This week we discussed debt and
the Bible. The Bible instructs the rich to lend to the poor. This commandment
can be found in Exodus, Deuteronomy, and Leviticus though the amount of
responsibility varies. The Bible speaks exclusively to the rich and not to the
poor. In fact, the Bible does not give much voice to the poor. It gives clear
and meaningful instructions to the wealthy but does not give a voice to the
poor. The Bible does not consider what it was like to be poor in ancient times.
It does not consider the life of the poor.
This is
a clear call to the wealthy. The wealthy must help the poor. The Bible is
addressed to the wealthy. The Bible does not address not becoming poor; rather
it addresses what to do for the poor.
This can be applied to modern day. The Bible demands that the wealthy
take care of the poor. In modern day, we must take care of the poor. The rich
must support the poor; the wealthy countries must support the poorer countries.
The Bible also demands that creditors relieve debt. In our society we should
implement this policy. Debt should be relieved periodically. No one should be
forced into lifelong debt because they dared to go to college or bought a house
or a home. The US government should mandate a limit on all public and private
loans.
This
process is necessary. It is often difficult to pull yourself out of poverty if
you are always in debt. It may be hard to get more loans, because the person
may have bad credit. This could mean that they cannot gain access to housing or
necessities because they may not be able to pay.
There
are also several other necessities for the poor that must be addressed. For
instance more and more companies are moving to automated pay checks. This means
that companies directly deposit money into their employee’s accounts. However,
a person must actually have an account. Often, in order to get an account a
person must have a permanent address. If a person is homeless they do not have
a permanent address. Also, a person
often must have an initial deposit. If a person does not have a job they may
not have an initial deposit. There for people who are homeless cannot open accounts.
Because they cannot open accounts they cannot get jobs. This creates a never
ending cycle of poverty. There are stories and problems like this.
Poverty
and debt is a significant problem that still plaques our society. As a society
we must address this problem. We must recognize that everyone has a duty or
obligation to take care of their fellow humans. After all, the Bible demands
that we take care of each other.
No comments:
Post a Comment