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Compassion, Justice, And The Rights Of The Poor

Compassion, Justice, And The Rights Of The Poor

Last updated on: October 8, 2026 at 3:45 am by Henry Karlson

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Compassion, Justice, And The Rights Of The Poor 2026-10-08T03:45:04-05:00 Henry Karlson

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Louvre Museum: Workshop of Luca della Robbia the Younger – Christ comforting the poor / Wikimedia Commons

Confucian philosopher Xia Shangpu pointed out that those who are cruel to the poor while seeking money and fame undermine their own humanity: “If you crave wealth and high rank and abhor poverty and low rank, whether you succeed or not, this attitude of craving and abhorring has already separated you from true humanity.”[1] Christians should know this thanks to the way Christ taught the preferential option for the poor. Instead, many of them denigrate the poor, which, as St. John Chrysostom said, is inhumane: “This cruelty is the worst kind of wickedness; it is an inhumanity without rival.” [2] One of the great tragedies of modern Christianity, especially in the United States, is the way it has embraced the worst parts of capitalism; now many Christians to judge others based upon the money and possessions they have. They have no problem denying the poor and needy the basics they need to survive, judging them unworthy of it because of their poverty.

More and more people are finding their basic needs denied to them, and their government are often involved in those denials. This is, once again, a major problem in the United States, where we find several politicians complaining about the resources being given to the poor because they believe the poor are lazy and unworthy of the help being given to them. The same ones making these judgments often claim to be Christian, and act pious when they believe it will help their public images. The piety is all performative, though sometimes, they seem to fool themselves; the reality of their faith, or their lack of faith, can be seen in the way they treat the poor, the way they increase the burdens on those in need. The homeless are being rounded up and treated as criminals. The unhealthy poor who can’t find work are being told to work if they want health care (and, of course, often the health care they need will get in the way of the work they are supposed to do, so that if they get the health care, they will find themselves losing it for not working when getting their treatments). Immigrants and refugees are treated with disdain. And again, Christians look down on all of them as being unworthy, forgetting that Jesus said what was done to them, is being done to him. “Do not despise poverty or the poor, since Christ deigned to be poor.”[3]

How can anyone claim to love Christ if they will abuse Christ in the poor and needy? The excuses various Christians give all come down to the claim that the poor are unworthy of their aid. St. John Chrysostom strongly disagrees! “Need alone is the poor man’s worthiness; if anyone at all comes to us with this recommendation, let us not meddle any further.”[4] Chrysostom says we are not to judge the poor when they are in need; we are to help them, and this is true, not just on a personal basis, but for society in general. Need is what proves them as being worthy of our help. We shouldn’t be talking about the lazy poor, we shouldn’t be talking about how the poor abuse the system – for in reality, the system already abuses them, and what many politicians suggest are policies which add to that abuse. The poor are not proving themselves unworthy, the rich and powerful are. Chrysostom is clear as to what is to be done for those in need: “So you likewise, when you see on earth the man who has encountered the shipwreck of poverty, do not judge him, do not seek an account of his life, but free him from his misfortune.” [5]

The social safety net, which in the United States is being dismantled, was never perfect, and will never be perfect. However, we must not let its imperfections stand in the way of the good we can achieve. We can work to improve it. We can work to make sure it reaches and helps more people. We can make sure the resources are properly managed. But what we should not do is use the imperfections as excuses to dismantle the safety net itself. It is disheartening to see so many Christians seeking to destroy it, saying government should have no role in providing such services to those in need. It most certainly is one of the roles of government, and one of the reasons why early Christianity was so successful is because Christians promoted a social safety, not only giving help when government would not do so, but in the way Christian rulers developed the safety net when in positions to do so. Now, many Christians say it should be all done by private charity, ignoring the fact that private charities do not have the means to handle all the functions of the social safety net. Private charity can supplement it, help those who the system has not been able to help, but it can never replace it. Every time the safety net is undermined, causing more people to rely upon private charity, far less are helped, and those who helped, are helped far less than before. Christians need to realize this and stand for those in need, making sure that government does its part instead of relying on the “generosity” of people who believe being poor makes one worthless!

