The REAL Fix for the Economy?

This is "Jack" (not his real name). Even though he'd been out of work and living in a shelter for months,
he still offered to share his breakfast of jam on toast with me.

2012 is a presidential election year, a time in America where politics and religion mix in ways that make some of us who follow Jesus wonder if we are missing something. I wonder if there is some hidden code in Scripture, that tells us it's OK to behave in such un-Christlike ways that justify all the criticism and scoffing Christians receive from others. Of greatest importance to most right now is the economy, who broke it, why they broke it, how to make sure blame is placed on those who broke it the most, how it became broken. At times, some people actually talk how to actually fix it.

So it's inevitable that opinions are thrown out at others in heated discussions and debates as the passions of people, which for some only rise when presidential politics are involved, entitles everyone to express an expert opinion on the matter of the economy and politics. Right now we have more misinformation being disseminated as fact than I believe has ever been the case in modern US history. The saddest part is the people who should know better are the ones supporting the most delusive positions.

I've watched, listened and read as people claiming the title of “Christian” have expounded, discussed, argued and bellowed about the poor, “Occupy Movement”, the 1% vs the 99%, and the virtues or vices of Capitalism. My very unscientific tracking of the sides people take has shown me that the majority of Christians I know or have seen comment on this subject come down firmly on the side of Capitalism, siding with the 1% to varying degrees. As I see it, this creates a conundrum for Christians which ends up creating the opposite effect of what followers of Jesus are commanded to express in their attitudes, words and actions.

It's a Divine Right of each of us to hold an opinion and express it freely. I try my best to respect others no matter how much I may disagree with their opinion. However, when Christians try to declare that their opinions reflect that of Jesus, I feel compelled to call them out on it (being a follower of Jesus, I include myself as a potential offender here).

I recently read some threads on Face Book, along with some commentaries by various Christian ministers, which seriously had me asking “Who are these people claiming to follow?” Some of the comments these people expressed regarding the poor, capitalism and the Occupy Movement surely couldn't come from hearts filled with the Holy Spirit, and minds renewed by Christ?

The general attitude expressed by the people in question is expressed in the following:

1. The poor are all lazy, selfish people who have brought their poverty on themselves.
2. Capitalism is ordained by God in order to ensure that the government doesn't take wealth away from us and give it to others (presumably those in #1)
3. The Occupy Movement consists of a bunch of immoral, Godless socialists who want to destroy America.
4. The 1% are actually mostly very good, God-fearing people who have been blessed by God and so have a right to not see their hard-earned money taken away by the government and given to those less deserving.

Now, rather than simply dismiss these attitudes as being contrary to Scripture, the thinking of people who simply want to slap the Christian label on themselves for fear of going to hell, I really did consider what might be behind such thinking. Then I happened to read Psalm 41 and the truth of the matter became clear, illuminated as always by the Living Word.

Oh, the joys of those who are kind to the poor. The LORD rescues them in times of trouble. The LORD protects them and keeps them alive. He gives them prosperity and rescues them from their enemies. The LORD nurses them when they are sick and eases their pain and discomfort. Psalm 41, 1-3 New Living Translation

I read this about a dozen times, letting it sink in. I meditated on it and tried to find ways I could recognize these 4 simple, direct sentences within all the hyperbole being expressed-supposedly in the Name of Christ-about the economy, the poor, the rich, and the government.

I simply couldn't reconcile Psalm 41: 1-3, (along with some related verses) with the four points of opinion I noted above. Christians should be the strongest proponent of aiding the poor, of making sure the government controls, rather than aids, the greedy actions of the wealthy few (make no mistake, God does /not/ approve of wealthy people who entertain their own greed and use their money to corrupt or use others, no matter how often they quote scripture and talk about their faith in Christ)

So the way I see these verses of Truth, the solution to the economy doesn't lie with any presidential candidate. It doesn't lie within any political-economic system, whether Capitalism or Socialism. It doesn't lie within the Occupy Movement or class warfare or childish debates on Face Book.

The solution lies within the heart of each of us, and our willingness to understand what Creator means by the simple phrase “kind to the poor”. When Christians, and others, start acting upon that then we will see the economy healed. We will see terrorism and threats of conflict abate. We will even see our personal and social health, whether physical, mental, emotional or financial, improve.

It is the attitude we have toward the poor, individually and as a nation that causes Creator to act-or not act-according to Psalm 41 (and many other Scriptures). Jesus pointed out that a selfish, unrighteous person can appear to be good by citing his charitable acts, yet still have a corrupt heart. As I consider the words I've read and heard coming from Christians, the Truth that “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” is quite indicting.

It goes without saying that a person who expresses the idea that the poor are all selfish, lazy people who are at fault for being poor certainly is not being kind to the poor. Such kindness consists of much more than giving to the food bank or the benevolence fund of a church. It extends into actually developing relationships with the poor in your community. Don't just give to the food bank, invite them to your house for dinner. Don't just write a check for the benevolence fund once a month. Take a poor family to the store and buy them new shoes. Don't just throw money at the problem: become part of the lives of the people. As we Natives Americans would say, make them your relations.

