Tag Archives: Greed

Injustice Hurts Even the Perpetrator

EstherLiving in the Spirit
September 21, 2015

Scripture Reading: Esther 7:1-6, 9-10, 9:20-22

So the king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther. On the second day, as they were drinking wine, the king again said to Esther, ‘What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.’ Then Queen Esther answered, ‘If I have won your favor, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me—that is my petition—and the lives of my people—that is my request. For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have held my peace; but no enemy can compensate for this damage to the king.’ –Esther 7:1-4

Esther appeals to the king for her people who are scheduled to be destroyed by Haman one of the King’s men stating her reasoning that the death of her people would actually do damage to the king. While this was a very smart approach, it is true, I believe, that all injustice hurts society as a whole. When we build ourselves up at the expense of others we may receive short term benefits but the long term ramifications are always bad.

The United States is suffering the consequences of wealth transfer from primarily the middle class to the upper class over the past thirty or forty years. This has resulted in the shrinkage of the middle class and a rise in the number of those poor. The bottom line of profit seems to be the only thing that matters any more. We privatized many governmental services resulting in ever increasing costs because of the need to make a profit. The privatizing of prisons is an excellent example. Profits are made in growth industries. Our goal as a society is to reduce the number of people held in prison. The goal of business is to increase their clientele to increase their profits. This disconnect has resulting in The United States having less than 5 percent of the world’s population. But it has almost a quarter of the world’s prisoners.* Are our war policies also being driven by profits?

We need to repent of our greed and strive to create a society where everyone thrives.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us of our drive toward wealth in dollars rather than wealth in your love. Give us the courage to reformat our society to be ruled by justice for all. Amen.

*http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/23/world/americas/23iht-23prison.12253738.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

God’s Love

Bottle CapLiving in the Spirit
September 13, 2015

Scripture Reading: Mark 8:27-36

He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? –Mark 8:34-36

What does it profit anyone to gain the whole world and lose his or her soul? Greed is such an integral part of our lives we do not even recognize it when it becomes the driving force toward whom we are becoming. Think about how much time we invest in looking at catalogues online, or the paper kind. Just browsing, not the time we spend trying to replace a broken or unfixable item.  There are so many new modern conveniences we might see, we think, I had better get one of those I could really use it. I have a whole drawer full of tools design to help open containers. I have never had a very good grip and it is getting worse with age.

Salad dressing caps with the little plastic ring around the bottom, which must be snapped apart along with the normal twisting are my greatest challenge.  None of those gripper things work very well on anything and they are no help at all on salad dressing bottles. After wrestling a jar of low cal Italian all over my kitchen trying to get it opened, I made a drastic move. Someone had given me a pair of pliers with a sliding locking mechanism that changes the size of the plier opening. I grabbed my adjustable pliers sized it to the cap and I barely had to apply any pressure at all. The cap came off. It had been in my draw all along. I just didn’t have sense enough to use it thinking something new would be better.

The love of God is all we really need. It is hard to take in but it is true. When we have our priorities straight the rest of life tends to take care of itself.

Prayer: Lord, forgive me from the greed that overcomes me at times and help me realize your love in all its shapes and forms. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Sowing Injustice

minpovLiving in the Spirit
September 1, 2015

Scripture Reading: Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23

Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity,
   and the rod of anger will fail.
 Those who are generous are blessed,
   for they share their bread with the poor. –Proverbs 22:8-9

What does it mean to sow injustice? Surely we do not actively engage in causing injustice. I do not know about you, but when I present my sins before God and plead for forgiveness, I am most often listing sins of omission rather than commission. Seeds of injustice are often sins of omission.

A friend recently castigated me about taking a stand publically regarding the need to raise the minimum wage. Actually I did take that stand but I think raising the minimum wage is a mere stop gap response to meet immediate needs, as we struggle to find ways to assure that everyone who works earns a living wage. If we just raise the minimum wage, businesses most likely will raise their prices taking away all that was gained from the increase in the minimum wage.