Justice requires the poor to be properly treated, not abused. Christians, if they love justice, if they want to promote authentic law and order, will want governmental policies in place that will help the poor (while also doing what they can personally to help them as well); Origen, in the third century, made it clear, we can’t just ignore the poor or despise them because of their poverty, we must stand with them: “If you ever see a poor person being harmed, do something about it. When that person is harmed, stand by him. He is despised because of poverty; the just person is at his side.” [6] Too many Christians in the government prove themselves far from just as they constantly belittle those in poverty, finding new ways to deny them the necessities they need. They favor the rich and powerful, hoping to become rich and powerful themselves, and because they do so, they have already received their reward, a reward which will never satisfy them but leave them wanting once their injustices are examined by the just judge, Jesus. St. Basil made it clear how Christians should be:

Do not bow down to power; do not despise poverty; but for those who are governed provide an exactness in your reckonings more exact than any scale. Thus your zeal for justice will become evident to those who have put their faith in you, and they will admire you beyond all others. Or, even if it does escape their notice, it will not escape the notice of our God, who sets before us great prizes for our good works. [7]

Why do we see so many Christians bowing to those in power and despising those who are impoverished? Why do they find every way they can to criticize the poor and needy, to belittle them? Why do they create more laws to hurt the poor? Why have they lost the saltiness of the faith, that is, the love which they should have, the love which would make them take care of those in need? Whiles some might not have been properly taught what Jesus said, in general, it seems to be the end result of an ideology which says salvation is through faith not works, with faith understood merely as belief instead of fidelity to Christ. When they think they have the right beliefs, they believe they can follow mammon and Christ, because they believe salvation has no connection to anything they do.

Christians must not try to justify themselves, and their mistreatment of the poor, by saying they are just following the law. When the law promotes injustices, Christians must resist it, pointing out that an unjust law is no law. Christians must work to promote a system which leaves no one poor:

Let us not become bad stewards of the gifts we have received lest we hear Peter say to us, Shame on your for clinging to what belongs to another, imitate God’s equality, and no one will be poor. Let us not struggle to amass and hoard fortunes while others struggle in poverty…[8]

Christians are told to love the poor; Christians must take care of them, and to do that, they must make sure government does its part as well. It does no good to say you care for the poor and will stand by them but then do nothing when the government denies them the aid they need, or worse, causes them more pain and sorrow, such as when the government raids homeless camps and fines (and imprisons) the homeless for trying to live. Christians must stand up and promote the cause of the poor, making sure their needs are met:

What could be more suited to faith, what more helpful to compassion, than assuaging the poverty of those in need, undertaking care of the sick, succoring needs of the brethren, and recalling our own condition in the distress of others. [9]

What, indeed? And yet, sadly, far too many Christians do the opposite, as they follow mammon over Christ, and seek the rewards of mammon now, thinking Christ can be fooled and will reward them later. Christ is no fool. Christ already warned them what would be if they follow the way of mammon. But it seems they will not listen.

[1] J.C. Cleary, trans. and ed., Worldly Wisdom: Confucian Teachings of the Ming Dynasty (Boston: Shambala, 1991), 17 [Xia Shangpu].

[2] St. John Chrysostom, On Wealth and Poverty. Trans. Catharine P. Roth (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1984), 22 [First Sermon on Lazarus and the Rich man].

[3] St. Caesarius of Arles, Sermons. Volume II (81-186). Trans. Sister Mary Magdeleine Mueller, OSF (Washington, DC: CUA Press, 1963), 322 [Sermon 149].

[4] St. John Chrysostom, On Wealth and Poverty, 53 [Second Sermon on Lazarus and the Rich man].

[5] St. John Chrysostom, On Wealth and Poverty, 52 [Second Sermon on Lazarus and the Rich man].

[6] Origen, Homilies on the Psalms: Codex Monacensis Graecus 314. Trans. Joseph W. Trigg (Washington, DC: CUA Press, 2020), 445 [Homily Psalm 81].

[7] St. Basil, “Letter 299” in Saint Basil: Letters. Volume 2 (186-368). Trans. Agnes Clare Way, CDP (New York: Fathers of the Church, 1955), 290-1.

[8] St. Gregory of Nazianzus. Select Orations. Trans. Martha Vinson (Washington, DC: CUA Press, 2003), 57 [Oration 14].

[9] St Leo the Great, Sermons. Trans. Jane Patricia Freeland CSJB and Agnes Josephine Conway SSJ (Washington, DC: CUA Press, 1996), 43 [Sermon 10].

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N.B.: While I read comments to moderate them, I rarely respond to them. If I don’t respond to your comment directly, don’t assume I am unthankful for it. I appreciate it. But I want readers to feel free to ask questions, and hopefully, dialogue with each other. I have shared what I wanted to say, though some responses will get a brief reply by me, or, if I find it interesting and something I can engage fully, as the foundation for another post. I have had many posts inspired or improved upon thanks to my readers.

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