Along with this narrative of the reversal of the weak and the strong, the poor and the rich, there is a wide and deep river of ethical teaching and appeal to all believers to live justly and be agents of social justice in the world. The Old Testament prophets insist that a lack of care for the poor and needy is a sign of a lack of genuine faith in God (Isaiah 1:17; 58:6–7). The New Testament likewise teaches that a practical love for the poor is a mark of a heart changed by grace (James 2:14–17; 1 John 3: 17–18). God “raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he
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