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Thursday, October 4, 2012

Did Jesus Have It Wrong?


The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me (Matthew 26:11 NIV).

What world problems today seem to be beyond solution? What forces appear to be in control? Do you react to these problems with: Helplessness? Cynicism? Sorrow? Disgust? Hope? Why? (Serendipity Bible 10th Anniversary Edition, page 1015).


It is my hope and belief that in this one instance Jesus in a sense had it wrong. For, indeed, Jesus is always with us and it is my hope and belief that one day the poor will be no more.

The base of much mischief is the ideology of meritocracy. It is taken as a tautology that resources automatically reside with those who earn them. Nothing is more patently untrue. Hierarchical position becomes the ultimate test of worth. Thus CEO's are fairly seen to make millions while those in fact providing the most stressful and grueling service (and are the ultimate source of services and wealth) barely make a living wage. This fact is awesomely enervating to the majority of humanity. A side effect of this concentration of wealth instead of its broad distribution is that economies suffer greatly. The maldistribution of wealth hugely dampens overall demand and economic activity. The generation of wealth becomes much less than it should be.

Capitalism as traditionally understood has great and fatal limitations. Until basic fairness is devised and included within economic systems, we will continue to judge people as the culprit and rail against laziness rather than facing the challenges of a broader and fairer distribution of earnings.






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