Christian Mission and Poverty

226

Christian Mission and Poverty

Christians should not think that giving to the poor is enough. Rather, it is important that we resist making money in unjust ways, refuse living opulent lifestyles at others’ expense, and commit to paying workers their just wages. Basil and Chrysostom saw that how we order our lives together and how we participate in economic systems (justice) are just as important as how we give money away (charity). John Woolman directed our attention to the ways in which accumulating wealth contributes to misusing land, overworking people, and consigning others to poverty. He saw that the Gospel calls Christians both to give out of our excess (charity) and to consider why it is that some have so much excess to begin with (justice). Howard Thurman took this insight a step further by stressing that because Jesus was poor and dispossessed, we should see the Gospel as a message from the poor and not just to the poor. Thurman stressed the inner strength the Gospel brings for the marginalized to resist both assimilation and oppression. Thurman saw the Gospel as a call for justice arising from the poor more than a movement of charity initiated from the wealthy. The Gospel Brings Simplicity and Trust As we have conversed with Christian leaders from ages past, we have been called to consider how our inner desires and dispositions toward money and goods affect the way we live. If we worry about our needs being met rather than trusting the God who provides, we are likely to miss what God is doing among the poor.