I came across this collection of bible quotes that I thought could really inform Christian voters on
the ways they should be voting (if they're concerned about those corny things like, y'know,
loving your neighbor and
eternal life in heaven, or whatever). These quotes are pertinent for me because there are times my dad will defend
policies that I find
absolutely abhorrent. When I ask him if he is being a good Catholic, he says something along the lines of separating religion and politics. To which I say... if you can't walk the walk (live out the teachings of the Bible), then don't talk the talk (preach). In any case, here you go:
Leviticus 25:35 If any of your people become poor
and unable to support themselves among you, help them as you would a
foreigner or stranger, so they may continue to live among you.
Proverbs 11:24 One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.
Proverbs 13:11 Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow.
Proverbs 15:27 Whoever is greedy for unjust gain troubles his own household, but he who hates bribes will live.
Proverbs 17:5 He who mocks the poor taunts his Maker; He who rejoices at misfortune will not go unpunished
Proverbs 22:22-23 Do not exploit the poor because
they are poor, or crush the needy in court, for the Lord will plead
their case, and exact life for life.
Proverbs 22:16 Whoever oppresses the poor for his own gain and whoever gives to the rich, both come to poverty.
Proverbs 22:26–27 Do not be one of those who shakes
hands in a pledge, one of those who is surety for debts; if you have
nothing with which to pay, why should he take away your bed from under
you?
Proverbs 28:25-28 A greedy man stirs up strife, but
the one who trusts in the Lord will be enriched. Whoever trusts in his
own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.
Whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will
get many a curse.
Proverbs 29:7 A righteous man knows the rights of the poor; a wicked man does not understand such knowledge.
Psalm 62:10 Put no trust in extortion; set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, set not your heart on them.
Psalm 82:3-4 Give justice to the weak and the
fatherless; maintain the right of the poor and afflicted. Rescue the
weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
Isaiah 1:17 Learn to do good; seek justice, fight oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.
Isaiah 10:1-2 Woe to those who make unjust laws, to
those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights
and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows
their prey and robbing the fatherless.
Isaiah 56:11 The dogs have a mighty appetite; they
never have enough. But they are shepherds who have no understanding;
they have all turned to their own way, each to his own gain, one and
all.
Isaiah 58: 6-7 Is this not a better fast, to loose
the chains of injustice and untie the burden, to free the oppressed and
break every yoke? Or to share your food with the hungry and to provide
the poor wanderer with shelter—to clothe the naked, and not to turn your
eyes away from your brother?
Isaiah 58:10 If you break the yoke of oppression,
end the finger-pointing and malicious talk, and work to feed the hungry
and fight for the oppressed, your light will rise in the darkness; your
night will be like the midday sun.
Ezekiel 16:49 Now this was the sin of your sister
Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and apathetic; they
did not help the poor and needy.
Ecclesiastes 5:10-14 Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.
As riches increase, so do those who covet them. Of what benefit are they to the owners except to feast their eyes on them?
Zechariah 7:9-11 This is what the Lord Almighty
said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one
another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or
the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’
Jeremiah 22:3 Thus says the Lord: Do justice and
righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has
been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the resident alien, the
fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood here.
Jeremiah 22:13 Woe to him who builds his house
without righteousness, and his upper rooms without justice, who makes
his neighbor work for nothing and refuses to pay his wages.
Malachi 3:5-6 "I will be quick to denounce
sorcerers, adulterers, and perjurers, and those who defraud laborers of
their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the
foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the Lord
Almighty.
Amos 2: 6-7 “For three sins of Israel, even for
four, I will not relent. They sell the innocent for silver, and the
needy for a pair of sandals. They trample on the heads of the poor as on
the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed.”
Matthew 5:42 “Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.”
Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters, for
either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to
the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
Matthew 13:22 “As for what was sown among thorns,
this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the
lure of riches choke the word, and it yields nothing.”
Matthew 19:21 “If you want to be perfect, go and sell your belongings and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.”
Mark 8:36 “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?”
Luke 3:11 “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”
Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because
he has chosen me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to
proclaim freedom for the prisoners and restore sight for the blind, to
set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Luke 12:15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on
your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in
the abundance of his possessions.”
Luke 12:48 “To whom much is given, much will be expected; and from whom much has been entrusted, much more will be asked.”
Acts 8:20 May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!
Acts 20:35 “In all I did, I showed you that by this
kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words of Lord
Jesus himself: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
1 Timothy 6:17-19 Command those who are currently
rich not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is
fleeting, but in God, who richly provides for us. Command them to do
good, to be rich in good deeds, to be generous and willing to share. In
this way they will save up treasure for the coming age, so that they may
have life that is truly life.
1 Timothy 6:9 But those who desire wealth fall into
temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that
plunge people into ruin and destruction.
Philippians 2:3-4 Do nothing out of selfish ambition
or vain conceit. Rather, value others above yourself in humility,
looking out not for just yourselves, but each of you for the good of
others.
2 Corinthians 8:13-15 Our desire is not that others
might be relieved while you work hard, but that there might be equality.
At this time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn
their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, as it is
written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one
who gathered little did not have too little.”
James 2:14-17 What good is it, my brothers and
sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such
faith save them? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and
daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm and
well-fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action,
is dead.
James 5:4-6 Look! The wages you failed to pay the
workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of
the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have
lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened
yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the
innocent one, who was not opposing you.
1 John 3:17-18 If anyone has material possessions
and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can
the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with
words or speech but with actions and in truth.
Matthew 25:42-45 'For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and
you have me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me
in, I was sick and in prison you did not look after me.' They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty
or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help
you?'
He will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
John 13:35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
To cover some of these in a smaller set of more easily digestible bullet points:
- Help those who are poor and/or unable to support themselves
- Do not oppress each other (y'know, like voting against each others' civil rights, or something like that)
- We should be happier to give than to take (this one's tough for me because I want us to give with autonomy, not for the labor force to give up any/all leverage to employers)
- Don't be greedy (again, a tough one for me. I don't want people to be greedy, but in a democratic society that also includes checking others' insatiable greed - y'know, like folks pulling in billions a year [hate to say it, but most folks barely have a concept of how much a billion of anything is])
- There should be equity to the point where those at the top don't have too much (like, say, a megayacht that pollutes the ocean) while those at the bottom don't have too little (I would say lacking adequate healthcare, housing, and food qualify you as having too little)
- Faith without action is worthless (so NO, running your trap about being a good Christian or person does NOT count for anything!!
So, there you go. If you wanna be a good Christian, uphold some of these beliefs.
There's no 2 ways about it
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
