Whose responsibility is it to care for the poor and marginalized—government or the Church?

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Whose responsibility is it to care for the poor and marginalized—government or the Church?

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“The righteous care about justice for the poor…” – Proverbs 29:7
This conversation explores who holds the greater responsibility for the care of the poor and marginalized—governments or the Church. Join the discussion and share where you stand.

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“The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.” – Proverbs 29:7

As Christians, we’re often reminded of God’s heart for the poor, the stranger, and the vulnerable. But in a modern world filled with government programs, public policy debates, and social activism, the question arises: Who should take the lead?

Should care for immigrants, the homeless, and the underserved fall primarily to churches and faith communities, as part of our biblical calling? Or is this a shared responsibility where government must step in to ensure justice and provision for all?

How do we find the right balance between personal ministry and public systems? And how do we keep our approach rooted in love, not politics?

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This is a great question! I would say that it’s the Church’s responsibility. Most politicians in government are not necessarily Christian, or even if they are in name, they may not be truly following Jesus. Why would we expect non-believers to do the work of caring for the poor and marginalized for us?

Part of the reason our country is so blessed is that our government does try to care for the poor and vulnerable (the disabled, etc.) who would otherwise be destitute/on the street. However, this is not the norm around the world or in history. The early Christians were under rulers who cared nothing for the poor, and most Christians around the world are in the same situation.

Since we are in a unique situation in the United States where common citizens do have a voice, though, I think there is value in Christians supporting governmental efforts that align with biblical principles (including justice and mercy). But even then, government programs can only provide so much. The church’s role goes beyond material provision - we’re called to show Christ’s love through personal relationship and spiritual care. This isn’t something that can be fully delegated to government systems.

One way I try to keep from getting too focused on politics is to talk about individual issues rather than politicians. Focusing on the politicians themselves tends to cause a lot more conflict and partisanship, even political idolatry (or following the words and examples of human leaders over Jesus or God’s Word). Even concerning individual issues, though, as Christians we are to focus on obeying God’s commands rather than on political issues or debates.

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Extremely complex question. As Christians, we need to do what we can, absolutely. But today’s definition of ‘care’ via government welfare is to provide cradle to grave handouts, like food, housing, phones, money, etc. whether the person is able to work or not. System abuse is rampant.

I don’t know any private citizen or church who could provide or sustain this level of ‘care’. People are already struggling financially with their own families, and I would never ask or expect them to go without so others can live financially care-free.

Therefore I don’t believe taking over the government’s idea of care and placing that unsustainable burden on Christians is Biblical or the way to go. The term ‘care’ and expectations of care need to be better defined.

Interesting to note that within the church, able members are expected to work or be disassociated. There was no welfare as we see today -

2 Thess 3:6 In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. 10 For when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.” 14 If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed. 15 Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.

Inside the church, we tithe. Outside the church, we do what we can and as called. Beyond that, I don’t have the answers.

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There is a responsibility by the state to care for its citizens.
There is also a responsibility for Christians to care for the poor.

Those in church tithe, that is a good principal but how is that tithe spent?
look at the OT, there were times collections were being made to pay for repairs to the temple and it was spent on ornamental bling.
Once the minister has been paid a far wage, basic expenses for the church paid, what happens to any surplus?
Spent on Christian bling or what?

Are there charitable work your church could support with workers, space and cash in your town?

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Both.

As for balance…
It is more damning to under serve than to over serve.

God will not count feeding a liar or a cheat as a sin. You still did this for Christ, regardless of the person who recieved the kindness. And the kindness shown to the wicked person may help lead them to Salvation.

Where as showing no kindness could lead them to worse behavior and destructive means to gain their food. Aka, robbing, whoring, murder. You could circumvent a sin, a sorrow, and a crime by being kind.

But God will count against a person, and a Nation, the failure to be kind and do good. Destroying institutions that fed both the wicked and the less fortunate will count as sin and reap a harvest of sorrow and destruction. You can count on that. The whole Nation and its people will suffer. God will judge all involved for their part.

And God does judge both the person and the Nation.

