Poverty is a Sin!

As part of his 2009 Christmas sermon, the Reverend Tim Jones, an Anglican priest at St. Lawrence and St. Hilda parish in York, England, reportedly stated that shoplifting was not always sinful. Father Jones, a former prison chaplain, was careful to point out that, when it was the only option for chronically poor people, it was "better than prostitution, mugging or burglary" as a way of making money. He cautioned his parishioners that stealing was not a good thing, or harmless, or should be done to those for whom it would be a severe hardship or by taking more, or for longer, than what the thief actually needed. He blamed the fact that some people were "struggling to cope" on "bureaucratic ineptitude" and "systematic delay," which "created an invitation and incentive to crime," and called on society "no longer to treat its most vulnerable people with indifference and contempt."

I'm sure glad it wasn't a Catholic priest who was quoted as saying those things! Whew!

Predictably, the good vicar became the focus of a storm of criticism. A spokesman for the Yorkshire police is reported to have pointed out in a news interview that shoplifting is a criminal offense, and guaranteed that "turning or returning to crime will only make matters worse." He claimed that "to justify this course of action under any circumstances is highly irresponsible" and recognized that "some people find themselves in difficult circumstances but support is readily available and must be sought."

The Archdeacon of York, the Venerable Richard Seed, contradicted Father Jones with the announcement that "the Church of England does not advise anyone to shoplift, or break the law in any way. Father Tim Jones is raising important issues about the difficulties people face when benefits are not forthcoming, but shoplifting is not the way to overcome these difficulties. There are many organizations and charities working with people in need, and the Citizens' Advice Bureau is a good first place to call."

Neither of these esteemed gentlemen really claimed that this "readily available support" was actually sufficient to assuage the poverty that Reverend Jones claimed was justification to shoplift, or that the Citizens' Advice Bureau would provide anything more substantial or nutritious than "advice." After all, lying is a sin, too. I guess we Americans are not the only people who talk when others need action.

Also predictably, news media throughout the entire world reported headlines such as "Priest says it's OK for poor people to shoplift" and "Priest says it's OK to steal." CNN Headline News invited viewers to comment on whether it was OK to violate the Eighth Commandment, "Thou Shalt Not Steal," which some Catholics confused with "Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness." (We haven't caught on to the "new math" yet.)

Be that as it may, those of us who went to Catholic high school or CCD recognized that Father Jones was right - sort of. He was simply enunciating a well-known moral theological principle, basically that one's right to life trumps another's right to property. If I cannot survive without stealing from someone who has more than enough, I am morally justified in doing what I need to survive. Note that the operational words here are cannot and survive. The principle is often (incorrectly) interpreted as "it's not a sin for poor people to steal from the rich," but the principle itself justifies neither poverty nor stealing from anyone because he's rich and you're poor. Being poor is not an excuse to violate any law, man's or God's. There are few, if any, circumstances, especially in developed countries in which one has to be so poor that he must steal to survive.

The fact is, deliberately being poor is a sin!

Preventable poverty is an offense against God, an inappropriate condition for a creature made in His image. It is an abuse of the freedom that man has from his nature as a being able to choose what is good and what is not. It is a rupture of communion with God, an offense against reason and truth, in which a creature, by a personal act of his free will within his heart, expresses a misplaced love of himself and contempt for God contrary to God's eternal law to subdue the earth.

