"Membership in the family of God is neither inconsequential or something to be casually ignored. The church is God's agenda for the world. Jesus said, "I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it." The church is indestructable and will exist for eternity. It will outlive this universe, and so will your role in it."
- Rick Warren
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Our President recently decided - shortsightedly, I believe - to pour fuel on the always-simmering fires of class envy in order to help enact his agenda and, consequently, aid his re-election. And, evidently, it's working. And so, the Occupy Wall Street movement was born.
In observing this phenomenon, I've been trying to determine which of the following is the most relevant:
You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's. (Exodus 20:17 ESV)
Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. (James 5:1-5 ESV)
The Exodus passage is among the most ignored commandments in Scripture. The passage from James is one of the most ignored warnings in Scripture.
It's sobering to consider that, certainly in James' times and culture, the term "rich" would have probably described almost all of us in the affluent west. That includes the white, middle-class Occupy protesters demanding that someone else pay their college loans.
In America, certainly from a historical perspective and even from a current world-wide perspective, almost all of us are the 1%.
So, what to make of the Occupy movement? I don't know. It seems to me that it is predominantly a case of the slightly less-rich storming the gates of the ultra-rich.
I don't think much good is going to come from it.
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Comments on "Occupy":
2. Quaid
- 10/18/2011 8:33 am CDT
I think that the linked article is very misleading. It says that Americans support the Occupy movement by a 2-1 margin, but then later states that only 37% support it. It seems to me that given only about 37% approval, Americans don't support the Occupy movement by nearly a 2-1 margin. Obviously, one can take these numbers and contextualize them one way or another. The fact is that as soon as the Occupy movement takes a somewhat specific stance on particular action steps (as the Tea Party has done), more people will be against them. (Similarly, candidates seem great until they give you specific plans and proposals. Cough cough . . . Gingrich, Perry, (Cain?) . . . cough cough.)
I'm not against OWS. The main reason I'm not against them is because I'm not exactly certain what they stand for. Obviously, they tend to think that there are a bunch of greedy people on Wall Street. I tend to agree with this sentiment. I don't know what sitting on their front yard is going to do to change any of that. Perhaps they believe that the "rich" should pay more in taxes. If this is the case, why not sit down in front of the Capitol?
I also think it ironic that Obama supports the protesters. Hasn't Goldman Sachs donated plenty to his campaigns? They seem to be the company that has done the most well over the past years. Isn't this the company that typifies the Wall St. greed that seems to be the problem for the OWS movement?
As for the spiritual nature of the movement, you do well to point out that, relative to Christ, the bulk of the protestors are actually on the same side as Wall St. I have heard that there are believers there, using the platform to speak out against some societal ills as a result of a failing morality exemplified by corporate greed. If OWS becomes a platform for Christ, I'm all too eager to embrace it.
I think some good could come of the movement. The right has their movement that seeks to alter the course of our society (Tea Party) and now the left has a budding movement, as well. In a divided society such as ours, it looks like we're increasingly closer to agreeing on something - we're in the middle of one gigantic mess.
3. Tony
- 10/18/2011 1:21 pm CDT
I have to agree with much of what Quaid is saying. How ironic of a situation OWS is. On the one hand big Corporations love big government because big government stifles competition. The numerous regulations and laws it imposes so that the little guy or even medium sized company cannot compete with the big guys. The big corporation can pay the fees and move on while the smaller company is left just trying to survive. The current administration and democrats in general tend to lean towards a bigger government and for the current administration to endorse this movement and to be against corporations and big business is not going to earn him any points to get reelected. The logic of it is chaotic at best and I predict it will backfire on Obama. The fact the the movement exists means people are unhappy with the countries situation, no. I mean corporations give too much and influence our government too much is just an excuse, is it not? Didn't the government bail out the banking and the auto industry? Don't they need each other to survive? This would be like me publically saying negative things about my wife and then I go home that night and ask her to have sex because I love her, hmmmm?
As Bill has indicated and I have to agree, there is no good outcome to this movement. What will they accomplish 10, 30 or 60 days from now? Besides demonizing corporations and cause unrest for "normal" America? Is this simply Gen Y's "woodstock" or general youthful rebellion?
4. Bobbi
- 10/18/2011 6:40 pm CDT
They used to call this acting up. Now they call it acting out. Don't know what that means, but all of these people must be feeling stress of some kind. I pray that they will make their requests known to God with thanksgiving and that He will guard their minds and hearts with His peace. I would love to see revival in the streets!
5. Quaid
- 10/18/2011 10:44 pm CDT
Irony of ironies. Not too long after I posted my comment above, Goldman Sachs released their earnings report and reported a loss of half a billion dollars.
I suppose that weakens my argument just a tad. Still - plenty of corporations donate to campaigns, including Obama's. This makes Howard Schultz's pledge asking corporations not to give to campaigns until the government makes strides towards a more stable economic outlook all the more prescient.
6. Tony
- 10/19/2011 8:57 am CDT
have heard that there are believers there, using the platform to speak out against some societal ills as a result of a failing morality exemplified by corporate greed. If OWS becomes a platform for Christ, I'm all too eager to embrace it.
Be careful to associate yourself with a rebellious movement. Although a corporation is a legal entity, it can never except Christ as their savior. So, are the Christians on Wall Street preaching to the people who work for a corporation? I work for a corporation, should I not be working for a corporation? Should I repent of my occupational sins, quit my job and go be a missionary to Napal? I suppose if every corporate worker were to repent, I might have trouble getting missionary support - ah, that slipped, sry - if God wanted me to be a missionary the support would come from somewhere, check.
Ok, so I'm pulling a "normal" salary and perhaps they are talking to the CEO's and executives of a corporation - the one's who are actually greedy ;) Will any of the exec's hear the message of Christ, through the majority of the other protesters voices who are chanting non-sense? If the execs repent and turn to Christ, would they or should they quit their jobs and give all that they have to the poor and eat rice and beans for the rest of their lives?
Since a corporation is "made up" of people maybe they should start preaching Christ to the protesters that are right next to them. Perhaps some of them will someday take the place as a corporate worker or a future CEO and that just might "take a bite" out of greed better than a revolution against capitalism.
7. Scott Roche
- 10/19/2011 9:51 am CDT
Perhaps some of them will someday take the place as a corporate worker or a future CEO and that just might "take a bite" out of greed better than a revolution against capitalism.
This isn't a revolution against capitalism, so far as I can tell.
9. Tony
- 10/19/2011 12:23 pm CDT
Oh, this is going to get good. They are starting to organize and collect donations - very detailed organization within the article below. I didn't think "they" had it in them - a little business saavy ;)
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2011/10/occupy_wall_street_protesters_1.html
Go grab some popcorn, this is going to last a bit longer than I thought.
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