The Billionaires

The billionaires ridiculed Jesus. But he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts, for what is prized by humans is an abomination in the sight of God.” (paraphrase of Luke 16:14-15)

The Gospel of Luke doesn’t have many good things to say about “the lovers of money.” In our reading for this coming Sunday, Jesus treats money as a small thing in comparison to the kingdom of God. You can serve money, or you can use money in the service of God.

But even if money is a small thing, it looms large in our lives. The solution is to give to God as generously as we can. “Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice. They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor. Their righteousness endures forever.” (Psalm 112: 5, 9)

In Jesus’s day, 90 percent of the population worked the land, and 10 percent lived off the wealth of that work, because they owned the land. Income inequality and the wealth gap are nothing new. Then as well as now, Jesus teaches that love can fill the gap.

with love, Pr. Chelsea