When your 401K’s plummet…
When food prices rise…
When food itself becomes scarce…
When your children are drafted and killed in wars…
When you lose your home and your freedoms…
When you become slaves in your own Nation or another…

Or when you find yourself needing that very same hand out or service that you spurned and rallied against or even God forbid helped to elemenate…

That is God’s judgement removing the Blessings that once protected you, which made life more comfortable for you. Life will be harder for everyone now, and that is consecuence from a God that gives rain to both the wicked and the righteous. And hardship, in order that the heart of a Nation might turn from sin. In order that all people might rend their hearts, ask for forgiveness, and turn from their wicked ways.

Blessings are not uniquely yours. The goodness shown to you is meant to fill the cup and spill over so that the world around you might also know satiafaction. Because those Blessings belong to God, it is not your place to hoard them, hold them away from others, or say that another person should not drink of the excess you drop along the way.
.
That behavior disrespects the Blessings of God, and will naturally incur wrath.

Remember the mana in the dessert which came each day. Meant to be shared, rotting when stored

Love each other is a command that Christ gave. Not a suggestion. Not a warm fuzzy emotion. It does not always feel good when done right. But it is right.

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I 100% agree with you, which is why I’m sure Christians everywhere will continue to give ‘blindly’ outside their churches.

Another Biblical principle that has to be taken into account is that of a Christians’ responsibility to their own family, which I touched upon in my previous post. This can’t be ignored either -

1 Tim 5:8 But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

National welfare is a different story, and it needs a serious overhaul. It is a public tax rather than a freewill offering and as such needs to be accountable to the taxpayers. I’m very glad it provides a safety net for some who really need it - and I’m happy to pay for that - but throwing money at those unwilling/refusing to work and provide for their own families is absolutely wrong. The Bible teaches and stresses hard work and personal responsibility. It’s too easy to game the current system and live carefree on other peoples’ dime - this is equivalent to stealing.

My initial point stands that no private citizen or even churches could take on the unsustainable financial burden of the national welfare system as it is currently defined and distributed today, and nor should they.

If a system provides benefits with zero oversight or responsibility, it does more harm than good and enables/encourages generational welfare, enslavement to the government, loss of dignity, and lack of personal responsibility, motivation and fulfillment.

There has to be balance.

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Thank you for agreeing with me 100%

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lol… On that one particular point, yes. On other points, we might disagree.

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The responsibility lies with both the church and government.

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My Bible says to love your neighbor as yourself. In fact, in the parable about the good Samaritan (who was despised by the Jews), he not only dressed the wounded Jew’s wounds but took him to lodging to be cared for until he returned, promising to pay in full.

So, what do you mean by saying that caring for your neighbor is an “unsustainable burden” and not Biblical?

P.S. Wrong interpretation of 2 Thessalonians! If someone is → able ← to provide for herself or himself but doesn’t that is a problem. You are giving an unbiblical excuse to not help someone in need!

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This is absolutely false and you clearly did not read my posts… at all, and I suspect you never will. You’re not responding to what I said. You’re responding to your own twisted false assumptions of what I said.

I specifically said that as Christians we should give blindly outside the church, and tithe within the church and as called. That’s plenty of opportunities for charitable giving.

National welfare [forced tax, not freewill offering] as defined by the current U.S. government where people can get cradle to grave benefits [housing, food, phones…] even when fully capable of working is not sustainable if that burden were to be taken away from government and transferred onto private Christian citizens.

People are already are taking on 2-3 jobs to make ends meet. THEY CANNOT AFFORD TO PRIVATELY FUND THOSE WHO REFUSE TO WORK. What part of that don’t you get?

Here’s a refresher of what you did not read -

If you’re going to respond to my posts, I expect you to respond to what I actually said rather than run with a lie.

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Reply #2: 2 Thessalonians 3:6, “But we command you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any brother who lives an undisciplined life and not according to the tradition they received from us.”

It is insanity to apply this to the welfare system of the 21st Century US. What does “living an undisciplined life” have to do with living in poverty and receiving welfare? Many, many poor people lead disciplined lives BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO. They don’t have the ability, because of their poverty, to live carelessly or frivolously.

