For the last few weeks a friend and I have been discussing a lot about greed, economics, and social justice. It has been such a struggle for me to write out what I believe about all of this to him. Struggling to find a way to criticize without being judgmental. Struggling with whether or not I can disagree with the current economic options without offering up a new one. Struggling out of a set of political beliefs into a big dark empty hole of confusion. Struggling to find what Jesus had to say about all of it. Struggling to understand what Jesus had to say about all of it when I finally find it.
Today, I ended up in Romans 12. It is Paul’s call to action. To be a people set apart. I read verse 2 and I think it might have changed my entire life.
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. –Romans 12:2-
Do not look like the rest of the world. Be transformed to a new way, a better way. Discern what is good and acceptable and perfect.
When I look at the world, I see what people have seen since Eve chose knowledge over community. I see hunger and pain and injustice. I see greed and pride and selfishness. And it seems so big and so huge and I have a hard time finding my role.
Tim Keller talks a lot about “generous justice”. That in a cause and effect relationship, we who have been shown immeasurable grace have become the ones who bring justice. Keller defines justice as: giving humans their due as people in the image of God. The oppressed are most certainly our responsibility.
And not just responsibility. It seems to me that Jesus saw and talked about the oppressed of the world with a love I cannot comprehend. He met them face to face with mercy and goodness and justice. He made things right again. When no one else would dare to stretch out a hand, He touched the sores of a man with leprosy. Grace. Mercy. Compassion. And the sores disappeared. Justice. He, the One who restores all things to himself, made things right again. Over and over and over again.
And He asked us to do the same thing.
When we live in the patterns of this world, social and generous justice are impossible. The patterns of our world are not the best way. In fact, the numbers that are a result of the patterns are nauseating. The average worker in America makes $7/hour while the average CEO makes $1500/hour. 36% of the world’s wealth is owned by 1% of its population (in America, the numbers say that 20% of our people own 84% of the wealth). In pro-capitalism arguments, I hear all the time about how America is the most generous country of all time. And it seems as though we are because we give more money than has ever been given—roughly $28 billion/year. However, if you continue the same statistic we don’t even give 1% of our nation’s gross national income. In fact, you can’t even round up to 1% (it’s 0.2%). Less than 1% is not generous. It is not humanitarian. It is not justice. And it just isn’t working.
Our problem isn’t that America has a lot of rich people. There is nothing wrong with rich people. It isn’t being rich that is wrong. The statistics of the world will show you that, in America, we are almost all rich. In fact, Daniel and I aren’t far from qualifying for WIC, yet we rank in the top 1.4% of the world’s richest people. In the eyes of the world and the scriptures, almost all of us fit into the category of wealth. “Rich” isn’t the problem. It is our greed.
The gaps between the top and the bottom are just too large. And I don’t know how to make them smaller. I know that it is the role of the church. I know that it is a heart change not a mind change. I know that it is the actions of the saints and the drawing of the Lord. And I know that our rescue means we have to stand up and look forward and think in new and different ways. Like praying. Like giving even when it hurts us. Like (peacefully) occupying Wall Street, to offer greed a face. Not with hate, but with the mercy shown to us (Romans 12:14-21). Like scientists and engineers offering solutions to the water crisis all over the world. Like braniacs and economists offering us solutions for another world—one where, as Shane Claiborne says, “Marxism won’t be necessary and Capitalism, as we know it, won’t be possible”.
Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them; disagree with them; glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.
-Apple Ad Campaign-
3 comments:
Interesting you quote Apple. Steve Jobs was worth almost 10 billion. The average worker in one of his stores makes just over $11/hr. That's a pretty big gap.
He was a risk taker. He thought the risk was worth the possible reward. It was a pretty big reward. I think he did change the world. Would he have done so if he had not been able to profit from the change? He's both a good example of our system working and of what you are speaking against.
Touche. I probably should have used the Kerouac quote that the ad campaign was sparked from....I debated it. I just love the call to action at the end.
I'm not sure he would have done it without the profit. And, I think that the gap between himself and his workers is huge. As dumb as it sounds, I guess I wish I knew him. That is the problem with all of this: learning how to call to action on a corporate, global, political, and most importantly (maybe the only important way, really) a personal level.
I love your writing! I pray God will use it and your heart to bring God's will on earth as it is in heaven.
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