It's Not the One Percent That Is the Problem

I cannot agree more. I am assuming that since you attend church regularly that you're okay with me sharing from my viewpoint as a United Methodist pastor.

Christianity at its heart is not about us or what we desire--it's about God and God's desires. We are not blessed abundantly in this life to store up all of our blessings for ourselves and enjoy what we have, whether it's financial or not. We are called to take the gifts and blessings we do have (our talents, skills, love, faith, service, prayers, vocation, money, resources, access) and bless others with them. We are called to share with one another in a radical way centered on the love of Jesus Christ rather than ourselves and personal gain. In doing so, in theory, others will act the same and whatever we lack will be provided by our brothers and sisters who have. So if those rich in finances share with those who are rich in faith and love, and vice versa, then all of us will have our basic needs: physical, emotional, spiritual, societal, health, etc. "Enough" is the operating word: we shall have "enough" for everyone.

Focusing on those with a lot who aren't sharing is not completely unwarranted, but we must realize that most of us have been blessed in incredible ways. For the "99%" it does not come in the form of ridiculous wealth, but my guess is that many in your church (as in mine) are indeed superbly wealthy in love, family, faith, education, and hundreds of other gifts that we could spend hours naming. The true message that we must preach is how all of us are part of the 1% and all of us are part of the 99% as well, in different areas. Until we let go and share with others the blessings that God has provided, we will have disparity all over the earth. Until we share our physical wealth, there will always be shameful poverty; until we share our spiritual wealth, there will be a deficit of faith, love, hope and charity; until we share our educational wealth, there will be a disparity of those who are intellectually developed and trained; until we share our wealth of position in society, there will be an inequity between race, class, gender, orientation, etc.

It begins with the church, and moves outward as we spread the Gospel. The church and its people, however large or small, must be open and willing to share everything they have with each other and their neighbors. It must be unconditional and given for the love of Christ. With this example we can witness to the 1%, whoever they are and however they are measured. The same applies to the "40%/60%", or however we delineate wealth in its endless categories. We must rise above selfishness, self-centeredness and self-gratification. We must be willing to take a radical leap of faith and realize that it's not about us--it's about God and God's will. And it's never God's will for anyone to hoard and protect their own valuables, no matter what they are.

(I invite you if you wish to follow my blog as I write on issues of the church and faith: reveric15.blogspot.com)

What it all boils down to is individuals and their decisions. I have come to the conclusion that there are indeed a lot of "true" Christians out there, but they are not in positions of power. They do not make the decisions that count. And I'm not just talking about politics. I'm talking about the "little" things.

Lately there has been a lot in the news about the disgraceful treatment US. veterans have been receiving at Veterans Administration hospitals and clinics. Except this story is not new. This has been going on for decades. Now, what about the people who work for the VA? What is their responsibility? Someone is making decisions. We can blame faceless bureaucracies all we want, but at the end of the day, it is people like you and I. Someone decides not to act. Someone decides to ignore, And others decide to overlook, until it snowballs.

Many in the United States like to say that the US is a Christian nation, but if so, it sure does not look like it to me. When a CEO of a company tells his employees that instead of agitating for minimum wage increase they should count themselves lucky to have a job, that he is being generous for paying them more than minimum for starters, that if they want to earn more money they should work harder--and this from a man who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and has found reasons for the last several years to deny raises to his employees--when this happens, this is an individual speaking. This is an individual's decision. This is an individual with the power to make the decision to grant or deny. I don't know this particular person's religious affiliation (if any), and it really isn't relevant, except, supposing he is a Christian. Supposing he is a member of your congregation. What will he hear there about his responsibility as an employer?

My neighbors and I just lost internet and phone connection again for the fourth time this year. Every time this happens it takes days to restore service. Does the fact that we live in a shabby run-down trailer park have something to do with the quality of repairs? My neighbors and I set out to track down the source of the problem and we found it--an exposed cable that has been cut and frayed and patched together. One of my neighbors did a quick and dirty fix that hopefully will hold together until the repairperson comes three days from now (if they show up). The reason I bring this up, is while we were discussing the problem, they told me a story about one of their relatives who moved out of the park to a nicer subdivision and when this person called for cable service the company came out right away. When the cable technician learned where his company's new customer used to live, he reportedly told the client that he always hated going in there because it was so shabby. Different neighborhood, different standard of service? When this technician goes to church (assuming he does) does he stop to think about how the Gospel applies to his work or does he not think about it at all because it's irrelevant, a Sunday thing?

I could go on and on about the numerous decisions others make for us that affect our lives, the areas in which we are powerless. Numerically speaking atheists and agnostics are a minority in the US. Somehow I don't think they are the ones in control. Recently I saw a video on microaggressions by Dr. Derald Wing Sue. He was lecturing to his class and something he said to his class really made me sit up and take notice. He said, "You will be the ones making the decisions on whom to hire and fire. You will be making the decisions on corporate policy," and so forth In other words he was telling the students that racism, sexism, ableism, all these institutionalized forms of discrimination, it was their responsibility to go out and change those things. I am sad to say I have never heard a minister or a priest challenge their congregation in such a fashion.