Did you know the that top 1% own over 50% of the world’s wealth? More importantly, do you know what that statistic is designed to do? There’s only one effect a statistic like that can have. Envy. Because chances are, (a 99% chance, to be precise), that you are not in that 1%. And that disparity looks grossly unfair.
Aren’t all human beings equal? Are we not all made in the image of God? Do we not all equally deserve a high quality of life? How could you look at a statistic like the one above, and not believe that’s a problem? Clearly not the way an ideal society should look?
Two things need to be said about 1%-er rhetoric. The first is examining the unexamined assumption that wealth disparity, even of massive proportions, is inherently evil. The second is to ask what sort of effects does continually referencing a class of 1%-er supervillains have on our psyche and actions?
You Will Always Live in a World of Inequity
The baseline question that we have to start with every time the subject turns to equity is: “What do we want, when we demand equity?” Perhaps in the West today, it’s better to start off by asking: “What inequities are still acceptable? Beyond differences of culture or personality, are there any areas of life where inequity might be a good result, or at least something acceptable, perhaps best left unmeddled with?”
If we extend inequity outrage outward, in concentric circles, we should question the fairness of every institution, business, or culture. For example, is it fair that less than 1% of Americans hold over 99% of the lawmaking power in this country? Is it fair that less that an athletic elite of less than 1% of captures over 99% of the televised athletic events? Is it fair that less than 1% of aspiring musicians receive over 99% of music industry’s opportunities and profits?
Everywhere you look, everywhere you turn, in every field, occupation, and metric, we can witness this snowballing effect–where the rich get richer, and the poor get (at least comparatively) poorer. People gain or inherit specialized talents and skills, and then receive more opportunities to further develop those skills, which then leads to them further separating from the masses.
Jesus taught this as a spiritual truth in his parable of the ten talents. “For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” (Matthew 25:29) If total, monochromatic, homogoneity is your standard and goal, then either you will pronounce the world to be unfair at every turn, in every place, and in every time, or you will have to re-examine your benchmark for fairness.
The Consequences of 1% Villains
Secondly, we should consider what effect the villainizing of the 1% has, both personally and collectively. Solomon notes that “all toil and all skill in work come from a man’s envy of his neighbor.” And he concludes that: “this also is vanity and a striving after wind.” (Ecclesiastes 4:4) In other words, envy is one of the main motivators for every person, all of the time. In case you haven’t noticed, it makes a terrible taskmaster. “A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot” (Proverbs 14:30).
How could we possibly believe that dwelling on, or obsessing over the lifestyle of the super-wealthy will generate anything but the basest of bone-rotting emotions? Comparing upward will leave you with eyes only for what you don’t have, when the Bible tells us that in Christ, all the world is ours. (I Corinthians 3:22)
On a societal level, 1%-er rhetoric is supremely dangerous. It is the seedbed of classism and bloody revolution. Here’s an unfortunate secret: by definition, there will always be a one percent. And it will always feel like they have a lot more than you. The pre-occupation with this as an unfairness, as an injustice, leads inevitably to reaching up in order to tear down, rather than reaching down in order to bring up.
Jesus Reframes The Upward Journey
Jesus wants to reframe how we think about our money. The implicit myth at play every time stats about the 1% get dredged out is that wealth and happiness plot along corollary lines. Jesus warns us against this lie: “Be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” (Luke 12:15) The solution starts with looking up at the infinite wealth we are given in Christ, the sort of abundance that causes Paul to regard everything else as refuse (Philippians 3:8).
After looking up in gratitude, we are told to look at those around us. Instead of the 1% at the top, we need to be looking at the 10 or 20% at the bottom. Which, if you live in America, does not include you. You need to know that you’re wealthy, globally speaking, and extend generosity, starting locally. The Bible calls us to look at and have regard for the poor. Instead of stirring up envy, giving and caring for those who have the least lifts us up, as we imitate God’s generosity to us in his gift of salvation.
An earlier version of this article was initially published on Reformation21
16 comments
Emily
Hi Justin!
Well, we must be listening to different people, because in virtually all of the concern I’ve heard about the 1% (plenty), I haven’t heard envy- but instead concern from those in the middle class for the people most suffering from poverty.
I have to agree with the person above who mentioned this sounding like a straw man argument.
Does it please God for someone to have so vastly, vastly much wealth that they could ease great suffering without even noticing a difference in their own extreme luxury?! I would argue no.
(I also acknowledge that while I am far from the 1%, I enjoy great wealth as a middle class American, and could steward these blessings better!).
