Should Christians Care About The Increasing Income Inequality In The U.S.?
There is a story in the bible of a rich young man who asks Jesus what it takes to have eternal life. Jesus begins by telling the rich young man to obey all the commandments. The rich young man claims he has already done so and asks what else he needs to do. Jesus answers the rich young man, saying, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give it to the poor. Then come follow me.” (Matthew 19:16-30, Mark 10:17-31, and Luke 18:18-30) This encounter is the only recorded account of Jesus being asked, specifically and directly, what it takes to have eternal life.
Jesus teaches that when his followers ignore the poor and marginalized, they ignore Jesus himself. Indeed he also teaches in the same passage (Matthew 25:31-46) that when his followers take care of the poor and marginalized, they take care of Jesus himself. Those who claim to follow and take serious the teachings of Christ, then, must necessarily care about the poor and marginalized. Thus the rising inequality of income in the United States today is not merely an economical issue to be kept separate from the Church, but a moral issue of which the Church must necessarily find ways to insert itself in the conversation.
According to Emmanuel Saez, an economics professor at UC Berkeley, income inequality have been on the rise since the 1970s, and is now at its highest since 1928; "...while the bottom 99 percent of incomes grew at a solid pace of 2.7 percent per year from 1993-2000, these incomes grew only 1.3 percent per year from 2002-2007. As a result, in the economic expansion of 2002-2007, the top 1 percent captured two thirds of income growth." As the income gap began to widen star...
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...s and have nothing to eat” (Mark 8:2). Jesus commanded his disciples to give them something to eat. This wellspring of concern for those in need is like a genetic trait passed down to the followers of Jesus. While the book of James is perhaps the most forthright in expressing the church’s need to honor the poor and warn the rich, concern for those in need pervades the New Testament.
In Jesus, we see that God has a ‘preferential option for the poor.’ As Gustavo Gutiérrez points out, Jesus in Matthew 25 proclaims a shocking identity “between a deed of love in behalf of the poor and a deed done in behalf of the Son of Man…to give one’s life for justice is to give it for Christ himself.” As such, the gospel of the kingdom that Jesus proclaimed made a demand on us to work on behalf of the poor and marginalized in our area, opposing ways of life that did not benefit them.
Our readings from Luke’s Gospel portray those in poverty as the people who will inherit the earth and be by Christ’s side in the kingdom of heaven. In the Gospel of Luke, it states, “Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours” (6:20). Our readings from scripture paint a picture that suggests that those who are suffering in the world during their lifetime, will be
Throughout the years, “ U.S income inequality has been increasing steadily since the 1970s and now has reached levels not seen since 1928” (Source A).
One can’t automatically assume this scripture in question was meant to excuse inaction or diminish the importance of helping those in need. I believe that this was Jesus’ way of paraphrasing a previous text, with the intent of calling to mind the larger passage it came from. He did this by quoting Deuteronomy chapter fifteen, verse eleven. Likewise, the sole intent and purpose was for the disciples and Christians to remember the instructions on how to deal with the poor and debt. In the Deuteronomic Law their were laws put in place for the purpose of people eluding poverty. If someone owed a debt they had the option of working off the debt for up to, but no longer than seven years. After the debt was paid their land and valuables were then returned to them. In Deuteronomy, perpetual poverty was
Scarborough, Joe. “Top 1% Took 95% of Gains Since 2009.” Tampa Bay Times. January 21, 2014. Web. March 11, 2014. In this article the authors shows how income inequality has been changing over the time. He also tries to emphasize how large this gap has become by comparing income and taxation of the top 1% with the rest of the nation.
Allegedly given by Jesus, the Sermon is taken as an instruction manual for Christian living. First, Matthew 5:1, Jesus ascends the mountain to preach the sermon keeping the tradition of Moses ascending and giving sermons on Mt. Sinai to the people. Taking a closer glance at the sermon, we get the opportunity to inquire what Jesus taught his disciples, and whether he also abided by his own teachings. Jesus proclaims that the poor in spirit are blessed because they will get to the kingdom of heaven. While it does not explain spirit poorness, it can be assumed to be a general situation of sadness. While it does not explain the connection between spiritual poverty and the Heaven Kingdom, such verses have been used to calm
People today look at the poor with scorn in their eyes. Not to mention they get grossed out when they have to even walk by them on the streets. Today, you see the poor begging on the streets and you can’t help but feel sorry for them. Some people though, think that the poor are the sorriest bunch of suckers around and that their lives have no meaning. But, according to Henry David Thoreau, the poor have some of the best lives compared to all of us that aren’t. The article, “Comfort Zones” quotes the bible saying, “‘This poor widow put more than all the other contributors’ (Mk 12:43)” The poor contributes more than you know. Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden” greatly describes how the poor are better because life if still great, they get independence, and money doesn’t help buy your soul.