The poor, needy and destitute are mentioned in 205 verses in the Bible (Genesis 24:27, Exodus 22:25; 23:3, 6, 11; 30:15, Leviticus 14:21; 19:10, 15; 23:22; 25:25, 35, 39, 47; 27:8, Deuteronomy 15:4, 7, 9, 11; 24:12, 14, 15, Judges 6:15, Ruth 3:10, 1 Samuel 2:7-8; 18:23, 2 Samuel 12:1-4, 2 Kings 24:14; 25:12, Esther 9:22, Job 5:15-16; 20:10, 19; 24:4, 9, 14; 29:12, 16; 30:25; 31:16, 19; 34:19, 28; 36:6, 15, Psalms 9:18; 10:2, 8-10, 14; 12:5; 14:6; 34:6; 35:10; 37:14; 40:17; 41:1; 49:2; 68:10; 69:29, 33; 70:5; 72:2, 4, 12-13 74:19, 21; 82:3-4; 86:1; 102:17, 107:41; 109:16, 22, 31; 112:9; 113:7; 132:15; 140:12; Psalms 141:8, Proverbs 10:4; 10:15; 13:7-8, 23; 14:20-21, 31; 15:21; 17:5; 18:23; 19:1, 4, 7, 17, 22; 21:13, 17; 22:2, 7, 9, 16, 22; 28:3, 6, 8, 11, 15, 27; 29:7, 13-14; 30:9, 14; 31:9, 20, Ecclesiastes 4:13-14; 5:7; 6:8; 9:15-16, Isaiah 3:14-15; 10:2, 30; 11:4; 14:30, 32; 25:4; 26:6; 29:19; 32:7; 41:17; 58:7; 66:2, Jeremiah 2:34; 5:4, 28; 20:13; 22:16; 39:10; 40:7; 52:15-16, Ezekiel 16:49; 18:12, 17; 22:29, Daniel 4:27, Amos 2:6-7; 4:1; 5:11-12; 8:4, 6, Habakkuk 3:14, Zephaniah 3:12, Zechariah 7:10; 11:7, 11, Matthew 11:5; 19:21; 26:9, 11, Mark 10:21; 12:42-43; 14:5, 7, Luke 4:18; 6:20; 7:22; 14:13, 21; 18:22; 19:8; 21:2-3, John 12:5-6, 8; 13:29, Romans 15:26, 1 Corinthians 13:3, 2 Corinthians 6:10; 8:9; 9:9, Galatians 2:10, 1 Timothy 6:5, Hebrews 11:37, James 2:2-3, 5-6, 15, Revelation 3:17 and 13:16, to be precise). In none of these places is it held up as a virtue.

To be sure, Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:3 to be "poor in spirit," because he justly condemned the paradigm of those who put riches before God, which is a violation of the First Commandment. Jesus was no doubt familiar with Proverb 11:28: "He who trusts in his riches will fall, but like green leaves the just flourish," and Proverb 22:1: "A good name is more desirable than great riches, and high esteem, than gold and silver." He recognized in Proverb 28:22 that: "The avaricious man is perturbed about his wealth, and he knows not when want will come upon him." The Bible reminds us in Psalm 37:16: "Better the poverty of the just than the great wealth of the wicked." and in Psalm 49:8 that: "One cannot redeem oneself, pay to God a ransom." It warns us in Psalm 62:11: "Do not trust in extortion; in plunder put no empty hope. Though wealth increase, do not set your heart upon it." and Proverb 23:4: "Toil not to gain wealth, cease to be concerned about it."

In the story of Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31 the rich man was not condemned because he was rich, but because he did not care for the beggar Lazarus, who died of starvation at the rich man's gate. It is part of a larger dissertation (Luke 14:1-18:25) with lawyers and Pharisees at a dinner party regarding the inappropriate choice of wealth over duty toward one's fellow man. It is perhaps an explanation of Proverb 14:20 and 22:16, Ecclesiastes 5:13, Jeremiah 9:23. It is a theme expressed in Matthew 19:23-24, Mark 4:19 and 10:23-25, Luke 6:24, 8:14, 12:16, and 21.

The Jews of Jesus' time considered poverty, especially that brought about by accident, injury or disease, to be a sign of God's displeasure. On the other hand, wealth was considered a blessing. 1 Samuel 2:7 says that "The LORD makes poor and makes rich, He humbles, He also exalts." This philosophy is supported by 1 Chronicles 29:12, 2 Chronicles 1:12, Psalm 112:3, Proverb 8:18, and Proverb 10:22. The idea is carried over into modern Christianity by ostentatious displays of wealth by religious organizations and televangelists. It's a popular belief.

Wealth is depicted as a good thing in Psalm 104:24: 112:3: 119:14, Proverb 3:16, and Ezekiel 28:4-5. St. Paul speaks of the "riches of his glory" (Romans 9:23), "enriching all who call upon him" (Romans 10:12), "the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!" (Romans 11:33), of being "enriched in every way" (1 Corinthians 1:5), "already grown rich" (1 Corinthians 4:8), "wealth of generosity" (2 Corinthians 8:2), "riches of his grace" (Ephesians 1:7), "riches of glory" (Ephesians 1:18), "God, who is rich in mercy" (Ephesians 2:4), "immeasurable riches of his grace" (Ephesians 2:7), "inscrutable riches of Christ" (Ephesians 3:8), "richness of fully assured understanding" (Colossians 2:2), and expresses the hope that the "word of Christ dwell in you richly." (Colossians 3:16).

