(Journal entry written Jan 28, 2022)
To whom much is given much will be required Luke 12:48
This scripture from the gospel of Luke came to my attention after seeing a FaceBook post about a ‘members only luxury club’ opening in the Transamerica Pyramid in downtown San Francisco. To join this exclusive club will cost roughly $100,000. See below:
A friend and colleague, shared this scriptural text in response to a comment reminding readers that a lot of growth in our nation and around the world come from the minds and within the hearts of the wealthiest of people. This creates for me images of the disparity between the haves and have-nots in this world—with extreme wealth for some and agonizing poverty for others. The point of one of the comments on the Facebook page: Haven’t the wealthy in our world earned the right to enjoy the luxuries life offers, ie expensive mansions, yachts — even trips into space?
Wouldn’t it be neat to rent the Royal Suite in the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalif in Dubai at $24,000+ a night?
There is no arguing the fact that the wealthy of the world have earned the right to use the ‘fruits of the vines’ they have planted? This is where the scriptural text from the gospel of Luke comes in:
To whom much is given
much will be required. Luke 12:48
Who am I to judge the wealthiest people in the world? Many if not most of those we call wealthy do a lot of really good things to make this a better world in which to live. I’m thinking specifically of people like Elon Musk, Tim Cook, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Opra Winfrey, Mark Zuckerberg…to mention a few—all who do good things with their wealth. There is no doubt in my mind that many of the super wealthy in our world are doing significant things with their wealth—also deserving of upscale clubs and huge castles. Much is required of these wealthy people. How much is enough for a billionaire? and who am i to judge the person who chooses space travel over anything else.
I consider myself wealthy—more spiritual than financial. I am blessed with what I need to support my family. I know I can’t afford to join the club that just opened in the San Francisco Transamerica Pyramid. I can, however, afford to live in a reasonably priced 55+ gated community in Northern California using what my wife and I have earned doing normal things with better than average jobs for the last 40 years.
But am I doing enough to support the food pantry
just down the road from where we live?
There is ‘much required’ from all of us with what God has entrusted our care.
Back to billionaires:
I wonder how many billionaires there are in the world? Google says we have over 2700 billionaires worth over 13 Trillion dollars.
Question: how many billions would it take to solve the issue of homelessness in a city like San Francisco. I honestly believe this problem could be solved by all of us who live in the Bay Area if we had the gumption and resolve to pool our many resources (not just money) into the solving of this complex issue. The problem as I see it is the reality that the combined wealth of the rich and poor will not solve this problem if there isn’t a significant amount of collective resolve. Do we have to wait for the homeless to show up on the doorsteps of our homes in order to take this issue seriously? the homeless are already on the streets all around us. Or can we isolate ourselves from facing difficult issues like homelessness by living in gated communities that help separate us from the poverty that exists outside the walls. Having lived my entire life in a city house, now livng in retirement in a gated community is a bit uncomfortable. At the same time I know my family is safe.
We don’t live in a a perfect world. i am not perfect with my stewardship of what I have been blessed to recieve. And I believe collective use of resources (time, talents, money, advocacy) used to solve some of these complex issues is within our reach — especially if there was more fairness in the distribution of wealth.
A good first step would be for zillionaires to place more resolve and non-monetary resources into programs/policies that would help the bottom tier people of in earning higher life-sustaining wages or reasonable social benefits. A good second step would be to require the super-wealthy to pay taxes at the same rate as lower tier tax payers.
This gets into a topic I love to preach. I believe we are called to place our wealth next to things we truly value. Does our use of time and talent and resources and advocacy reflect this aspiration? I believe that God calls us to pin our resources next to those things we personally value —and this is always going to be a personal choice. I assume there are many wealthy people who do just that — serve others by placing their wealth next to what they value.
Unfortunately getting wealthier is a value held by some. Getting wealthier is enough. Thus the need for equitable taxes.
Simply, this is a scriptural text that needs to be proclaimed globally from many platforms:
To whom much is given
much will be required. Luke 12:48
This is a text that requires serious reflection.
This is a text that needs a faithful response from those who wish to share their wealth with the helpless and poor.
Enough said—for now!
Bound and Nurtured in God's Love 