Justin N. Poythress
Thanks, Emily. I greatly appreciate the self-aware acknowledgment that we comfortable middle class Americans could definitely be more generous and better stewards.
It’s a tricky issue. I would agree with you about the source of most of the 1% complaints that I hear. They come from middle class people and are directed to concern for those suffering poverty.
I think there are two biblical things that bear on this.
1) Envy is pretty hard to detect. Envy is not the only motivator, but envy as a rule seeks to tear down those ahead of you. I don’t anticipate ever hearing someone directly say: “The 1%ers are corrupt and greedy and should be brought down because I’m envious of their lifestyle and jealous that they live so much better than me.” That’s not a feeling we give voice to but that doesn’t mean it’s not real (Luke 12:13-21)
2) I am concerned that Christians may undiscerningly swallow the implication that vast wealth disparity is in itself inherently evil. The Bible deals with a lot of rich people, and never once condemns them for the sheer amount of money they have. Judgment comes on where rich place their heart, ohere on how Christians should think about the pursuit of equityr injustice to their workers, or stinginess to those in need. Those are genuine biblical concerns, but not the mere existence of a wealth gap. That’s a nuance that often does not enter into discussions around 1%.
I’ve written more here on how Christians should think about equity.
John D.
Hmmm, I think there may be a bit of a strawman here. When I hear the 1% arguments, it is not a matter of envy or believing there is a linear relationship between wealth and happiness. For me, such figures highlight a systemic problem – that despite living in a democratic republic that should at least theoretically provide more or less equal opportunity to its citizens, power and wealth are increasingly consoldiated among an elite class.
Yes, there will always be a 1%, but the disparity between the 1% and the other 99% does not have to be a chasm. It doesn’t require an Economics degree to understand that there is some serious corruption in the American system that is worsening this disparity. There is an element of injustice here and as Christians we should be interested in combating it. Perhaps it isn’t our highest priority, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be on our radar…
Justin N. Poythress
I think that envy is tricky because no one will willingly acknowledge that is a driving motivator for them or others. When someone asks Jesus to tell his brother to divide the inheritance with him, I don’t think he would have said his reason was covetousness, but that’s exactly what Jesus highlights (Luke 12:13-21)
I also think my concern is with a statement you made- that a chasm in wealth gap automatically leads one to conclude- economics degree or no- there must be corruption at play. Maybe. But must be? If someone inherits a vast fortune from their parents and invests that wisely, or creates a transformative business that generates significant value, is that person still corrupt for having hundreds or thousands of times more wealth than the bottom 50%?
John D.
Envy is part of sinful human nature – it is no surprise that envy is a factor here. I am not disputing that. What I am saying is that one only need crack open a newspaper to see the corruption that is rampant in America (and many other parts of the world).
Could one theoretically have a perfect society where the 1% held 50% of the wealth? I doubt it very seriously. If it was a perfect society, they would want to share with their neighbor. They would not be greedy, nor would those who lack be envious. It would probably look something like communism (or whatever system most resembles what was going on in Acts 2), only it would work because sinful human nature wouldn’t be there to wreck it all.
The fact that a growing percentage of wealth is being concentrated among the 1% in a democratic society generally is a sign of corruption. Our anti-trust laws have become useless – e.g. we have institutions deemed “too big to fail”. Are consumers part of the problem? Yes, but the institutions that are supposed to act as safeguards are failing and have been failing for quite some time.
We have the richest man in the world trying to buy elections without even having to be subtle about it. No consequences. This is what I mean when I say one doesn’t need an Economics degree. It is as “in your face” as it has ever been. So I am happy when people point out the 1% statistics. The numbers vindicate what people instinctively already know – they live it every day…
Justin N. Poythress
I’ve written more on being careful what we expect and are looking for when we desire equity:
https://justinpoythress.com/not-all-equity-is-created-equal/
Norman A Campbell
Well, Mr. Poythress–I disagree with you. And I’m laboring under a disadvantage because I am NOT a political economist.
First things first:
I do NOT believe, however, that the Lord’s parable of the talents was meant to apply to anything besides the measure of grace the Almighty has seen fit to bestow upon His children. I do NOT believe the Lord was making a comment about society or social norms.
An anecdote comes to mind–this from the 1800’s. When there was not only inequality but GROSS inequality, not only in the United States but elsewhere. A man in New York’s Central Park attacked a small carriage being driven by some fashionably dressed ladies. He slashed–not at the ladies themselves but the fancy harness worn by their horses. He didn’t do much damage. But they hauled him in for questioning. Why had he done such a thing?