I've heard people say “conservatives in America do far more charitable giving than liberals”. OK, perhaps that's the case because, while the rich conservatives are just throwing money at charities, the liberals are actually the ones using that money to directly effect the lives of the poor? Or they are digging in and doing their part to help within the structure of communities and relationships, which can't be measured on a tax return. Yes, there are a lot of conservatives doing the same thing. We may not really know for sure because this is an aspect of being kind to the poor that can't be quantified by adding up financial statements.

Trying to use the measure of money donated to charity misses the point about helping the poor. Jesus emphasized helping your neighbors. Does giving to a missions organization building a school in a foreign land qualify as helping your neighbors? As noble as such giving is, it misses the mark if you are really trying to obey Christ and help your neighbors. Try giving not only money, but time and talent, to help the poor right in your own community, then send some money to the missions board. Loving your neighbor as yourself doesn't just mean having warm fuzzy feelings as you drop a couple of cans of soup off at the food pantry. It means becoming actively engaged in the lives of the poor within your community, /and your own church/.

When I read of people implying, or saying outright, that modern American Capitalism is somehow God's chosen way to prosperity, I tremble. (OK, actually I want to vomit but saying “I tremble” sounds more spiritual.) Capitalism in its modern form isn't based on the “honest day's wage for an honest day's work”. It's based on doing everything you can to milk money from others, treating each human being as little more than a source of profit. The current guiding principle is to produce the cheapest product at the highest mark-up, and only concern yourself with the impact this has on the customer if they complain. Is that how we think God wants us to do things if we claim to act in his name? Yet that is, in fact, the dogma and doctrine of modern American Capitalism.

This includes inducing the entire population into becoming self-absorbed consumers. Modern capitalism loves the attitude that the poor don't deserve our help because, if nothing else, it promotes the idea that people will simply spend the resources they might devote to the poor on acquiring more stuff for themselves.

Which is pretty stupid, actually.

If Capitalists want to sell more goods, thus increasing profits, then eliminating poverty, so the poor can buy more, should be a primary concern.

So then why is it so many Capitalism-loving Christians do the opposite, blaming the poor, denigrating their lack of employment or economic status, when it's those poor people gaining greater buying power that would do much more for economic recovery than electing Mitt Romney as President?

Dismissing all those in the Occupy Movement as immoral, Godless, lazy, socialist etc. is simply propaganda. Goebbels did something similar with the Jews in Germany. Yes, I am making that comparison, because historically, the evidence of a totalitarian government is when those expressing dissent are devalued and dehumanized by those who support the status quo and/or regime in power. Saying such things is also simply ignorant.

The reality is Christians, more than any other group identified by a statement of faith, should be crying out the loudest against social injustice and economic inequality that has resulted from corruption of our government by the unscrupulous wealthy. (Obviously the honest wealthy people wouldn't work to corrupt the government, but they do still profit from that corruption). What I see now is Christians playing the role of the Pharisees who were so indignant when Jesus cast the moneychangers out of the temple. Don't reply by saying “that's different”. We are talking attitude of the heart and mind, not mere actions and hair-splitting semantics.

It's also pretty obvious that wealthy people who become wealthy at the expense of their workers, and society as a whole, are not kind to the poor. No matter how much we try to support the idea of trickle down economics, the reality is it doesn't work that way. Many in the 1% didn't get that way by “hard honest work” (since today, in business, a word such as “honest” is subject to situational ethics and relativism). They got that way by underpaying employees, exploiting tax laws, closing down plants to move jobs offshore, and outright fraud. Any Christian who looks on with approval at the typical CEO (yes, there are honest, fair minded CEOs out there, but they are few and far between) simply doesn't understand that the Bible's version of honest gain and business leadership is different from what is currently acceptable in the US.

What is the Bible's version of honest gain, business leadership and treatment of not only the poor, but society as a whole? Certainly not the “win at all costs, make a profit any way we can” way that most businesses are run. It's simple:

“Treat others as you would have them treat you.”

That may not always ensure an immediate profit, but it is what Jesus would have His followers do. For a more detailed instructions, read Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, wherein YHWH instructs the Children of Israel on their social and economic dealings. I think you will find that modern American business practices fall short of those mandated by the Bible in the Old Covenant.

The New Covenant makes it both easier to grasp, but harder to follow, what with the “Golden Rule” I cited above, and the concept of “esteeming others as better than yourself” and selling all but the barest necessities to aid those less fortunate. If we follow Jesus, we must become directly, personally and lovingly involved in the lives of the poor we seek to aid in His Name.

It really does come down to attitude of the heart, for each of us. As long as we express opinions like I enumerated above, we are not of the right attitude, our hearts are not in line with Creator's thinking. That being the case, no one we elect to office will offer more than just a different set of problems, which appear to be solutions, but only to those who see things from a narrow, one-sided perspective.

The first step in economic recovery for the US is not who you vote for, but in learning in your heart what being kind to the poor really means.

That's my thoughts. Thanks for listening.