Book Review: Just Generosity by Ron Sider

"Just Generosity" by Ron Sider aims to motivate American Christians to re-consider what it means to be a Christian in terms of living in the midst of extreme wealth and poverty.  Sider's perspective is refreshingly balanced, looking to recognize both moral (personal) as well as societal (structural) causes to poverty.  His basic argument states that God desires that all humanity have access to the resources required to escape poverty.  He concludes that the American civil society, business, media, education, health, and governmental sectors should be held accountable by Christians to making God's vision of justice a reality. 

Sider's first point is to clarify the Biblical framework regarding justice in relation to poverty.  Focusing on God's commands to the nation of Israel, he shows that justice does not merely imply the just application of laws throughout society.  Beyond that, God asks His people to practice redistributive justice whereby the rich are prevented from accumulating too much (the natural outpouring over over-accumulation being oppression) and the poor are granted regular opportunities to escape poverty.  Key ideas in this section are the jubilee years, where slaves were freed, debts were forgiven, and every 50 years land was returned to its God-given family.  Also, Sider points out that God wanted His people to hold the attitude of stewardship above that of a right to personal property.  Clearly, God desired for His people to work hard and reap the benefits of their faithfulness.  However, ultimately the resources of production (specifically in the ancient Jewish context, land and labor) were His and He desired all His people to have access to them.

Subsequent chapters look at particular areas of American life that play a pivotal role in tackling the problem of poverty in America. Areas focused upon include work, family, health care, education, and welfare.  Each issue is considered as it is today and then policy recommendations given for the media, business, civil society, and government.  One theme that Sider returns to regularly is the interaction of Christian-run charitable organizations partnering with the government to provide services that address physical and spiritual needs.  He believes Christ-centric social services are best-suited to help the poor overcome both the sin in their life and the structural barriers that have led to their poverty.

Overall, I found the book engaging and compelling.  Sider uses copious amounts of statistics to prove his points yet remains humble, not marginalizing people who may disagree with him.  Living with the Maasai has revealed how both personal and structural barriers can create poverty and I completely agree that any approach to addressing poverty must tackle both (sorry Jeffrey Sachs).  Finally, I was impressed and convicted by his Biblical analysis of God's perspective on poverty.  I thought he made convincing points and did not sense a political agenda behind his interpretation of scripture.

So, to anybody looking for a God-centered perspective on poverty in America, I recommend "Just Generosity" by Ron Sider.