If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them. Rather, be openhanded and freely lend them whatever they need. Deuteronomy 15:7-8
“What is striking about Old Testament law, Dewi Hughes notes, is that it recognizes the very strong human bias to self-interest and provides a legal framework to control it. Thus the law, he points out, focuses on putting limits on the rich and powerful ostensibly so that the poor and helpless are not exploited.
Jesus gave considerable attention to lepers, despised women, and other marginalized people and went to the extent of warning that those who do not give to those in need will experience eternal damnation (Matthew 25:31-46). In effect Jesus wanted his followers to give to the poor not take from them…
The teaching that people are poor because they do not give to God is an antithesis to Jesus’ saying that people should forgive even their enemies since God does not discriminate between the righteous and unrighteous in the provision of rain and sunshine (Matthew 5:45). In prosperity teaching, the problem is with the undue emphasis placed on material wealth.
In Jesus’ own words, ‘a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions’ (Luke 12:15; cf. 1 John 2:15-17; Proverbs 27:24; 22:28; Ecclesiastes 5:13; Psalm 62:10). The Christian church must therefore be wary of giving undue attention to material things as signifying God’s satisfaction with one’s Christianity.”
Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu in “Prosperity and Poverty in the Bible: Search for Balance” in Lausanne Movement post dated 2 Oct 2015.
As I continue to read Lausanne global research on prosperity gospel, I am learning a lot, especially from authors like professor Kwabena, who sketches many good things in the whole piece, for example, that we need a good theology of both prosperity and poverty to find balance. Well said.
Kwabena adds that material blessings come from obedience but we must not allow them to make us materialistic. Elsewhere, this professor adds numerous times that we must not give undue emphasis on one text which causes us to assert ideas inconsistent with larger biblical themes.
He alerts us that throughout the Scriptures those with resources are to care for those in need. He reminds readers that the sun shines on the righteous and unrighteous and removes the manipulative message that people are poor because they do not give enough money to God.
Challenges like this are complex. I am finding that when I visit settings where it is prevalent, I must unpack the web of ideas, one by one, with Scripture. I can also support local workers promoting truth and help spread teaching that motivates God’s people to serve rather than prey on the poor.