Dear Brothers
and Sisters in Christ,
I, like you, would love to see this
country run based on Christian values. I want to live in a nation where we love
God and our neighbors. I want us to love God instead of Mammon. I am writing in
hopes that you will open your mind to the possibility that our economic system
is severely impeding America from becoming a nation ran by Christian values.
Matthew 6:24 states that you cannot serve God and wealth. By allowing corporations and the wealthy 1%
to run our country, we have chosen to worship Mammon instead of wealth. In
fact, we should change our dollars to read “In Mammon we trust.”
Capitalism by its very nature involves
accumulation of private wealth as well as encourages vicious competition and
coveting of others property and wealth. There is no biblical basis for this
type of economic system. In fact it is quite the opposite.
In ancient Israel, charity was
indeed mandated or as you claim today, “Charity at gun point.” God instructed
Israel how to run their country. In
Leviticus 23:33, God mandates that the Israelies leave their gleanings of
harvest available for the poor and alien. Deuteronomy 14:22-29 goes into
explicit detail of how to share your wealth with the rest of the community. In the New Testament Christian communities
were in fact communistic. For example Acts 2:44-45 states, “All who believed
were together and had all things in common; they would
sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all,
as any had need.” Jesus commanded us not to hoard and store wealth such as Luke
12:13-21.
One of the basic tenants of the
capitalistic economy, charging interest, is in fact forbidden in the Bible.
According to Deuteronomy 23:19, “You shall not charge interest on loans to
another Israelite, interest on money, interest on provisions, interest on
anything that is lent.” Not only that,
but prophets demanded economic justice such as Isaiah 1:17: “learn to do good;
seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the
widow.” Going in further, the Bible
commands us not to exploit workers and pay low wages. Jeremiah warns against
living in lavish homes while exploiting the workers (22:13-17).
I understand that you do not trust
the government, and you shouldn’t because the government is run by
corporations. The enemy is not the government; it is the corporations running
it. Humans are fallen beings. Can you really trust broken, sinful beings not to
exploit each other? If God believed humanity on its own would help each other,
then why did he mandate charity in ancient Israel? Another point I would like
to make is that democracy is not synonymous with capitalism. Capitalism is an economic system, not a type
of government. You do not have to fear losing your freedom if we were to
abandon a capitalistic economy. In fact, you might feel freer than ever because
you would not have to worry about not being able to feed and provide for your
family. You would be free to focus on spiritual matters.
I encourage you to take the time to look
at scripture through a difference lens. Remember that Golden calf? Take a look
at that charging bull on Wall Street. See any similarities? Before we can ever
become a truly Christian nation, we have to start worshipping God rather than
Mammon.
Yours in
Christ,
Joy
