Today’s
Scripture Reading (May 12, 2019): Psalm
13 & 14
Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders is a millionaire, confirming
what many had secretly believed. The American socialist is unapologetically
rich and claims that his money is the result of a bestselling book that he has
written. Oh, and you too can be rich, just get that old typewriter out of the
garage and pen your bestseller.
The reality is that two of the most visible candidates for the
office of President in the 2020 election had, up until now, refused to release
their tax returns because the returns would reveal something that the
candidates had been hiding. For Bernie Sanders the secret is that he is not as monetarily
deprived as he has maybe led people to believe, and for President Trump, the
dirty secret is that he is not as rich as he claims to be, although he is many,
many times richer than Bernie Sanders. Morality in the post-modern world is
beginning to be drawn in the arena of money. Good people are poor, and the rich
are always evil.
Except that that is not a biblical concept. Nowhere in the Bible
does it teach that money is evil. To be ruled and shaped by money is evil, but
money is really just a tool, much like the hammer that you keep in a drawer in
your kitchen. Money is used to help you do things as you journey through this
life. There is nothing inherently wrong with money. But there is something
inherently wrong with hoarding the money, and with standing in the way of the
poor, or creating laws that are intent on keeping the poor, poor, and the rich,
rich. It is evil to possess the ability to change a life, and refusing to do
it.
Evil is revealed in schemes that place a stumbling block in the way
of the poor. It is evident in plans that treat the poor as if they are second
class citizens or that keep opportunity away from those who live without money.
We have never really lived up to the dream of our society; a dream
that says that every child will be judged and given opportunity according to
their ability, and not according to the amount of money that their parents
might possess. To possess money has never been a problem. Not using that money
for the betterment of society is wrong. And the truth is that the poor are
often more generous with their money than the rich. And that, probably, is the
beginning of evil.
Tomorrow’s
Scripture Reading: Psalm 17
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