I read a lot of different style of books, techno-thrillers, urban fantasy, traditional fantasy, science fiction, detective/mystery and some westerns. I have even been known to read a romance novel or two especially if I do not realize it is one when I pick it up. One of these romance books I accidently picked up because I thought it was a techno thriller, and it was more so than a romance, was called “Crimson Code” by Rachel Lee. It is not a bad read, and it has some unique ideas. One of the more interesting ideas is the idea that there has been a group of people around the world who are more interested in power and money than they are in ethics and morality. This group of people instigate and manipulate people and nations into hot and cold wars so weapons can be sold, stocks can be raised, pawns can be moved into positions, etc. This group is centuries old and familial. What really piqued my interest was the idea that people would be willing to start wars, use blackmail, and resort to assassinations to make more money. I have often wondered if there are groups who do try to do these things or who, maybe not manipulating nations into war, put profits before people. Before you say there isn’t, or I am into conspiracy theories let me ask you a few questions.
How often have you heard about criminal groups using violence and fear to enlarge their territories or make more money? What about multi-national companies who move to other countries to avoid the environmental, labor, or safety laws? What is the primary responsibility of corporations? Are we complicit in any way to the rise and fall of people or countries? As we look to make money do we contribute to any of the other subjects we have talked about recently-human trafficking, immigration concerns, etc?
This morning we will continue our series on the Church, personal holiness and social holiness and will be looking at money, business, and the quest for profits. Specifically we will look at how the quest of money can impact not just the quest seeker, how the quest for money interacts with other social holiness issues, and how we all are players in the rise and fall of nations. IF we have time we will talk about how money does not necessarily solve all of our problems.
First of all let me state a few things: 1) Business is in business to make money, 2) Scripture does not say money is evil, 3) Scripture does show rich people are loved by God and can be saved by faith in Jesus just as a poor person can. At the same time we hear in Scripture that it can be very difficult for a rich human being to enter the kingdom of heaven to the point Jesus says in Matthew it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. This is most likely because people who have riches or many possessions put their trust in what they have and not in Jesus. It could also be they are scared or do not desire to pay the price to be a follower of Jesus which is to be willing to give up all to serve Jesus. Remember the rich young man in who wanted to follow Jesus but could not because he was not willing to give all up to be a disciple.
I also want to say that compared to many in the world each and every one of us in this room today is incredibly rich. Even the poorest of the poor in this country often have more than other world citizens.
There is a theory called “Six Degrees of Separation” and a game called “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon”. The idea of the Kevin Bacon game is that an actor through their work can be linked to Kevin Bacon within 6 moves. The “Six Degrees of Separation” is a theory that people anywhere can be linked within 6 moves. For many people this is true, and it shows the interconnectedness of our world. In the world of money and social holiness there are similarities as well in the interconnectedness between issues of social holiness and the quest for money.
In the quest for money people will often go to great lengths to gain it. For some it may be being a mule and carrying drugs for a drug runner. Others will lie, cheat and steal to get into positions to make money. Still others will abuse the image of God, and this is how the interconnectedness comes into play with other social holiness issues. There are those who traffic in human beings who beat and tear down the individuals so that others may use them. There are those who use slave labor to keep costs down. People immigrate and some employers will hire them knowing they will take lower wages or with the belief they can defraud them of their wages We need to remember that all people are made in the image of God, and when we mistreat the image of God we mistreat God himself.
The mistreatment of the image of God may not always take place with strangers when the love of money is involved. I understand there are times when people have to work over-time-it may be a busy time at work, emergencies come up, fields have to be plowed, crops have to be gotten in before the weather turns bad. However, there are those who consistently let work and the chasing of the almighty dollar take precedence over their marriage, their kids, and other relationships. As I follow the news on the millineal and X generations what I see is a group who are trying not to lose themselves in work. They are, in a way, rebelling against the demands of jobs and careers that demand allegiance to the employer before allegiance to the family. They are the generation who does not want to have their kids grow up like the kid did in Harry Chapin’s “The Cat’s in the Cradle”
And, while we have not dedicated a Sunday to it, there is the issue of stewardship of the environment. In the passage we read today from Genesis not only do we here about humanity being in the image of God but humanity was given dominion over the Earth. This dominion is more along the lines of being stewards of it much like the stewards of Gondor in Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy were entrusted with the throne until the king returned. How often have you seen, heard, or read about companies moving to other states or other countries because the environmental regulations are laxer or non-existent? This is either to save money or maximize profits. Often the price that is paid is years in the making.
So what we can see from all of this is that it is difficult for us to focus just on one issue of social holiness because they are connected to each other. I would say that the love of money might be the common factor or primary cause of most of the social holiness issues we face.
So how are we responsible for the rise and fall of people and nations? Directly we probably are not, but because of our lifestyles and our nation’s choices we have an effect on people throughout the world. We want cheap oil so we will support regimes who are friendly to our nation even though rights endowed by our Creator are quashed or non-existent. We want higher stock returns on our investments so we do not care if there are laxer standards or items we would not want in our backyard are built someplace else. We often are ignorant or turn a blind eye to what is going on as long as we get our money. If companies move we don’t ask for them to treat their employees as we would want to be treated or for them to follow the same/best environmental rules.
What can we do? We can understand that we do have some culpability in the rise and fall of people. We can also make it a point to re-order our priorities where God and then family comes before the job, career, and the dollar. When it comes to other people we need to remember that our choices when it comes to the quest for profit or the dollar does impact them. It may be indirectly through corporations or directly by missing much in their lives.
Money is essential to the running of our society. It is not evil, and there is nothing wrong with having it. It is when we begin to love money that we begin to get into trouble. The money changers and the priests in the temple probably had let their love for money over ride the Lord’s desire for the temple area to be a place of worship. The commerce was not always honest and it distracted those who came to worship God and could not go further into the temple. Is your love for money distracting you or others from worshipping your Savior?
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