rich people – Thought for the Week

The Sunday Times Rich List 2019 has been published which identifies the 1000 richest people in Britain. The richest people on the list have an estimated fortune of £22bn, (that’s £22,000, 000,000), which has increased by £1.3bn in the past year. Those on the list have built their fortunes in different ways including through inheritances, oil and chemical industries, designing and making vacuum cleaners, gambling, finance and banking, media and internet. Some very rich people are generous in helping others and have set up charitable trust to help the poorest people in the world.

A man once came to Jesus with a request, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Jesus said to him, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” It is easy for us to assume that if we were very rich, we would be very happy. The sad experience of many people who have won large amounts of money on a lottery shows us that this is not always the case. Marriages and family relationships have been destroyed, long-standing friendships broken, and lives damaged through drugs and alcohol abuse.

Jesus went on to tell a story to illustrate what he had said. “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

Jesus himself is the supreme example of a someone who was rich making a great personal sacrifice so that those who were poor might become rich. He left the amazing riches of heaven, which were his by right as God’s Son, and came to this earth to live an ordinary life and to die on the cross to pay the price of our sins. Whether we are rich or poor he offers us an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade and which is kept in heaven for us.

Reflecting on the World Economic Forum

Oxfam International published a report as 2500 of the world’s political and business elites met in Davos in Switzerland for the annual World Economic Forum. The most striking statistic in the report is that the 85 richest people in the world have as much money as the 3.5billion poorest people put together, half the total world population. The top 1% of earners in the world own 46% of the world’s total wealth. The Executive Director of Oxfam International, Ms Winnie Byanyima, said, “Extreme inequality is undermining social stability and threatening global security.”

God cares deeply about poor people. In the Old Testament he gave laws to safeguard the poor from being exploited by the rich and powerful. He commanded a weekly day of rest for all people, including servants. It was to be a Sabbath to the Lord their God. Every 7 years there was a Sabbath Year of rest for the land when “the poor among your people may get food from it.” In the Sabbath Year slaves were set free and debts were cancelled.

Every 50 years there was also a Jubilee Year when those who had bought land returned it to its original owners, all debts were cancelled and all slaves set free. For 2 years the people lived in dependence on God to provide for all their needs. The Jubilee Year was a time of joyful celebration of God’s goodness and faithfulness. The Jubilee Year restored equality. No Israelite could forever remain a slave. The Jubilee Year ensured social justice as the poor were lifted up. The good things God provides are not for a favoured few, but for us all.

Jesus spoke very clearly about the danger of riches. A rich religious leader once asked him, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus knew this man’s wealth meant everything to him and had taken God’s place in his life. So he said to him, “Sell everything you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.” When he heard this the young man went away very sad. Looking at him Jesus said, “How hard it is for rich people to enter the Kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!” True wealth is spiritual. What counts, ultimately, for us all is not our “net worth” but that we have a rich relationship with God.