My friend went on to say we both worked for minimum wage in high school but no one should plan on supporting themselves on that salary. It is what we should pay teenagers living at home with the parents. The truth is when my friend and I were teenagers working at those minimum wage jobs, the minimum wage was at the highest level it had ever been about 99% of poverty today the minimum wage is 60% of poverty. What is rarely mentioned is the measure for poverty has not been changed since the 1970’s and is based on statistical model created in 1965**. It is woefully inadequate now, if only because of the changes in the cost of housing. There probably are not enough teenagers of working age in this country to fill the many service jobs held by adults supporting families because we have lost so many well-paying manufacturing jobs.

We would do well to consider, if our desires for more wealth, keeps us from working toward everyone earning a living wage. Do we tolerate those high profit margins and CEO salaries because they have become like a lottery to us? Someday we may win it. We need to carefully search our values and compare them to Jesus’ values for we may be sowing injustice in the name of greed.

Prayer: Lord, you championed meeting the needs of the poor and challenged us to do the same. Guide us from being sowers of injustice to being champions of justice. Amen.

*Pictured graft source: U.S. Bureau of the Census; U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics; Statistical Abstract of the United States; and Survey of Current Business.  See at: http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/anth484/minwage.html

**http://www.census.gov/library/infographics/poverty_measure-history.html

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Awash with Greed

overcoming-greed-500x500Living in the Spirit
August 1, 2015

Scripture Reading: John 6:24-35

When they found him on the other side of the lake, they said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.’ –John 6:25-27 

There is an ad running on TV now for some kind of asthma medicine. It includes a talking gold fish flopping around on a solid service out of water, gasping for breath. I think the gold fish is not only an apt portrayal of the way an asthma sufferer must feel, but it also seems to me, it is a great illustration of an American society overcome with an epidemic of greed. We cannot get off the hard surface and back into our source of life.

The news is blatant with greed like the need to deflate footballs to win big games, thus cheating to win at any cost except for the financial rewards of the big win. A man paid $50,000+ for the right to kill a beloved lion in Africa. Politicians will say anything to fire up support among the masses, but their policies only seem concerned with maintaining the backing of the people who own them. We have an unaccountable disconnect between the need to actually pay for the services required to support the common good and the resulting necessity of taxation. We all want our cake and to eat it too.

Jesus called his followers out on this very issue in our scripture today. “Hey, man, this guy is handing out free bread and fish. Let’s go.” While Jesus did meet the immediate need for physical sustenance, he wanted the people to prioritize their lives toward seeking the eternal nurture of God’s abiding love.

Prayer: Lord, heal us of the greed that overcomes us. Help is to see the better way and to follow it. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Room for All at the Table

no_room_at_the_table_by_kajm-d57ufi2Living in the Spirit
July 22, 2015

Scripture Reading: Psalm 14

Fools say in their hearts, ‘There is no God.’
   They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;
   there is no one who does good.  

The Lord looks down from heaven on humankind to see if there are any who are wise, who seek after God.  

They have all gone astray, they are all alike perverse; there is no one who does good, no, not one.

 Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread,
   and do not call upon the Lord?

There they shall be in great terror,  for God is with the company of the righteous.
You would confound the plans of the poor, but the Lord is their refuge.  

O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion!
  When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people,  Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.

This is a chilling scripture and I have included it in its entirety because it is not only an indictment of the people of God some three thousand years ago, but it is an indictment of us today. I was particularly struck by that sentence Have they no knowledge, all the evildoer who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon the Lord? It describes greed, which is idolatry, in its most primal form.

Slavery is against the law in our country today, but allowing businesses to prosper on the backs of inadequate salaries is comparable to slavery. Minimum wage for most families does not pay for the most essential necessities. The government supplements those wages with food stamps and child care subsidies. Charities attempt to fill in the gap often at the end of the month through food pantries, gas coupons, and shelters.

It is fixable, but adequate incomes will never be a reality for all until we repent of our greed and get down to the hard task of revamping our systems to assure living wages for all.

