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How To End Poverty

By Glenn Davis

God promised that in a Godly nation, there was the possibility that no one would be poor.  This does not mean that everyone would be rich, but it does mean that poverty would not exist.  Any solution on how to end poverty that does not take the Word of God, and especially the Law of God, seriously will always fall short of its goal.  Often it does more harm than good in the long run.

      “Save when there shall be no poor among you; for the LORD shall greatly bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it:  Only if thou carefully hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all these commandments which I command thee this day.”  Deut. 15:4

How To End Poverty:
Treating Symptions Or The Disease

How does God plan to destroy poverty?  What is His tool to raise the poor from their condition?   If you have been following my writing for any amount of time, you probably already know the answer:  Biblical Law.  If we carefully obey and apply the Law of God, poverty will decrease and then disappear from our lives, our nations, and our world.  It is really that simple...and that hard.

Unfortunately, many people think they have better ideas than God.  They think they can help the poor out of their poverty in ways not allowed by God.  If obedience to Biblical Law is the God-given way of helping the poor [among other things], it follows that any of the man-made ideas which oppose Biblical Law would end up hurting the poor.  The Bible confirms this in Proverbs 12:10:

“...the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.”

There are many great things that people and organizations do to help people trapped in poverty.  These are necessary and important: food, improving living conditions, education, safety, medical care, and more.  But in themselves, these things are like treating the symptoms of an illness.  Treating symptoms can be vital because they can kill us before we get to the root cause.  But if we truly want to end poverty, we must tackle the illness itself.  This article is not, like the majority of articles, about ministering to the immediate, necessary needs of the poor.  Instead, we want to know how to end poverty period.  The illness is the rejection of God and His Word.  The Law of God details how life works, including the responsibilities of individuals, families, churches and civil governments.

How To End Poverty:
Follow God's Law

The greatest violators of Biblical Law today are civil governments and the citizens - including Christians - who support and demand their ungodly programs and laws.  If civil governments would limit themselves to their Biblical mandate, the vast majority of poverty in the world would disappear.  Most famines as well as other causes of poverty are the result of government interference in the free market.  But people do not want God to rule over them, although it is for their own benefit.  They would rather suffer and allow others to suffer than submit to the loving God who created them and owns them.

As an example, let’s slaughter one holy cow:  Minimum wage.  Government sets and enforces - with violence if necessary - minimum wages that can be paid in a given industry.  This, we are told, is to help the poor.  Gullible Christians and others believe them.  The Bible sets no minimum wages, nor does it grant any government authority to do so.  Any wage contract that is agreed to between two parties - without violence or fraud - is valid.  You may think the wage is too low, but if it is voluntarily agreed upon by the parties involved, then it is no one else's business. 

What happens with minimum wage laws?  The poor are actually prevented from working!  If an employer has to pay a minimum wage, he is going to hire strictly according to personal preference - which often excludes the poor and minorities.  If, however, the poor are able to offer their services for less than someone else is willing to work for, the profit motive comes into play, and they may end up with the job.  No one says they are locked into that job or wage forever.  It
    a] produces immediate income for them,
    b] gives them job experience, and
    c] allows them to develop a good work reputation. 
If the employer refuses to raise the wages as they gain experience and prove themselves, it is easier for them to find work somewhere else.  They can then, over time, work themselves out of poverty.

Who benefits from minimum wage laws?  Often, they are promoted by unions to protect their members from lower-priced competition.  By the violence of humanist law, this forces employers to pay above-market wages.  This, in turn, drives up the price of goods and services and not only prevents the poor from getting jobs, but also puts the cost of goods even further beyond their reach.  Our support of this unjust law also forces us to pay more for goods and services than we would otherwise have to.  Governments also support minimum wage laws because they are popular with their citizens and because it is a way to further their socialist goals and population control while appearing to desire to help the poor.

This principle applies in every area of unBiblical government interference:  zoning, business licenses, property tax, eminent domain, unnecessary industry regulations, education, etc.  The people who are hurt the most are the poor.  If we really want to help the poor, we need to get the government out of the way.  If we, as a nation, will commit ourselves to following Biblical Law and tearing down humanist law, then the poor among us would be reduced and then eliminated as they become productive members of society for the benefit of all.  But God's just laws are hated, even by many 'Christians'.  So we continue groping in the dark, doing more harm than good, perpetuating poverty and patting ourselves on the back that we are doing good.  God is not deceived.  God is not amused.  We will have repentance or judgment.  And one day, before the return of Christ, practicing the Laws of God will be common, and poverty will be rare.  How long will the poor have to wait?

We look at many general principles in our free Christian Social Theory course and in detail in the Biblical Law courses, both found on the Joshua Institute page.

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