Of course, Paul wisely warned his young protege' Timothy that "Those who want to be rich are falling into temptation and into a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge them into ruin and destruction." (1 Timothy 6:9), and admonished him to "Tell the rich in the present age not to be proud and not to rely on so uncertain a thing as wealth but rather on God, who richly provides us with all things for our enjoyment." (1 Timothy 6:17). He instructed him to "Tell them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, ready to share." (1 Timothy 6:18).

Poverty is almost always caused by not doing that, of placing the love of one's momentary selfish desires over his own long-term good and that of his fellows. The Bible tells us that "The slack hand impoverishes, but the hand of the diligent enriches. (Proverb 10:4), and "Even by his neighbor the poor man is hated, but the friends of the rich are many." (Proverb 14:20). The popular belief that there is somehow some kind of honor to being poor is therefore simply not Scriptural. The Biblical injunction to be kind to the poor stems precisely from the idea that being poor is a bad thing, so if one is poor through no fault of his own, it is up to the community to help him so he won't be poor any longer. The idea that "God loves the poor" does not imply that "God does not love the rich, any more than "God loves the sinner" implies that "God does not love the righteous." The idea that God loves the poor more than the rich is simply a Christian counterpoint to the ancient Jewish belief that God loves the rich more than the poor," which, as noted above, is equally untrue.

To be sure, there are some devout people who take a vow of poverty, but a vow of poverty is no more a devotion to being so destitute that one must steal than a vow of chastity is a devotion to homosexuality. The "evangelical counsel" of "poverty" is a rejection of ownership of worldly possessions so that one who takes it is provided only with the food he needs," (Proverb 30:8) lest "being in want, I steal, and profane the name of my God." (Proverb 30:9).

All successful religions advocate taking care of one's own needs rather than stealing from others. The Seven Deadly Sins are greed, gluttony, envy, pride, sloth, lust, and anger. Together, they make us want more than we need, unwilling to get out and work to get it, and to inappropriately react emotionally to the consequences. To be sure, there are some religions that advocate these vices, but their members are mostly in jail or dead from violence, improper medical care, or starvation. That's the way God's plan of evolution works; it's no wonder they refuse to believe in it!

The truth is, there are few, if any people in the developed countries for whom stealing is not their fault. Being poor disrespects yourself. It is the result of treating yourself with contempt! If you didn't study or do your work in school, if you did something to get expelled or dropped out, it's your own fault. If you didn't learn how to do something that people would pay you a living wage for, or got yourself fired, it's your fault. If you started a family before you were ready, it's your fault. If you broke the law and had to pay a fine or go to jail, it's your fault. If you didn't take advantage of opportunities that came your way or dreamed instead of working toward a goal or wasted your money on things you wanted instead of what you needed, or gambled your money away, it's your fault. If you got caught with a gun or stolen merchandise or with illegal drugs or somebody else's spouse or driving drunk, it's your fault! And if you're "struggling to cope" now because of what you did then, it's still your fault. That's how sin works. You get out of the guilt by being sorry afterward, but you still have to take the consequences. Jesus is not going to save you from the natural results of bad choices; if you believe otherwise, you're just plain wrong! Didn't he himself warn you about them?

Being born poor is no excuse; lots of people are born poor and have become rich by working hard in the United States. A lot of them are risking their lives to come here to do that, some of them as you read this. The world is not the way we would like it to be, the world is the way it is. God's own punishment for finding excuses to be poor like "bureaucratic ineptitude" or "systematic delay," or "incentive to crime," or "being treated with indifference and contempt" is grinding, abject poverty, sometimes to the third and fourth generation! (Exodus 20:5)

There's a list of instructions how to be poor on the Internet. If you don't want to be poor, don't do those things! DUH!

As far as stealing is concerned, God Himself told us not to do it. That makes it a sin! If you choose to ignore Him and "being in want, I steal, and profane the name of my God," (Proverb 30:9) it's nobody's fault but your own if bad stuff happens to you!

John Lindorfer