Outsourcing Charity is Not Part of the Gospel

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Matthew 25:44-46

"Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?'  45 Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'  46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." 

NKJV

Last week the Pope visited the United States and for the first time in history, addressed a joint session of Congress.  The theme of his message to Congress was to repent of the sins of how the United States has treated the underprivileged.  (1)  Perhaps the Pope had Matthew 25:44-46 in mind when making his comments but I have to respectfully disagree with his interpretation of what Jesus meant in this passage of scripture. 

It is a fact of scriptural record that Jesus did have a heart for helping the poor.  For example, Jesus did not pick his disciples from the religious leaders of his day but instead selected them from among the common people in Galilee.   As such, we who are followers of Jesus Christ should follow his example and give to the poor as well. 

Where I differ in my interpretation of Matthew 25:44-46 is in how we are to help the poor.  I see no mention in this passage of giving taxes to the government and asking them to redistribute it to those in need.  In fact, had he said that I am sure Matthew, a tax collector, and the one writing this account in his Gospel would have objected because he was most likely familiar with how government wastes tax revenue, leaving little to assist the poor.  Jesus, in this passage is asking each believer to give as they purpose in their heart (2 Corinthians 9:7) and not to outsource their giving to some possibly corrupt government official. 

Each of us who have decided to make Jesus our Savior has a duty to give to advance the work of God.  For some of us this may be little, for others this may be substantial.  The important thing is that giving to assist the poor is not the duty of government but of each individual believer.  Had Jesus intended for us to outsource charity to the government, He would have told his followers to give their tithes and offerings to the Romans and let them redistribute it. 

Instead of condemning capitalism, we should embrace it as an economic system for it has proven to be the best economic system for the creation of wealth, wealth that is available to assist the poor.  Granted capitalism, just as socialism and communism are economic systems concocted by imperfect men and as such have flaws.  For example, not all people who become wealthy through the capitalist system will be generous and give to the poor out of their wealth.  However, history has proven that the greed of these people is more than offset by the generosity of others for the United States has historically been an extremely generous nation.  (2) 

Socialism and communism are also not perfect and have a history of tyrannical dictators that confiscate the wealth of citizens and use it to enrich their lives.  (3) (4)  These dictators also have a history of brutality towards anyone taking a stand against their regimes.  The truth is that even though the systems of socialism and communism may appear more charitable logically on paper, they forget the corruption that occurs when a centralized regime has absolute power.  (5)

Absolute power does corrupt but in capitalism, this corruption is not centralized and as such limited to individuals who are marginalized as people choose to do business with uncorrupt people.  However, in socialism and communism, people have no choice but to deal with a corrupt centralized government and even face punishment if they speak out against it. 

I believe Jesus would have favored a capitalist system through which He could bless those choosing to be charitable instead of a socialist or communist system, which prohibits people from acquiring wealth.  Matthew 25:44-46 is not a call for government confiscation and redistribution of wealth for history has shown us that such systems lead to tyranny and oppression.  Instead, this passage of scripture is a challenge to us all to be charitable with the blessings the Lord has given us.  The capitalist system represents the best economic system through which God can bless His people.  In fact Malachi 3:10 challenges God’s people to give and see if God does not open up the doors of heaven and pour out a blessing. 

Therefore, if anyone wants to help the poor, begin giving to the Lords work.  However, this requires the acquisition of some capital with which to give, something best achieved through the capitalist system. 

1. Martosko, J. Taylor Rushing & David. Repent! Pope Francis lectures America on gay marriage, ablrtion, immigration, and the Cyrian refugee crisis in first-ever Capital Hill address by a sitting pontiff. www.dailymail.co.uk. [Online] Daily Mail, September 24, 2015. [Cited: September 24, 2015.] www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3247609/Francis-takes-Congress-task-immigration-abortion-gay-marriage-Syrian-refugee-crisis-insists-Golden-Rule-approach-politics-Capital-Hill-address-sitting-pontiff.html.

2. Smith, Aaron. Americans' generosity has never been like this. money.cnn.com. [Online] CNN, June 16, 2015. [Cited: September 24, 2015.] money.cnn.com/2015/06/16/news/giving-usa-charity-donations/.

3. King, Adrian. Why Socialism Always Results in Tyranical Rule. www.orthodoxnet.com. [Online] Orthodoxnet.com. [Cited: September 24, 2015.] www.orthodoxnet.com/news/WhySocialismAlwaysResultsInTyranny.html.

4. Through The Fringe. A History of Communism: From Idalism to Tyranny. https://throughthefringe.wordpress.com. [Online] Through the Fringe, December 16, 2012. [Cited: September 24, 2015.] https://throughthefringe.wordpress.com/2012/12/16/a-history-of-communism-from-idealism-to-tyranny/.

5. Ph.D., Ronald E. Riggio. How Power Corrupts Leaders: Why and how does power corrupt leaders? www.psychologytoday.com. [Online] Psychology Today, August 8, 2009. [Cited: September 24, 2015.] https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/cutting-edge-leadership/200908/how-power-corrupts-leaders.