continue to expand while keeping all citations and find the sources of ideas cited with a reference list in Havard style at the end. Include in-text citations for all sources in the reference list: Poverty and Wealth
In a world where people have different abilities and interests and receive appropriate payment for their work, some inequality of possessions will necessarily result. Inequality in itself is not necessarily wrong, because will be inequality of stewardships even in heaven. However, Scripture encourages us to help those who are poor and to seek to overcome poverty. The phrase “social justice” does not occur in Scripture and can be used with many different meanings today, with the result that it tends to confuse rather than clarify discussions of solutions to poverty.
Christians should seek to alleviate poverty both through helping individual people and through bringing about biblically-oriented changes in the laws, governmental policies, and cultural values in a society. Immediate short-term efforts to alleviate poverty through work by individuals, Christian organizations, and government welfare programs are all important and must be continued, but short-term help is not enough.
For individuals, the permanent solution to poverty is providing opportunities and skills for productive jobs, and these primarily come through private businesses. For entire nations, the only permanent solution to poverty is increasing the nation’s gross domestic product, and this must be brought about through changes in multiple factors in a nation’s economic system, governmental laws, and cultural beliefs and values.
Scripture contains numerous warnings about the dangers of wealth but does not contain an outright condemnation of having much wealth. Governments must punish those who have gained wealth by illegal and immoral activities, but must also allow freedom for anyone to become wealthy by legal means. An analysis of the influential book Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger by Ron Sider shows that it contains several helpful emphases, but he incorrectly identifies the main problem as “affluence” rather than poverty, and incorrectly identifies the primary solution as “generosity” and increased government control rather than increased economic productivity and increased economic freedom.
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Personal Financial Stewardship
Stewardship of our personal property in accordance with biblical teachings will include (1) wise giving, (2) wise saving, and (3) wise spending. Both the Old and New Testaments teach that God’s people should give away some of what they earn. The Old Testament standard was to give a tithe (ten percent) plus other offerings and sacrifices. The New Testament does not specify a percentage but encourages generous giving, motivated by trust in God, and promises several blessings for those who give. Giving an inheritance to one’s children is appropriate, but requires wisdom.
It is right to save for a time when we cannot support ourselves, for unforeseen emergencies, and for other purposes, but saving money also carries temptations. It is possible to save too much, or to save too little. There are advantages and disadvantages in different types of saving and investing.
We must spend something to provide ourselves with food, clothing, shelter, and other things. Spending turns money into goods and services that we should use and enjoy with thanksgiving to God. It is possible to spend too much, and it is possible to spend too little. Scripture does not contain any explicit prohibition against gambling, but it is usually an unwise use of a person’s money. Gambling businesses bring several harmful consequences to society.
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Borrowing, Lending, and the Question of Debt
Various kinds of borrowing and lending are remarkably beneficial human activities, and they are sometimes viewed positively in Scripture. Borrowing and lending multiply the usefulness of the wealth in a society. They are uniquely human activities that give opportunities to imitate God in ways the rest of creation cannot do.
Old Testament prohibitions against charging interest were limited to certain kinds of situations, particularly taking advantage of the poor in their poverty, but the New Testament does not prohibit the charging of interest (usury), and throughout many centuries of church history, Christian leaders increasingly came to see the moral legitimacy of charging interest in many situations. There are both wise and foolish reasons for borrowing, and both borrowing and lending carry with them temptations and dangers.
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Business Ethics
Six core ethical convictions from Scripture establish boundaries for making business decisions: (1) truthfulness, (2) not stealing, (3) honoring marriage, (4) loving your neighbor as yourself, (5) confidence that there is always a right decision available, and (6) trust in God.
Buying and selling are in themselves not morally evil or merely morally neutral, but morally good activities which ordinarily bring benefit to both parties. Other morally good components of business activity include earning a profit, competition, advertising, and limited liability corporations, though all of these also carry temptations to sin. There are good reasons for corporations to make charitable contributions to the communities in which they function.
When multinational corporations establish some operations in poor countries, the results are generally beneficial for the poor countries, but sometimes corrupt government officials in poor countries accept bribes and make harmful agreements with large corporations. Both sides share in the blame for such harmful agreements, and such practices are rightfully prohibited by United States law and by the laws of other nations.
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Stewardship of the Environment
The natural world, as God originally created it on earth, was “very good” (Genesis 1:31). Because Adam and Eve sinned, God placed a curse on the entire natural world. As a result, the earth now contains “thorns and thistles” (Genesis 3:18) and many other dangerous and harmful things. Therefore what we now think of as “natural” is not always good. God intends us to learn how to improve on fallen nature, making natural products better. God also wants human beings to develop the earth’s resources and to use them wisely and joyfully.
God created an Earth that has abundant natural resources. An evaluation of data on long-term, worldwide trends shows that, with the wise use of natural resources, human beings can reasonably expect to be able to live on the earth for the indefinite future, enjoying ever-increasing prosperity and never exhausting its resources.
Predictions of catastrophic global warming caused by increasing production of carbon dioxide have been based on computer models whose results depend on the formulas entered into them. But these predictions have repeatedly been falsified by actual temperature measurements in succeeding years, especially because of faulty estimates of “climate feedbacks.” Climate science has been highly politicized, and multiple instances of data tampering have been exposed. Scientific opinion is in fact strongly divided about the dangers of global warming.
Biblical teachings indicate that God designed a resilient earth, not a fragile one, and he did not design it so that we would destroy it by obeying his commands to subdue the earth and have dominion over it. Carbon fuels (especially coal, oil, and natural gas) are portable, efficient, and abundant sources of energy, and we should consider them to be good gifts from God and use them wisely and safely.