If you’ve ever talked to broadly conservative Christians in the US about politics, you’re likely to have heard the claim the title of this post refers to. Skeptical of government welfare programs, they often argue that charity—meeting the needs of the poor—is not the government’s job. The government has other duties, like justice and national defense. Charity is another job, for someone else. Specifically, many Christians argue that it is mostly the role of the Church. We shouldn’t need the government meddling in charity. Instead, that’s the Church’s job.

Admittedly, this sounds simple and reasonable at first. I’ve certainly thought it was correct in the past. But, thinking about it more, it now raises an important question.

What do we mean by “Church”?

There is more than one way to use the term “church.” To keep on topic, I’ll only highlight two possibilities here. When we speak of the “Church’s job,” we could mean either the people who make up Christ’s Body, or we could mean the assembled institutions, “churches,” which they form together. The mere existence of these two distinct possibilities drastically complicates the idea that welfare is “the Church’s job.”

If, by “Church,” we mean simply Christian persons, then it may be either true or false to say that charity is the Church’s job. It is true that we, as Christ’s people, ought to take care of the poor. But it would be wrong to say that it is our job especially or exclusively. Loving your neighbor as yourself, which includes charity, isn’t just for Christians. While we are the ones best equipped to rise up to this standard, since we have the Holy Spirit, the standard is universal.

This is a key point. Even though Christians are best suited to take care of the poor, and we as Christians can only hold each other accountable, the same ultimate standard applies to everyone. So, in this sense, the Church is responsible to care for the poor just like all humanity is. The only difference is that we have a special commitment and ability to do what God expects.

Now, what about the other possibility? When we’re talking about God’s people gathered together with an institutional form, is charity the “Church’s job”? The answer here seems to be a flat “No.” Throughout the New Testament, the concern of the institutional church is essentially ministry “by saints, for saints.” We come together, ordain people, and “do church” in order to worship corporately, to build each other up, and to meet each other’s needs, whether spiritual or physical. Like I said in another post, church is for the Church. The New Testament repeatedly emphasizes the institutional church’s need to care for its own, but never charges it with duties to the outside, except to be a faithful witness as necessary.

Now, this clearly doesn’t mean the institutional Church can’t do charity for outsiders. That would be a pretty radical notion. But the obligations extend only to church members. Deacons and elders and church ministries are only responsible as such for their fellow believers. If the people of a church wish to do more, by all means this is great to do. But it’s not their job per se.

So, is charity the Church’s job? While there is at least one sense in which this the answer is “yes,” it’s not the most helpful way of thinking about it. Charity is first and foremost a human job. Christians, of course, must take this especially seriously, since we are supposed to be the true humanity. But since it is a human job, it is a job we share with unbelievers. This means we, the people who are the Church, can and should work together with all people to do it. Whether we also work on the project as the institutional Church is optional.

But if, then, the apparent meaning of “Charity is the Church’s job” isn’t quite right, what does this say about the government’s role? Well, that could only be its own discussion. Suffice to say for now that, at least at the level of who and what the Church is, it’s a possibility. We can debate whether the government is really a good candidate for that work on other grounds. But it certainly wouldn’t be moving on the Church’s turf to do so.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

Reddit

Pocket

Telegram

