are already rich, but the people being addressed are those who desire wealth, and specifically those who are not yet rich. This is an important reminder that greed and worship of money are not vices peculiar to the rich.

So why are the poor described as blessed? The issue is not poverty per se, but rather the attitude of humility and reliance on God that it can produce in us. We need to place our hope in God alone, not in personal wealth.

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Who are the Rich?
Just as poverty doesn’t guarantee virtue, wealth does not guarantee vice. Scripture has some very harsh things to say about the wealthy, but this does not mean that all of them are evil or under divine judgment.

• - Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Job were rich, yet were also approved by God.

• - Scripture tells us that God gives us the power to make wealth.

• - God delights in the prosperity of his servants (Psalm 35:27) – which includes material prosperity (Deuteronomy 28:11-13).

A careful reading of the texts attacking the rich demonstrates that the condemnations are almost inevitability connected to either how the rich made their wealth or how the rich rely on wealth for their security rather than the Lord.

Having money does not make the rich bad; rather, money reveals what is inside of us and magnifies our character for good or for ill. Why, then, the condemnations of the rich in Scripture?

In a fallen world, the power money gives people is usually used for ill. Historically, the rich and powerful have taken advantage of their power to increase their privileges at the expense of the poor and weak.

To put it differently, the rich are not always oppressors, but oppressors are almost always rich. And that is why they incur condemnation in Scripture.

God’s concern is for righteousness and justice, but this verse tells us that justice does not mean being partial to the poor. Justice means judging fairly according to the law and on the basis of truth without regard to social class.

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About the Author

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We see poverty in the developing world and we ask—what can I do? So we send food, water, clothes. We sponsor children, build wells, start schools and go on mission trips; we wear wristbands, we sign petitions, we advocate. But what if the question that animates our activity is the wrong one? 

What if instead of asking how we can alleviate poverty, we asked, “How do people in the developing worldcreate prosperity for their families and their communities?” This sounds like a simple shift, but it can transform the way we think about poverty and the poorest among us because it takes the focus off ourselves and puts it where it belongs. People in need are not objects of our charity, they are subjects, and should be seen as the protagonists of their own development. Changing the question helps lead to an inter-subjective relationship. 

Ask people in the developing world what they want most, and they don’t mention more aid or charity. They want jobs; they want the opportunity to build businesses; they want access to markets, to broader circles of exchange so they can provide for their families. As Ghanaian entrepreneur Herman Chinery-Hesse told me, “The people here are not stupid. They’re just disconnected from global trade.”