Proverbs 28:15-28
Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread,
Proverbs 28:19-20
but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.
A faithful man will abound with blessings,
but whoever hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.
The truth of these proverbs should be reasonably plain to all. Faithful, diligent hard work over time is a much more reliable producer of wealth than get-rich-quick schemes. And yet foolishness persists, fed in large measure by government policy. The prime example of that is state-sponsored lotteries. Proper government should encourage wise behavior, but instead our government actively entices the populace toward “easy” money. We justify the lottery with promises to use the proceeds of all those ticket sales to fund education, but that is just an accounting gimmick that thoroughly ignores all the additional welfare costs resulting from the poverty induced by the lottery itself. Foolishness.
The welfare system reflects similar folly. Through higher tax rates, we punish those who work hard and build wealth, and we reward those inclined to accept “free” money. Yes, some basic safety net is appropriate to guard against short-term crisis situations, but it is counterproductive to promote ever-increasing entitlement programs that do nothing to encourage people to get off those programs. After decades of such programs in this country, it should be clear that they do not actually work, yet they are continually promoted under the guise of compassion. Compassion for the poor may motivate welfare programs on the surface, but the truth is that it is far from compassionate to entice the poor into dependence and away from productivity.
Scripture repeatedly tells us to care for the poor. The question is how. As we can see in these proverbs, the path out of poverty is ongoing productivity, and productivity is the result of faithful, diligent work. We ourselves need to work diligently, and we should encourage that same diligence in others, both through individual interactions and through government policy.
Handouts are not the path out of poverty. Diligent work is. We would do well to listen to the Proverbs.