The verse has NOTHING WHATSOEVER to becoming disassociated with the church. In fact, it’s the exact opposite.

READ THIS CAREFULLY: “My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?” James 2:1-4

→ You need to examine your interpretation and understanding of God’s Word ←

Start believing the Bible instead of Donald Trump

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I must be reading a different Bible than some of the other people discussing this subject…

Jesus Christ was a poor homeless carpenter from a rural region. He was crucified because His own people were convinced by the establishment rulers that He deserved to be killed because He challenged their ruling power and their false ideals. The “goons” were sent in the middle of the night to arrest Him and falsely imprison Him until the gullible were convinced to call for His execution. Why? So that they could remain in power and continue to favor the rich and subjugate the rest.

Sound familiar? => WAKE UP, PEOPLE TO WHAT IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA <= When did we stop being a nation based on Christian ideals???

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Please keep responses on topic and refrain from offering unsolicited personal observations.

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I read the Bible every day and have probably been a Christian longer than most of you have been alive. Therefore, I KNOW what it says, so it is easy to determine when anyone is taking words out of context and/or distorting the meaning to prove a predetermined (and usually wrong) point.

Of course, my interpretation is not perfect – no person’s is – but it is not difficult to see when someone’s interpretation clearly disagrees with what the Bible says.

In the case of this discussion, let’s look at some basic facts…

  1. Jesus was a common person, raised by a carpenter father in a rural setting. He was judged and persecuted by those who had political power, both religious and political.

  2. He chose as His disciples men from common (and sometimes despised) backgrounds. He clearly shunned those who held religious and/or political status.

  3. He was idolized by the poor and marginalized.

  4. He abhorred violence and did not resist when seized by armed “goons”.

  5. He welcomed ALL into His kingdom who accepted Him as their savior, regardless of their social or economic status.

  6. The first person whom He told that He was the Messiah was a Samaritan woman, a person of the lowest social status of the time.

  7. The religious authorities – those in power – convinced the masses to judge Him to be guilty (did they even understand why?) and pressured the government to kill him.

How different is spirit is what is happening politically in the United States today? Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness have GONE, as have the fundamental Christian values, which have been distorted by those political hacks who appear to be Christians.

Ask yourself if things are fundamentally different in the US today than they were when our Lord and Savior was crucified!

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Greetings in the Lord,
When the multitude of people followed Jesus, what did He do? He took care of their need. (Described in Matthew and Mark).

He didn’t say you knew you were going to follow Me why didn’t you bring something to eat,and have a change of clothes,and some money to buy what you need.

What did Jesus say in Matthew 25:35-40 New International Version
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

*Living in these perilous times we as born-again children of God must seek the Lord at ALL times for HIS wisdom,directions,and leading because NOT everyone is with the Lord, therefore We must truly lean on the True Discerner who is the HOLY SPIRIT in all things, including who we open our homes too. God cares but HE does not want HIS people in harms way

The Lord at various times in my walk with HIM directed me to go to the Church, and HE opened the doors for my needs to be met, more than one time and then HE opened the doors for me to have a job. I know where my Help came from, it was Jesus going before me and preparing hearts of those HE wanted to use to help me. Thank God people still listen to Father God,and are led by HIS Holy Spirit in Jesus name,amen.

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Greetings in the Lord,

1 Timothy 2:1-6

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keep seeing this framed as an either/or: either the Church helps the poor or the government does. But… why not both? Scripture clearly puts the Church on the front lines (Acts 2:44-45; James 1:27), not just tossing coins but living sacrificially. Jesus didn’t delegate compassion to Caesar.

That said, if the government happens to pass a law that feeds hungry kids? I’m not about to rebuke it for accidentally doing something Christ-like.

Governments can write checks—but only the Church can wrap it in love, dignity, and discipleship. So maybe we stop arguing over whose job it is, and just… do the job.

(Matthew 25:40 – “whatever you did for one of the least of these… you did for Me.”)