The 1% Addendum
This sermon was already longer than normal and I had already cut a lot of things from it. It could easily have been 15 minutes longer and I still would not have said all that was on my heart and mind. I was physically ill for most of the day after preaching this sermon, partially because I know that it is a difficult thing for people to hear, partially because I know that my attempt at addressing the topic was poor at best and it deserves better.
On the topic of capitalism; while I believe in the precepts of this system and think that those who do the work and take the risks with their ideas and their investments should be able to gain the positive rewards without being raked over the coals by governments and have half or more of their rewards taken from them to give to people who did not risk, work or struggle to make things happen, I also know that there is a dark side to capitalism. I know that often people with wealth and power are in fact greedy, selfish and corrupt and that often those who have achieved success are not satisfied with having reached the top but also desire to keep others from reaching it. I have noted that many billionaires seek to change the rules of how things work to prevent others from gaining the wealth and success that they have reached.
I also know that it is a rigged game as I stated in the sermon, but there is more to it than what I said. The IMF and World Bank, the primary sources to whom developing nations usually must go, have policies which sometimes impede the development of those nations in favor of having to pay back gigantic loans, sometimes with high interest rates which keep billions of people impoverished.
The rigged game also is partially built on the fact that it is often in the financial interest of the wealthy to keep poor areas poor, as it makes for a good source of cheap labor and products. We as individuals may not be participating in this, nor even approve of it, but largely it goes on, perpetuated at least in part by our societies’ willful choice.
Having said that I know, as I stated in the sermon, that the only way for 3rd world nations to have significant change is for them to change how they are doing things. Mexico is a nation which is blessed with lots of natural resources and yet their people are impoverished. This is largely due to corruption and a lack of freedom on the part of their government and there is little or nothing we can do about that.
It is my belief that much of the reason that developed western nations are as wealthy as they are is because of the ethics of Christianity upon the concepts of personal rights and the capitalistic belief in property rights.
Having said all of this it is possible for us as wealthy Christians to go around the rigged game and help, at least in some small ways, in the lives of people around the world. The mainstream banking system with its huge costs (talk about usury, many loans for people in 3rd world nations cost 80% interest) can be gotten around by ideas like micro-financing such as through the website Kiva.org. While I am not endorsing them, and they do operate slightly different than it first appears on their site (they do fully disclose if you dig and from my research do seem to be genuinely good guys) they are, in the end, helping make small, low interest loans to the people who need them and going around the big bulky, expensive, inefficient main stream ways that people try to get loans.
Another thing that I wanted t mention in the sermon is that I believe that education is an absolutely pivotal. There are a lot of really good places out there which are providing affordable educations in the third world (some of them are even for-profit and doing an excellent job). The only ones which I can endorse are those which are Christian in nature. My reason for this is, of course, that it does precious little good to get someone educated, fed, and out of poverty if you have not introduced them to Jesus Christ. I would specifically endorse the Lisu Bible Institute in Thailand where a student can receive a year’s higher education for $300. (you can contact me or the church if you would like further information on this). There is a never-ending amount which I could say about these topics and there are more scriptures than I can quote in this forum, but I have gone on long enough. I would challenge you to dig further and become involved in using your blessing of wealth in ways that God would like.
– Kevin