My name is Steven and I have been a pastor in small town Iowa for a little over ten years. I am going to tell you why a Christian pastor like me supports UBI.
While I have lived in many places around the country, (North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Ohio, Nebraska and Connecticut) I have found that despite our many differences, most Christians share the same value for humanity. For instance, even though Christians may differ on how to express Jesus’ command to “love your neighbor as yourself”, I have found that all Christians usually have a deep desire to support families and serve the poor.
Why a Christian Pastor Supports UBI
I first heard about Universal Basic Income when Andrew Yang was running for President in 2020. I thought it was the stupidest idea that I had ever heard! But when I started to really listen to the many different ways it could be paid for, I started imagining what a big idea like this could mean for the United States in general and my small town in particular. There are so many people in need and my small church can only do so much to help. We simply help people through one crisis on their way to the next. But a Universal Basic Income would change their lives forever.
Grace
With Universal Basic Income, each person would receive the same amount of money whether rich or poor, Republican or Democrat. We could unite our country once again rather than continue the divisiveness that I have become accustomed to. Then I realized that the money would also come consistently every month, whether it was spent or saved, wasted or efficiently used, and I saw that Universal Basic Income was an amazing example of the grace that God provides us with as Christians. Each day we sin and yet God promises us that He will forgive us again and again whether we deserve it or not. Sometimes, despite our best efforts, we make the same mistakes over and over again and yet God’s grace is just as available every single time.
Christian Freedom and Abundance
With the financial security provided by a UBI, we could grasp the mindset of abundance that God wants us to experience–where we stop living our lives afraid of the future and start living for God! Sometimes people will accidentally mess up financially while receiving a Universal Basic Income; however, receiving consistent resources with no strings attached gives us the freedom to plan and seek to do better. Unconditional Basic Income, like Unconditional love from God, gives us the freedom to live a new way. We could begin to live with our minds focused more on our neighbors’ needs than on our own.
Christians For UBI
I want all Christians to know about Universal Basic Income and seek ways to make it a reality. This is not about politics for me. I know that Christians come from both sides of the aisle and in between as well. But I pray that Christians can help the world experience a society that values life, eradicates poverty and know God’s grace. Amen.
