Weightier Matters is a course being run by Jubilee+ for members of partner churches. The aim of the ten sessions spaced across the year is, very simply, to learn how to engage your church in showing mercy to the poor, by exploration of both theology and practicalities. The church of which I’m a member is about to plant out a new congregation, and I’m keen that care for the poor is on the agenda from day one.
The first session started with the premise that poverty is evil. This is certainly the first time I’ve heard that stated so bluntly in a Christian or any other setting. However, all Natalie Williams was doing was summarising what the bible already tells us in numerous places (Deuteronomy 15; Isaiah 5; Exodus 22: 21-27; Malachi 3:5; Luke 3: 10-14).
Other suggestions that sounded more radical than they were, included the idea that tackling poverty isn’t just for those who feel especially called to it, but for all Christians; it should be seen as an act of worship. We were also encouraged to have someone in our lives who will hold us accountable for being merciful.
The mention of accountability immediately took me back to my student days, and groups of young people in small huddles. It made me wonder what church would look like if we treated a lack of mercy on a par with sexual sin or drunkenness; something to be avoided, something on the list of don’ts…?
The second session started with the proposition that poverty is a sin issue more than a need issue, and as Christians we are therefore called to roll it back. For me, the question arose, if a person or a community is blighted by poverty whose sin has caused this? It’s probably often not as simple as one individual’s behaviour. We were encouraged to think beyond the crisis point, to aim to bring people fully out of poverty, but can we truly do this without addressing the realities of our economic systems?
As we went through the old testament laws in Deuteronomy, it was clear that release from slavery and debt cancellation were at the heart of God’s plan to mitigate poverty and maintain a just society in ancient Israel. Perhaps this is why a lot of Christians feel able to engage with these issues, because of their specific mention in the bible. International finance, systems of production, and global trade are vaguer concepts, harder to understand, not specifically mentioned in the bible, easier to ignore.
What is more straightforward to comprehend, is that the Old Testament laws were put in place in order to stop both extreme wealth and poverty. They mitigated the possibility of anyone getting too rich or too poor, of being enslaved to money in either sense; the prosperity of the community came before the individual. The Jubilee Year in particular, to take place every half century, was meant to be a complete reset: debts cancelled; slavery rescinded; land returned. Land ownership in ancient Old Testament Israel could not be concentrated long-term in the hands of the few; how easily we accept the opposite in our 21st century western democracy.
Today, we might wring our hands at any singular instance of poverty, but a description of wealth as excessive, or the notion that an individual’s affluence should ever be curtailed for the good of the many is likely to be met with an admonition against jealousy, or a warning against political extremism; both of which I’ve experienced in a church setting.
Of course, there’s the argument that these were Old Testament laws, specific to a place, time, and particular society. If only Jesus hadn’t started his New Testament ministry by declaring he had come to preach good news to the poor and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour (Jubilee); and then continue it by spending time with the poor and the marginalised, condemning the Pharisees for neglecting justice and mercy, and clearing the temple of money makers.
History doesn’t make it easy for us to disentangle ourselves from political standpoints, especially in 2025. Over the last century individuals and movements have tried to combat injustices in our presiding financial systems, often resulting in far worse injustice, leading to despotism and murder. This knowledge can make us wary of questioning the status quo, reluctant to take have a stance; and modern communication can make it feel as if everyone with an opinion is wrong in some way. There are many arguments worth avoiding, what we mustn’t avoid is reading our bible and taking seriously what’s inside it. We can trust that God in his infinite wisdom and power is above and beyond any earthly political ideology. There’s plenty in the bible we already grapple with as “Uncomfortable” and how we approach poverty, show mercy, and think about money need to be added to this list, so that we do grapple with them.
The second session of the course ended with a challenge to make sure being merciful is who we are, not just what we do. Let’s have our minds renewed, as it says in Romans 12 vs.2 so we can test and approve God’s pleasing and perfect will.
Weightier Matters is a free course open to anyone attending a Jubilee+ partner church. If joining up late, you can ask for recordings of the first two sessions
(https://jubilee-plus.org/blog/1435/weightier-matters/)
By Rosalie Faithfull
Joy in Enough 