FOR THE LEAST OF THESE: EXPLORING THE PREFERENTIAL OPTION FOR THE POOR
“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40, New International Version). With these words, Jesus put out a call to all who follow him to look after the marginalized of society as if they were Christ himself. Though not practiced by all Christians, Christ’s admonition has become a cornerstone to the worldview of many of his followers. This concept has become known as the “preferential option for the poor.” The 1891 papal encyclical Rerum Novarum, a cornerstone of Catholic social teaching, propounded the preferential option for the poor. It is also central to what we know today as Liberation Theology.
The Old Testament is filled with material about God’s command to care for the poor and mistreated. The Exodus story, for example, is about God leading an oppressed people out of their oppression and into freedom. Beside these larger stories are smaller passages that inform us of our duty to care for others. “ If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them. Rather, be open handed and freely lend them whatever they need.” (Deuteronomy 15:7-8, New International Version) Jesus, being the fulfillment of the law and the prophets (Matthew 5:17), made care for the marginalized central to his ministry. Whether cleansing a leper (Luke 5:12-16) or conversing with a marginalized Samaritan woman (John 4:4-42), Jesus tended to the castaways of society. A strong faith in Christ calls for a strong will to act, to “take up our crosses” and follow his teachings. Our discipleship will look different for different people, depending on context and capacity, as we are one body but different parts, to paraphrase St. Paul (1 Corinthians 12:12), but the importance of caring for the poor is paramount to following God’s will.
This duty of people who have to share with those who have not can be seen in the teachings of the early Church fathers. In his discourse on the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, St. John Chrysostom said that to “not to share our own riches with the poor is a robbery of the poor, and a depriving them of their livelihood.”1 A person’s material possessions are not what is important to God. It is what one does or does not do with them that God cares about. Christ himself stresses this in Luke’s Gospel in the parable of the rich man who stored up treasures on Earth. The man hoards his wealth, building a second barn just to store his excess possessions. When he dies, the man is admonished by God as a fool who “stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:21, New International Version). Or as Jesus puts it in another passage, “ What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” (Matthew 16:26, New International Version). Taking what Jesus said to heart, one can understand that to have a just society, one that is set up for the common good, necessitates striving to live as the early Apostles did, where there were “no needy persons among them” (Acts 4:34, New International Version).
Moving forward to the nineteenth century, care for the poor took on new meaning in the context of a huge change in the modes of production, which necessarily led to a change in dynamic between owner and worker. The advancements brought on by industrialization and the onset of capitalist production brought great feats of progress and great levels of poverty. Industrialization made the work of many artisans and craftsmen obsolete. Women who would often add to the family income by spinning in the home were put out of work by new inventions in textile production. Many moved from rural areas to the city to find work in factories. With this, disparities between rich and poor grew. Pope Leo XIII, author of Rerum Novarum, looked at this new world and pondered the Christian response. He concluded it is a duty of both the individual and the state to look out for the poor. Though Pope Leo stressed the importance of a limited government that does not overstep its bounds, he also recognized the need for state intervention in certain aspects. On the state’s relationship to different economic classes, Pope Leo wrote, “The richer class have many ways of shielding themselves, and stand less in need of help from the state; whereas the mass of the poor have no resources of their own to fall back upon, and must chiefly depend upon the assistance of the state.”2 This passage stresses that the poor need to be considered first by the state, as the rich have the resources the poor do not to support themselves.
The preferential option for the poor can be understood as centering the needs of the poor and downtrodden. God is a God of infinite love which He shares with all people, no matter their status. The poor, however, hold a unique place in God’s heart. Because God wants to share His bounty with all, He is particularly focused on the poor as they are those who, by definition, are without. A focus on the poor benefits all. For example, centering the poor when thinking about education access might involve directing resources to communities in need. The resulting increase in education would improve the lives of the poverty-stricken and society as a whole. This idea reflects a related Christian principle: the common good. “Civil society exists for the common good, and hence is concerned with the interests of all in general, albeit with individual interests also in their due place and degree.”3 Working for the common good would undoubtedly depend on the needs of a particular community and socio-economic context, but in general terms, improving education access (sticking with the above example) would be beneficial for both the poor and society as a whole.
In the twentieth century, a movement called Liberation Theology developed the preferential option for the poor even further. Liberation Theology is a term for a loose grouping of theological insights originally developed in the 1960s and 70s in response to injustices and poverty seen throughout Latin America. Seeing the destitution in their communities, early liberation theologians developed their thoughts in solidarity with the needy. Through this solidarity, the preferential option for the poor became a focal point that informed the rest of their philosophies. One must identify with the poor, not as the other, but as one becomes “poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3, New International Version). In his defining book, A Theology of Liberation, Peruvian priest Gustavo Gutiérrez wrote, “Christian poverty has meaning only as a commitment of solidarity with the poor… It is not a question of idealizing poverty, but rather of taking it on as it is - an evil - to protest against it and struggle to abolish it.”4 In addition, liberatory analysis looks at the ways poverty intertwines with other structures of oppression. While often used as a catch-all term, Liberation Theology contains a wide array of thought, with theologies focusing on a variety of societal features, such as class, race, gender, and other issues. To put succinctly, Liberation Theology understands that “noneconomic types of oppression aggravate pre-existing socio-economic oppression.”5
In light of the preferential option for the poor, how do modern day Christians work for a more just world? The Bible explicitly calls for justice: “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.” (Isaiah 1:17, New International Version) How does one heed this call in today’s world? As the changes that came with industrialization in the 18th and 19th centuries informed the writing of Rerum Novarum, so too do the revolutionary changes that come with our current day’s technological advancements inform how Christians must respond. Keeping a keen eye on the automation of certain industries or on the advancement of AI, for example, may prove necessary for present-day Christians. Providing for those in need in one’s own community is a good and necessary part of living out the preferential option for the poor. In addition, however, working to see that changing technologies are used in just ways as well as working to change systems of injustice within society are necessary aspects of caring for the poor in this modern age.
From social justice collectives fighting for structural change to food banks and clothing drives run by your local parish, from large charities and humanitarian efforts to individuals spending their own time and resources tending to those in need in their own communities, the preferential option for the poor is lived out by Christians around the world. Considering the historical progression of thought surrounding the preferential option for the poor can help bring Christians a richer perspective on ways to respond to the poverty of their brothers and sisters in need.
Discourse 2 on the Rich Man and Lazarus, St. John Chrysostom
Rerum Novarum, Pope Leo XIII, ¶ 37
Rerum Novarum, Pope Leo XIII, ¶ 51
A Theology of Liberation, Gutiérrez, 172
Introduction to Liberation Theology, Boff & Boff, 30
