The Church Must Buy Back Caring for the Poor

Reclaiming Biblical Charity from Government: How Christians Can Obey Christ by Taking Personal Responsibility for the Poor

Questions like, ‘How can you claim to be a Christian and still support reductions in health care spending, Medicaid, Medicare, or services for the disabled?’ can weigh heavily on legislators. These arguments often come from people who believe government has a moral duty to provide broad material support, and they are framed in deeply moral and even religious terms. The implication is that votes for smaller budgets or more limited government reflect a lack of compassion for the poor, the disabled, the medically fragile, or families facing real hardship.

That can create genuine tension for principled legislators. Many care deeply about vulnerable people and want to see them treated with dignity and compassion. At the same time, they may also believe, on both constitutional and biblical grounds, that government has clear limits and that not every moral obligation is meant to be carried out through government spending or wealth redistribution. Many programs were created for specific moments or needs, but over time they became permanent commitments with significant fiscal and philosophical consequences. The tension between compassion and principle is real, and it becomes even more difficult when policy disagreements are framed as though faithful Christians can only come to one conclusion.

What Scripture Actually Says

Scripture places the responsibility to care for the poor squarely on individual believers, families, and the local church—not the state. God commands personal, voluntary compassion as an act of worship, never coercive redistribution, which Scripture views as theft.

Landowners were told to leave gleanings: “You shall not reap your field to its very border… you shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner” (Leviticus 19:9-10).
The third-year tithe was local and voluntary in practice: “that the Levite… the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow… may come and eat and be filled” (Deuteronomy 14:28-29).
The direct command: “Open your hand wide to your brother, to the needy and poor in your land” (Deuteronomy 15:11).

Jesus never told His followers to petition Caesar or build a bureaucracy. He said, “Give to the one who begs from you” (Matthew 5:42) and “sell what you possess and give to the needy” (Luke 12:33). Judgment in the sheep and goats parable falls on individuals who failed to feed, clothe, and visit the needy themselves (Matthew 25:35-40). The Good Samaritan paid out of his own resources—no government middleman (Luke 10:25-37). The early church gave voluntarily and locally: “distributing to all, as any had need” (Acts 4:34-35). Paul commanded: “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). Forced taking violates “You shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15) and removes the very obedience Christ requires.

How the Church Outsourced Its Calling

The church gradually surrendered this duty. In medieval Europe, monasteries and parishes ran hospitals, orphanages, and alms. England’s Elizabethan Poor Laws (1601) began shifting responsibility to civil government. In America, churches and private societies led most charity into the 19th century. The decisive federal takeover came during the Great Depression and New Deal (1930s), then exploded with the Great Society and War on Poverty (1960s). Many churches welcomed the help, believing their own resources inadequate. Faith-based groups increasingly became government contractors, often receiving over 50% of funding from the state, with secularizing strings attached. What began as a crisis response became normal. The result: reduced personal accountability, weakened discipleship, and charity stripped of the gospel.

The Church Is People, Not Buildings.

Biblically, the church is not a building or distant institution. It is the Body of Christ—individuals gathered locally who are also part of the universal church. Too many believers today assume “the church” or the government will handle the poor. Jesus expects you and me to act.

Practical Ways Individuals Can Start Buying It Back

Begin with prayer. Identify a real need in your community. Then act directly and quietly.

Working single mother needing daycare: Pray regularly. Pay part or all of the daycare bill monthly through the provider’s portal. Do it anonymously (Matthew 6:1-4; James 1:27; Psalm 68:5).
Family with a disabled child on Medicaid: Commit to monthly help covering therapies, equipment, or special needs—sustainably and without fanfare (Matthew 25:35-40).
Ongoing hospital bills: Use the account number to make direct monthly payments online (Proverbs 3:27-28; Luke 10:33-35).
Elderly widow needing home maintenance: Pay a handyman or service monthly yourself for yard work or cleaning (James 1:27; 1 Timothy 5:3-8).
Family with a broken car: Pay the mechanic or cover insurance/car payments directly (Galatians 6:2; Proverbs 19:17).
School costs or utilities: Pay tutors, supplies, or monthly utility portions anonymously (Matthew 6:1-4; 2 Corinthians 9:7).
New mother needing baby supplies: Cover formula, diapers, or prenatal costs on an ongoing basis (Psalm 68:5; Matthew 25:35-40).

Ask your pastor or deacons for discreet leads. Keep it relational, sustainable, and secret—so God gets the glory.

The Potential Impact

If just 150 million professing Christians in America each gave an average of $100 per month ($1,200/year), that would total $180 billion annually in direct help—bypassing all government overhead. Federal health and welfare spending exceeds $2.5 trillion yearly. $180 billion is only 7–9% of that total, yet the effects would compound powerfully: zero administrative bloat, dollar-for-dollar offsets of government costs, avoided fraud and improper payments, and a slow, dignity-preserving exodus from welfare rolls. Over time, behavioral changes and relational accountability could multiply the impact 1.5–2 times or more, producing hundreds of billions in taxpayer relief while restoring gospel-centered care. This will not happen overnight. But if individuals begin—one person, one family, one local church at a time—we can buy back what was lost over centuries. We reduce coercive government while meeting real needs with love, prayer, and personal investment. Relationships form. The gospel is shared. Lives change. We serve a big God. Let’s stop spending energy vilifying legislators who vote according to conscience and start using it to obey Christ directly. The church gave away this responsibility. By God’s grace, we can take it back. Start today.

Representative Cornel Rasor | District 1