Prayer: God of Mercy and Justice, forgive us of our greed. Open our hearts and minds to clearer understandings of building a world where there is room at the human table for everyone as you model for us at Your table. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Sick Greed

paid_sick_leave_imagesLiving in the Spirit
July 19, 2015

Scripture Reading: Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the market-places, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed. –Mark 6:53-56

Care for the sick and heal the sick are themes that weave through Jesus’ entire ministry. Yet we in the United States, who some claim to be a Christian nation, have failed the sick. In a country that values wealth so highly, we have forgotten or perhaps never understood that our people are our most valuable resource. The same could be said for education and criminal justice.

If our actions do not result in an immediate profit for someone, they are not worth the investment. So we have drug testing facilities opting and charging for a $500 screen when a $15 one would do. Twenty years ago, I was in an HMO that notified me they were no longer going to pay for the prescription I had been taking for years, but they would pay for a similar one for the same condition. I thought it was a cost saving matter and switched only to find out when I picked up the drug, it cost more than the one I had been taking. I wondered who got the kick back and I switched insurances.

Greed is epidemic in our land and will be our downfall, if we as the prophets say do not repent and turn around. What is right, what is just must be the first consideration.

Prayer: God of All, heal our souls of the greed to which we are addicted. Make us whole enabling love and justice can be our driving forces. Amen.

 All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Letting Go of Sins

GreedLent
March 7, 2015

Scripture Reading: John 2:13-22

The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money-changers seated at their tables. Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. — John 2:13-15 

It has been fascinating to me to observe over the past several years, how people, particularly politicians, have attributed to Jesus ideas and teachings that he is never quoted as addressing at all. Yet the same people rarely mention the sins about which he seems the most concerned: greed and misuse of power. Perhaps they recognized quickly the unpopularity of dealing with the sins we all commit.

John tells the story of the clearing of the temple very early in his book. The synoptic gospels mention it much later. The subject of power and its interconnection to money was apparently as unpopular in the first century as it is now. John may have been drawing attention to the cleansing of the temple early as he traces the path to Jesus’ eventual death from the beginning of his book. The event seems to have been a turning point in Jesus’ life.

During this Lenten season we would do well to ponder the place of power and greed in our lives. They are insidious, creeping into our everyday way of being without our even suspecting it. Greed is taking the walk across the line of healthy gain to wanting more and more until our lives are eaten up with collecting and hoarding. Misuse of power leads to oppression. Combined they are lethal.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us of our sins that are so much a part of our lives we rarely notice that they are separating us from you and from our call to serve you. Convict us of what is keeping us from having full communion with you and give us the courage to let those sins go. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

 

Worthy of God

Enough for allLiving in the Spirit
November 6, 2014

Scripture Reading: 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13

As you know, we dealt with each one of you like a father with his children, urging and encouraging you and pleading that you should lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. — 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12

On November 4, 2014, the majority of eligible Oklahoma voters cast their votes by their absence. Oklahoma’s voter turnout for the 2014 midterm election has been estimated at about 39.5 percent, right around the national rate of 40 percent.”* Following the reporting of the election results, I heard speeches about how the vote was a reflection of the great economy in Oklahoma and that is probably true. Because I think the vote also reflects the hopelessness of much of the state’s population who did not feel their vote mattered. While we have such a “wonderful economy”, 16.6% of the population live on incomes below the poverty level. The poverty level for the US as a whole is 14.4%**. The poverty rate for Oklahoma children (24.1 per-cent) is higher than that of working-age adults (16.1 percent) or seniors (9.9).** This is a particularly significant fact because it is we seniors who vote. The reason there are fewer seniors living below the poverty level is largely because Social Security payments are indexed to the poverty level.

The 2014 election is now over and we can get back to our normal routines of life but I think we need to seriously consider that living a life worthy of God requires us to be concerned about all of God’s children. If Jesus did nothing else he gave people hope. If we truly believe that we are called to do justice in this world, we must care about all God’s children not just our peer groups. We must work to make any success our economy is experiencing be shared throughout the population. We now must hold whomever was elected accountable to do justice within our government. Our elected representatives will not be standing in our place when we come before Christ and are judged by how we treated the “least of these” (Matthew 25). The prophets foretold that the Israelites greed would come back to bite them. The same could be said to us.

