WELFARE TRAP

Nehemiah 5:9-11
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.

Nehemiah Defends the Oppressed

9 Then I pressed further, “What you are doing is not right! Should you not walk in the fear of our God in order to avoid being mocked by enemy nations? 10 I myself, as well as my brothers and my workers, have been lending the people money and grain, but now let us stop this business of charging interest. 11 You must restore their fields, vineyards, olive groves, and homes to them this very day. And repay the interest you charged when you lent them money, grain, new wine, and olive oil.”


John Perkins, in his book With Justice For All, writes “The poor need something more than handouts. They need the means to build a better life for themselves … basic education … vocational and management skills … community-based economic enterprises.”

Both Nehemiah and Perkins called for a redistribution of resources as called for in the Law (Leviticus 25). Neither advocated charity or handouts. Justice is not served by perpetuating dependency but by equipping the dependent to take care of their own needs, under God’s good hand.