The Bible commands Christians to help those who have experienced hardships in life. Whether it’s through job loss or lack of education, we have opportunities to see the resulting needs and consider ways to help (Deuteronomy 15:11, Psalm 41:1, Luke 12:33). But what if a proactive approach to poverty prevention helps people understand the causes of poverty and thereby avoid it? In July 2026, the Ohio state legislature passed a bill requiring schools to teach students that there is a “success sequence” in avoiding poverty. Research indicates that a sequence of three key milestones can help prepare students for success in adulthood: completing high school, securing full-time employment in their twenties, and waiting until marriage to have children. Ninety-seven percent of young people who follow these steps avoid poverty as adults. These steps are not arbitrary, however, but are deeply rooted in the Christian worldview. Let’s look at how Christianity views work, education, and the family.
Ninety-seven percent of young people who follow these steps avoid poverty as adults
The Dignity of Work
We may tend to see work in purely secular terms, simply as a means of providing for our families. But good, honest work is integral to the Christian life. In the Genesis creation account, God commands Adam and Eve to subdue the earth and take dominion over it, popularly known as the dominion mandate (Genesis 1:26–28). Put simply, God commands us to work. This is Christians’ motivation to be involved in every good human endeavor, from working the ground to grow crops to creating technology to make our work easier and less burdensome. There are many other verses throughout the Bible about the importance of work. The Psalmist asked God to bless the work of his people (Psalm 90:17). Proverbs encourages hard work and condemns laziness (Proverbs 14:23, 18:9). Paul commands his readers to work with their hands (Ephesians 4:28, 1 Thessalonians 4:11) and states that anyone who does not work should not eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10). He says that the Christian who does not provide for his family “has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8). That’s a strong statement: failing to provide for one’s family can be an act of denying the Christian faith. Yet this statement shows just how important work is. A faithful Christian should take work seriously and demonstrate a strong work ethic.
Working does more than just provide material needs, however. Work gives us a sense of meaning and purpose. We gain satisfaction from a job well done or completing a long shift at work. Even God admired his work at the end of each stage of the creation account and acknowledged its goodness (Genesis 1). On the other hand, unemployment may lead to greater anxiety, stress, and depression. God designed us to work and to be productive. Not only does work satisfy our physical needs, but it also satisfies our emotional needs, and a lack of work negatively impacts us both financially and emotionally.
The Value of Education
Contrary to what many critics of our faith believe, Christianity has always valued education and the intellect. Jesus commanded us to love God with all our minds (Matthew 22:37). The Bible instructs us to seek knowledge, understanding, and wisdom, which all ultimately flow from God (Proverbs 1:7, 2:6, 4:5–7). The Christian call to education flows from the dominion mandate. To subdue the earth and exercise dominion over it, we must seek to understand God’s creation through the sciences and other fields of knowledge. This conviction compelled Christians throughout history to make great contributions to education, from establishing universities to expanding access to education for all people.
To subdue the earth and exercise dominion over it, we must seek to understand God’s creation through the sciences and other fields of knowledge
From a practical perspective, greater education enables greater economic opportunities, which drastically decreases the risk of poverty. In 2024, the poverty rate of people aged 25 and older who did not complete high school was 23.1%, meaning nearly 1 out of every 4 young adults who did not gain a high school diploma lives in poverty. This rate drops to 12.8% for those who completed high school, and continues to decrease with the more education people receive.
The Strength of Family
Before God commanded Adam and Eve to work, he commanded them to “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (Genesis 1:28). Proverbs 18:22 says, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.” The Bible teaches how children are a blessing and reward from God (Psalm 127:3–5). Marriage and children are wonderful things. God’s design for the family is for a man and woman to be joined in marriage and then to have children. Following this design results in blessings, while changing this order or eliminating a parent from this equation—especially the father—greatly increases the risk of poverty. In 2024, the poverty rate of families with married parents was 4.3%. The poverty rate of single father families was 11%, and for single mothers was 21.8%. This means single mothers are five times more likely to live in poverty than married women and nearly twice as likely as single fathers. If we wish to keep people out of poverty, we must promote God’s proper design (and order) for the family: marriage, then children.
The Path to Flourishing
We see that the success sequence is not an arbitrary checklist for achieving flourishing but is rooted in the Christian worldview. It is not a guarantee, however. We live in a fallen world, and sometimes people can make right decisions and still face great challenges in life. Everyone deals with accidents, illnesses, and other unfortunate circumstances. Conversely, people can make mistakes and poor choices and still prosper, since God’s common grace shines on everyone. But following God’s design for the family and commands for our lives will broadly lead to human flourishing, and disobeying them will lead to hardship. The success sequence of completing high school, finding full-time work, and waiting until marriage to have children is a formula to success based on God’s design. While the Bible commands us to provide for the needy, we can also love our neighbor by encouraging them to follow godly principles that will prevent poverty and encourage success.