Prayer: Lord, make us seekers of justice not just for ourselves but especially for those who feel they have no voice in this land. Amen.

*http://kgou.org/post/republican-gains-few-surprises-real-time-recap-oklahomas-midterm-election-results
**http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/40000.html
***http://okpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Oklahoma-Poverty-Profile-2012.pdf 

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

 

Fair Trade

Fire in BangladeshLiving in the Spirit
Light a Candle for Children
October 4, 2014

 Scripture Reading: Matthew 21:33-46

 ‘Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watch-tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, “They will respect my son.” But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, “This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.” So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?’ They said to him, ‘He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.’ —Matthew 21:33-41

Greed is epidemic in our land. We want what we want when we want it. We have little if any consideration of the impact our greed has on others. Factories in other countries use child labor and follow few safety practices. Such factories are making many of the gadgets and must-have brand name clothing that we demand. Fires and other events have killed hundreds of adults and children working in these establishments. Greed is also what encourages American businesses to keep these factories going because if the work were done in the USA or other countries that regulate safety and child labor, the profits would not be as good.

We can read the parable Jesus told in today’s scripture and feel good about ourselves because we would never do such horrid things. We are people of integrity and honesty. We want the best for all people. Do we really? Whenever we are benefiting from the misfortune of others we are not loving them, and that includes benefiting here in the USA from people who are not earning a living wage. We are as culpable as the businesses working children, not providing a safe work environment, and not paying a living wage for they would not be fostering such environments, if we were not buying the goods they produce.

I use the word “we” on purpose for I am as guilty as anyone. I try to make wise decisions but have been surprised after purchasing something to see a label that says it was made in one of the places where terrible fires occurred. A good place to start is to look for the “fair trade*” label. While it is not yet used on everything, it is a good place to start making a difference for all the people for whom we really do want the best.

Oklahoma Fact: 26% of children live in Low-income working families.**

Prayer: Show us ways to be protectors of other through our commerce, O Lord, and give us the courage and will to practice them. Amen.

 *For more information about fair trade go to: http://fairtradeusa.org/what-is-fair-trade
 **http://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/tables/5052-low-income-working-families-with-children?loc=38&loct=2#detailed/2/38/false/868,867,133,38,35/any/11459,11460
 All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

God’s Gifts are Greater

School FailureLiving in the Spirit
Light a Candle for Children
October 2, 2014

 Scripture Reading: Philippians 3:4b-14

 Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. — Philippians 3:7-11

While traveling in Turkey recently, I traveled the paths of Paul as he spread the good news about Jesus throughout what was then Asia Minor. Walking through the ruins of Ephesus, I felt like I was walking through Paul’s writings. The crumbled walls of ancient temples to the gods of the day surrounded me. The pillars where the “in crowd” had their names carved to show their believed superiority were also broken and worn. Some new followers of Christ had lamented to Paul that their names could never be on these all important status symbols. Paul starts this scripture with a laundry list of his credentials, which are impressive and then he says they are meaningless when compared to being in relationship with Christ.

We still live in a world where it seems status symbols and acquisitions matter more than people, where teenagers attack other teens for their name brand shoes, and where, the grand buildings are cleaned and maintained by workers being paid wages that will not support their families.

We as members of the Body of Christ are called, like Paul, to tell the world the truth: People do matter. God loves all God’s children. God loves us so much that God sent Jesus Christ into the world to show us a better path. People of that day caught up in the hunger for power and greed, even religious leaders, were so fearful of his message that they killed him. But God said that is not the end of the story and restored him to life. As Paul says in this scripture there is nothing, no status symbol or acquisition that is more important than that.

Oklahoma Fact: For the 2014 school year, 46% of Oklahoma City Schools received an Fin the state Education Department’s rankings.*

Prayer: Lord of All, let us be a blessing to all your children as a demonstration of our love for you and our love for all those who were created in your image. Amen.

*The Oklahoman, Sunday, September 21, 2014, page 1A

 

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.