God, of course, is not indifferent toward situations of injustice. God takes sides and comes on the scene as one who favors the poor, those who make up the masses of the people. The Bible makes perfectly clear this divine predilection and option for the poor.

The poor alone are worthy to take part in the kingdom of God. Unless the rich break with their way of life, they cannot enter this kingdom. Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and a very rich man, had to give half of his goods to the poor and pay a fourfold recompense to those he had exploited. We see a quite different response in the case of the rich young man whom Christ calls: he has the opportunity to share in the kingdom of God, but since he cannot detach himself from his possessions and give them to the poor, there is no place for him in the kingdom. With reason does Christ say: ‘Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God’ (Matt. 19:23–24).

In Chapter 6 of Luke’s Gospel we find contrasting but parallel statements that are part of Jesus’ teachings to his followers:

Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God [v. 20].

But woe to you that are rich, for you have received your consolation [v. 24].

Blessed are you, that hunger now, for you shall be satisfied [v. 21].

Woe to you that are full now, for you shall hunger [v. 25].

Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh [v. 21].

Woe to you that laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep [v. 25].

The reason why the Bible opposes the rich is not because they are rich, but because they have acquired their riches at the expense of their neighbors (James 5:1–6).

Chapter 5 of Matthew’s Gospel contains further beatitudes for the poor:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven [Matt. 5:3–10].

God identifies himself with the poor to such an extent that their rights become the rights of God himself: ‘he who oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is kind to the needy honors him’ (Prov. 14:31); ‘he who mocks the poor insults his Maker; he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished’ (Prov. 17:5).

It is clear that these many passages of the Bible in favor of the poor are in serious danger of being subjected to another kind of spiritualization: that of calling upon the poor to be satisfied with their state, not of poverty as such, but of privilege in God’s sight. This would be disastrous because then even the rich would feel tempted to experience certain wants in order that they too might be God’s favorites. Then the situation of injustice that God condemns would be alleviated in the eyes of the world.

We must always keep in mind, therefore, that poverty is an unworthy state that must be changed. I repeat: poverty is not a virtue but an evil that reflects the socioeconomic conditions of inequality in which people live. Poverty is a challenge to God the Creator; because of the insufferable conditions under which the poor live, God is obliged to fight at their side.

In Latin America the poor are blessed, but the reason is not that they have resigned themselves to poverty but, on the contrary, that they cry out and struggle and have their mouths shut for them on the grounds that ‘they are rebels and have recourse to violence’. They are blessed, but not because they voluntarily seek to be poor, for it is the mode of production forced upon Latin America that leads them to penury. They are blessed, but not because they have scorned riches; on the contrary, it is they themselves who have been scorned by those who monopolize the world’s riches.

The poor in Latin America are blessed because the reign of God is at hand and because the eschatological promise of justice is drawing ever nearer to fulfillment and, with it, the end of poverty.

--Source: Elsa Tamez is a professor of Biblical Studies at the Seminario Biblico Latinoamericano in San Jose, Costa Rica.