A holy thing is happening across America today. Men and women; old and young; religious and irreligious, people are coming together in a chorus of protest against the culture of greed and avarice that dominates American society. Braving the brutality of the police, the indifference of their neighbors, the scorn of the media and the nearly unstoppable tide of American culture, they are taking a stand. Their motivations may not all be rooted in the message of Jesus Christ, but what is happening is an embodiment of the gospel. It is a holy thing.
Christ knew that perhaps the greatest violence that can be committed against a people is to keep them trapped in poverty. Poverty imprisons not only the body but the soul. Unfair wages, the concentration of wealth and high unemployment keep the vast majority of people in this nation dependent on a very few. The economic freedom of the 99% is controlled by the whims and wills of the 1%. The net result is that in the wealthiest nation the world has ever known, 49 million people live in poverty and 16 million of those are children.
We have more than enough wealth and resources to feed and house every man, woman and child in this nation but, like the wealthy farmer in Jesus’ parable; we hoard and store our surplus just in case. Rather than feed the hungry in front of us today, we hedge our bets against our own hunger tomorrow.
The greed that is so endemic in our culture is more violent than any weapon.
The violence does not stop with the poor, however. Like any unjust system, the violent consequences of our unjust economic system imprison not only the poor but the rich as well. When life becomes about the protection of wealth and possessions, we become prisoners to them. The fear and anxiety of loss overtake our souls and rob us of the fullness of life. Material self-satisfaction may satiate us in the moment, but we will be hungry again an hour later.
The movement of the 99% against the economic enslavement of our culture is a holy movement. It is an affirmation that the life and freedom, economic as well as political, of every child of God must be at the heart of any just system. It is a declaration that despite the dominance of injustice in our midst, there is yet a confidence in God's justice in the world.
Until we are freed from the violence of poverty in our culture, we will remain spiritually imprisoned as a people. And God in Christ yearns as we do for our freedom.
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Luke 12:32-34
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