The Rich

Elizabeth Warren said something last night at the Democrat Convention which reminded me why I’m a conservative and a Republican.  She noted that she was a member of the Methodist church and her favorite passage was “If you have done it for the least of these My brothers, you have done it unto Me.” from Matthew 25.  I love that passage too.  It motivates my Christian faith. But I have a different take on it than some Christian Democrats.  The context of Matthew 25 is the great judgment in heaven by the Son of Man, Jesus.  And when he tells the crowd this passage, it is in the context of judging, “ I knew you.” “I never knew you.” This says that the cutting edge indicator of salvation is the personal relationship we have with our Lord.  So when Jesus says our charity aimed at others is really Him disguised in their place, He is saying that we have to do it personally and in a relationship with Him.  Woe to the guy who tries to tell God on judgment day that he is justified by pulling a voting lever for the government to run a program with other people’s money. No skin in the game!

 

I also love Luke 10, the story of the Good Samaritan.  He risks his own life, he has compassion, he reaches out to another who is different, and he spends his own time and money.  The two guys who pass by on the other side were the first century equivalent of a politician (priests were leaders in society) and a government social worker (Levites handled the funds for the poor and destitute).  Now there’s an observation! The government does aid-to-the-needy worse than any bloke who simply lends a hand.  What’s more, personal charity is truly “giving”  The gift comes without strings attached and the giver has no control over what the recipient does with it.  Like God gives to us.  Not so with government.  They don’t give gifts.  You are entitled.  You deserve what you get. Hence there is no grace (undeserved kindness as God gives). And for the guy who gets something there is no forgiveness for having a messed-up life.  Just a government hand-out.   And if government wants to attach an obligation, it can.  That is what the Romans called Liberitus—a gift with a string attached—as compared with Charitus which is a loving gift given freely.  Christian giving, done under a relationship of God who gives us what we don’t deserve, is charity, not entitlement.

 

I used to mentor system kids.  They get to know you and start looking to you for advice.  “You want to learn how to be rich?” I would tease.  “I can teach you how to get rich.  But first you have to be someone special.  Then, with your future secure, you can learn from everything and have the time of your life learning.” Rich people become something.  Donald Trump becomes ‘the Donald’, hence he can go broke and then make it all back because failure doesn’t change the ‘what he is’.  In the eyes of God you are already someone special.  Then you can take a risk and learn from it.  I see all sorts of people who never risk much.  They are locked into a job because of fear of losing the income and the security.  That’s like a Democrat.  Security concerns just kill their initiative.  But God doesn’t want us marching into heaven after a life of ease.  He wants us sliding in, bruised and shaken but trusting in Him for all we are worth, a grin on our face from the adventure. 

 

OPM, Other People’s Money, can either be opium, a drug or just a means.  I hear a lot of people, even Christian advisors, saying you should have no debt, but most rich people Use Debt Wisely.  When you have an enterprise that needs funds, you need to take on debt, but it has to be a proposition that pays off.  You also need to take care of yourself.  If you don’t, you will never be in position to help others.  So the capitalist motive of self-help isn’t so far from the scriptural admonition to give.  A lot of Democrats hate capitalism and the Christians among them make a big deal of money being the root of all evil.  Just this week, the Convention floor was filled with folks saying that corporations should be stripped of profit.  But without profits, there would be no taxes and ultimately no jobs that would pay money.  Having money doesn’t make you happy, just a tool, but it empowers you to do whatever your Lord shows you to do in that all-important relationship.

 

The Dems have such a lottery mentality.  They think profits/success come from luck or larceny.  Few wealthy folks I know are cheats.  Cheat in business means you won’t have many customers tomorrow.  A few seem to hit it lucky at first opportunity, but then, having not learned the lessons of life the hard way, don’t continue to reap wealth or grow haughty.  But the most haughty folks seem to come from the ranks of the credentialized and educated.  There’s another blunder of the Democrats.  They think that without education, there is no opportunity.  Been there, done that, I have a fine education.  Rich people you meet are often humorously lacking in education.  They just studied an aspect of business and worked like the dickens and made it grow.  Where in school do you learn to be Warren Buffet or Bill Gates or JC Penney?  I notice the Democrats passionately hate corporations.  To hate the boss means you don’t like your job.  Because getting along with your boss is a big part of the work.  My advice to the kids was to figure out how to make money from doing what you truly love.  Yeah, there’s dirty work to be done.  But if you love the rest of what you do, the dirty work gets to be routine. 

 

And I think to be rich you are always looking to the future and what possibilities lie there.  If you crab about how your kids won’t have it as well as you did, if you glorify the past as the glory days, then your best days are behind you.  Self-made people I’ve known always seem to be relishing the future challenge. 

 

So if you add it up, and if I’m somewhat correct about what makes people rich, I see why Democrats hate the rich.  None of their life traits fit with being rich.  They are just jealous.  But if you have a unique relationship with the Almighty, why be jealous of what someone else has?  You’re special as special gets. You are rich no matter how much money you have.