The rich were the ones that liked the temple system. A system where in order to receive forgiveness one had to pay to be able to participate in the sacrifices. The ones that could afford to do this were the rich, because they had the money. This was not the case of the people that were poor. It was hard for them to get sacrifices, so they were looked at as lesser people in God’s favor. This however is not the case. Jesus came to change this way of thinking. An example of the rich versus poor issue is seen in the story of the wedding feast. The people that came to the wedding at Cana where Jesus performed his first miracle were likely the rich people. The people there at first couldn’t have been poor people, they had to have been rich people. If you were rich, you were able to go to the banquet when it started. The ones that were typically late to banquet were the poorer, working class who had to spend the day working. Thus when the wine ran out at the celebration, it was a big deal because it happened when the richer people were still there and wanting more, when normally the wine wouldn’t run out until near the
In both “Poverty” by Scott Todd and “Inequality for All” by Robert Reich, the ambitions and goals that are depicted are similar. These similarities can be noticed through the concerns that Todd and Reich both express towards poverty and inequality. However, there are still contrasting ideas on how the author's views differentiate through personal feelings. Reich feels that the United States has the most unequal distribution of income, and its getting worse. On the other hand, Todd claims that the church can, and already is eradicating extreme poverty from the face of the Earth.
Although Saez’s provides legitimate causes of income inequality, I highly disagree with the thought of making changes to end income inequality. In any diverse economic environment, income inequality will exist due to the rise of some economically successful people and the further development of factors that push people into poverty. I believe income inequality exists due to people not taking advantage of equal economic opportunities, the diversity of people qualified for certain occupations, and the ideas centered around capitalism.... ... middle of paper ...
Which to me is understandable because I make minimum wage in the job I have right now and for me its good as of right now because I do not have too take care of a family and do not have to many bills as a full size family so for me people that need to have a part-time and still need help I will be glad for them to get the help, but there are always the people who take advantage of the system like income taxes people will claim kids who are not theirs and get a lot more on their taxes, or they would apply for welfare and get a lot of money from the state from that. The Samaritan Rebellion In chapter four Stone describes how some people help others because they are forced to help them or it is genuine altruism and she describes it with some examples like the people who work for good paying companies can actually tell their bosses or managers and tell them that their family member is sick or injured and will give them the day off or let them get out early. But a person in a low paying job would have to make a choice between aiding a sick loved one or maintain their
In the Gospels we discover that God is always on the side of the poorest, the most marginalized, those who don't have any value in s...
Oppression has played a prominent role in our nation for countless years. This is a devastating progression that has impacted a multitude of lives worldwide. It’s apparent that the wealth in this country is unequally undistributed especially as a huge part of humanity around the world continue to fight for the poor. The Lord and Savior expressed how unjustly the poor were treated therefore, our main responsibility to the poor is not so much to give charity but to help give justice. (pg. 8) Just as scripture states in the book of Proverbs 13:23 “An unplowed field produces food for the poor, but injustice sweeps it away.” This profound scripture clearly relates to how unfair society is to the poor.
It is spoken of many times in the Bible to be compassionate towards those less fortunate than us. Now no one says we have to give up everything to give to the poor but different scenarios in the bible show such drastic measures because that is what it took to show their faith and show whether they truly believed in what they were doing. Giving everything might be your way of glorifying Him and showing selflessness but, it isn’t the way for everyone. Wealth does not show how blessed a person is, the way they go about their financial situation is. The one with little to nothing could have more faith than the rich man who seems to be so blessed. This is all just a matter of spiritual poverty and wealth. But the human eye cannot see such things, only the One with mighty power can see where we stand in our faith.
However, Monsma discusses in his article that if people are fully devoted to being a steward of economic judgement, we must strive to “provide all with access to the basic necessities for life in that society, and must provide all with opportunities for producing for their own needs in a context which gives them control over their own labor and a portion of the other resources of society.” No one in this world deserves to be left in the dust and fend for themselves if that seems to be their only option. As stewards we should strive to have “no poor among you (for the Lord will bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance to possess), if only you will obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all this commandment which I command you this day” (Deut. 15:4-5). People that have been blessed with access to many resources need to trust God that by using them for the greater good, it will lead the world closer to economic
Christianity and Wealth 'Jesus said to the rich young man, "Go, sell all that you have and