The authors of the Bible did not have enough faith in humankind to believe that unrestrained pursuit of self-interest would promote common welfare. …Government is the only power of the poor. It is not an intruder on the happy campers on the economic field.

Government is the overseer of the common good. It is the prime agency of the common good, and the protector of the weak from the powerful by ensuring justice. The poetry of the Psalmist expresses this theory of government: “O God, endow the king with thy own justice,…that he may…deal out justice to the poor and suffering,” bringing “peace and posterity.”

Everyone benefits from just governance. Where there is justice, there will also be “abundance of corn in the land” and “sheaves as numberless as blades of grass.” A just society increases in productivity and everyone gains. Poverty is the cancer that gnaws at peace, but it is curable. Hence, the ruler must “rescue the needy from their rich oppressors, the distressed who have no protector.” It is up to the good ruler to redeem the powerless from “oppression and violence” for “their blood is precious in his eyes” (Psalm 72).

from A Moral Creed for All Christians

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Gender-less version:

The authors of the Bible did not have enough faith in humankind to believe that unrestrained pursuit of self-interest would promote common welfare. …Government is the only power of the poor. It is not an intruder on the happy campers on the economic field.

Government is the overseer of the common good. It is the prime agency of the common good, and the protector of the weak from the powerful by ensuring justice. The poetry of the Psalmist expresses this theory of government: “O God, endow the king with thy own justice,…that he may…deal out justice to the poor and suffering,” bringing “peace and posterity.”

Everyone benefits from just governance. Where there is justice, there will also be “abundance of corn in the land” and “sheaves as numberless as blades of grass.” A just society increases in productivity and everyone gains. Poverty is the cancer that gnaws at peace, but it is curable. Hence, the ruler must “rescue the needy from their rich oppressors, the distressed who have no protector.” It is up to the good ruler to redeem the powerless from “oppression and violence” for “their blood is precious in God’s eyes” (Psalm 72).

from A Moral Creed for All Christians