Justice vs. Charity

Congress is back from vacation and one of the bills they will soon vote on is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). If they fail to approve this bill, which many threaten to do as a budget reduction process, it will cut $40 billion dollars from this programs affecting 4 to 6 million Americans; children, adults, working parents, the unemployed, seniors and veterans. It is one of our most effective programs to fight hunger in this country especially during economic difficult times. As the Wisconsin Council of Churches points out that 1 of 9 Wisconsinites are food insecure. The majority of Americans favor the “food stamp” program as it is popularly known and is a poor what of reducing government spending.

Scripture is clear about our responsibility to each other as this example from Proverbs 14.31 states: “If you oppress the poor, you insult the God who made them; but kindness shown to the poor is an act of worship.”

This would be a good time to contact your congressional representative telling them to keep this program intact and working.

As a further note I would strongly suggest that our government is on a wrong path in trying to reduce the budget. The opposite is true if we are to care for our citizens and make our economy more fair and equitable for our voters. The economy has grown at a steady rate for 3 plus decades but the distribution of the growth is not reflected in the lives of the majority of our citizens. Even the increase in jobs has mainly been an increase in low paying jobs rather than good jobs. The solution is simple, go back to progressive income taxes, recognizing the biblical principle “From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded. [Lk 12.48b] Or as Bill Gates mother wrote to him before his wedding, “From those to whom much is given, much is expected.”

Too many of our wealthy just don’t know how to share their bounty, and appear quite callous about the common good.

For additional information check out these sites:

Bread forthe World -- blog post, August 2, 2013 Center on Budget and Policy Priorities -- information and updates on SNAP  h

Food Research and Action Center-- public opinion polling  

This disconnect in our thinking may be partly due to our understanding about justice and charity. In a recent Christian Century a survey was made dealing with the idea when Jesus and the prophets urged concern for the poor, they were primarily talking bout: A. Our obligation to create a just society or B. Charitable acts by individuals.

All Americans were 41% for A vs 50% for B

Hispanic Catholics were 60% for A and 37% for B

Black Protestants were 54% for A and 40 for B

Unaffiliated were 46% for A and 42% for B

White Catholics were 36% for A and 54% for B

White Mainline churches ere 33% for A and 57% for B

White Evangelicals were 32% for A and 61% for B

It looks better as a chart but I think you get the drift we look more at the needs of the poor as an individual obligation than as a matter of simple justice. In my opinion that means most of us just get it wrong. For a more complete study see this.