Words Matter: Choosing Mercy When We Talk About Poverty
Earlier this week, Jubilee+ CEO Natalie Williams joined Jeremy Vine on his BBC Radio 2 show to discuss a news story about people claiming benefits being able to access London attractions at a discounted rate. News headlines in recent days have described those claiming benefits as ‘freeloaders’ enjoying the ‘treat’ of visiting some of the best London attractions, thought to be subsidised by ‘working people not on benefits’.
It was a tough interview about a controversial and polarising subject.
Too often, the narrative around people in poverty is shaped by suspicion, blame, and misunderstanding. Words like “scroungers” or “freeloaders” are used to describe entire groups of people - and in doing so, we lose sight of the individual behind the label.
The conversation happening in the media on this topic highlights that how we think and how we talk about those on benefits in the UK is still really important.
This narrative is nothing new. 12 years ago The Myth of the Undeserving Poor was published, in it Natalie Williams & Martin Charlesworth wrote:
“The subjects of poverty and benefits are, in Britain, inextricably linked. So while concern about poverty rises, debate about poverty rages. It is almost a daily occurence for articles about benefits or welfare to appear in British national newspapers.”
How can we respond to the debate around poverty and benefits as Christians?
There are a few challenges or pitfalls we need to work to avoid:
- We can fall into the trap of vilifying people when it’s often the system at fault. People experiencing poverty can often be blamed for their situation or circumstances that are far more complex than headlines suggest. Jesus doesn't give us any wriggle room for writing people off. We are to love them and pray for them whether they're our neighbours or our enemies.
-The language we use really matters. Words such as “scroungers,” “lazy,” “skivers,” or “freeloaders” are associated with those claiming benefits. This is in contrast to wording such as “responsible,” “strivers,” or “hard-working.” This language pits people against one another. The debate around welfare can become deeply polarised, in the process, we lose sight of the human stories at the centre of it.
- We need to work hard to identify the truth. It can be tempting to perpetuate myths that aren't actually true, like that most people on benefits don’t want to work. Over time, these myths can cloud our thinking, making it difficult to see that those benefiting from London attraction discounts are mostly children and pensioners.
A Better way forward
Biblically, Christians are to clothe ourselves with compassion and humility, to be merciful like our Father is merciful (even to the ungrateful and the wicked), and we’re to speak up for justice where systems are unjust.
The way we speak about poverty shapes the way we respond to it. And the way we think about people experiencing poverty shapes the way we respond to them. Let’s work to see the person in front of us, as an image bearer of God rather than a group of people at a distance from us. As we attempt to walk more like Jesus and see how He responded to the people in need around him let’s choose compassion over judgement, truth over myth, and mercy over blame.
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Media Links:
Benefits treats: how Britain became a freeloader’s paradise | The Spectator