Dorothy Day and the Gospel to the Poor

“The Gospel takes away our right forever, to discriminate between the deserving and the undeserving poor.”

― Dorothy Day

There are many who disagree with this. We see it most recently in Wisconsin's attempts to brand the poor as lazy drug addicts. We see it in Ben Carson's view of poverty as on "a state of mind". We see it prominently in the raging comments of the alt-right on Twitter and Facebook. The contempt toward the poor even appears to have been a contributing factor among working-class white Christian voters in the 2016 Presidential election.

Those who disagree with Dorothy Day seem to believe that, not only is it likely that some of the poor are "undeserving", but that these observers of poverty are uniquely gifted. They have supreme confidence in their ability to judge the true level of poverty of others as well as the worthiness of those in poverty. These observers (call them "Judges") have decided that the error in giving assistance to an undeserving person is equivalent to the crime of theft against the honest, hardworking taxpayer.

The Gospel provides one clear warning against this rationalization of Scrooge-like miserliness: Matthew 25: 31-46.

Suppose that "Judges" of undeserving poverty are faced with a line of 1,000 people who appear to be in need of mercy (or government assistance - call it whatever you want). As the "Judge" proceeds through life granting mercy to some and denying it to others, the odds are that there will be at least one mistaken judgment along the way. And what does the Gospel tell us about the consequences of a mistake? First, a mistaken grant of mercy to an undeserving poor person will be seen by the Gospel as an act of sacrificial love, indicating a heart that is prepared for the Kingdome of Heaven.

On the other hand, even a single denial of mercy to a deserving poor person will be seen by the Gospel as the sign of a heart that is not prepared for the Kingdom of Heaven (See verse 45).

If the person attempting to judge between the deserving and the undeserving poor is absolutely confident in the infallibility of his judgment, then he can take his seat next to God on the Throne and carry on. Anyone else needs to pay attention to Dorothy Day's warning.