“Because,” the man exploded, “these ladies spend in an HOUR what would keep me and my little ones for a YEAR.” Was this man prompted by envy? Impotent malignity? No. I don’t think so. I would reply: that the distribution of wealth was so GROSSLY unequal, so GROSSLY unfair–that a man living in utter poverty, in utter destitution was moved (as it were) to exclaim, “This isn’t fair! This isn’t right!”
Someone spoke some years ago about America being reduced to the status of Mr. Somoza’s Nicaragua. That is, one small family controlling virtually ALL the wealth, ALL the commodities, ALL the nice things. And the remaining 99% going barefoot and hungry. Plagued by disease and destitution. Often dying young. Very young.
Like the peasant woman quoted in Hemingway’s novel “For Whom The Bell Tolls.” Oh, she exclaims! The bourgeoisie. So well-fed they are! Plagued by chronic indigestion–“and they cannot live without their bicarbonate of soda. And the rest of us are hungry, every day of our lives.”
I have heard a Black preacher myself. An old man at the time–but he grew up poor in Chicago. Rats raced over his face when he lay in bed at night. And he never knew what it was NOT to be hungry–till he was fourteen.
Envy, Mr. Poythress? No, I don’t think so. There is (somewhere) in all of us a sense: this ought not to be happening. On some level or other, this simply isn’t RIGHT.
Though I am remembering a political analyst (of yesteryear) quite content with that status quo. He was happy to think of the poor as gnawed by perpetual hunger and insecurity. Because that hunger and insecurity made “our arts, our literature, the nice things we do for our civilization possible.”
Need I point out the utter heartlessness of such an attitude? Need I point to passages in James, where the rich are excoriated for their selfishness? To say nothing of the Lord’s horrifying parable of Dives and Lazarus.
Inequality? Of course, Mr. Poythress. I’m not promoting an all-around leveling of society. I AM suggesting that, where the rich gather ALL the wealth, ALL the power (and yes! being rich generally entails a deal of power) into their own grasping hands, leaving the rest of us little or nothing!
–well, sir. I’m sorry. I cannot see that the Bible recommends such a state of things. Or looks with a kindly eye upon such a state of things.
“The rich man in his castle. / The poor man at his gate. / God made them high and lowly/ And ordered their estate.” Old Victorian hymn. Very true. But that doesn’t mean (and it’s worth taking seriously)–that the poor man didn’t go to heaven. And the rich man went–somewhere else. Not a nice place. Not nice at all.
“Here endeth the lesson.” Thank you for your thoughts, Mr. Poythress. Please take care.
Justin N. Poythress
Lots of good thoughts. Thanks for sharing. It’s also worth taking seriously how Jesus interacts with the rich throughout the gospel of Luke. There are many rich people who use their resources for generosity and service. Job is not condemned for being the wealthiest man in the land. The existence of vast wealth disparity doesn’t automatically entail a wrongness in the disparity, although you are definitely right in that it does bring greater accountability for how greater resources are gathered and used. There are many biblical concerns about wrongful and idolatrous worship of money, but also great biblical examples of generosity from the rich. My point is that money itself is not the evil, and contentment is the primary spiritual goal for Christians.
Lorraine Lease
Excellent article on how to look at this constant rhetoric to cause us to sin. Thank you for the wisdom you share about our present day culture and how to always look to Christ and not the world’s standards.
Justin N. Poythress
Thanks, Lorraine. Plenty of corruption among the rich and powerful, but maybe more focus on what we can do with our time and resources would be good. Also plenty of wealthy people who are generous and serve God with that.
Johnathan McClure
I think this is a very strong section. Thank you for sharing. I never considered the point about 1% being an inevitable quality across far more categories than class.
Justin N. Poythress
Thanks, Johnny. It’s something I think you can for sure appreciate in your field. There is always this aggregating of the best opportunities towards the very top that feels pretty unfair for the people below that. (But then usually not if they ever break into that upper echelon :))
Mark Makinney
Hi Pastor Justin, I agree that envy is destructive but referencing the ‘elite’ serves another purpose, one that we are also instructed to pursue as Christians, “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.” We are meant to ‘reprove’ or expose the deeds of darkness. Yes, it is true that whether you are on the poverty line or in the 1%, your flesh wars against God and you are prone toward evil, but the 1% have the means to make evil possible to a much greater extent. Is it not our duty to reprove evil, loudly and to expose the deeds of darkness?
Justin N. Poythress
That’s a good point. For sure there is more accountability on the rich and powerful because their actions/ words have a wider ripple effect. In this sense, it’s good and natural that this is where news outlets focus their attention. My focus here is on the way that 1%-er statistics (not individual people and their actions) are thrown around as an argument to themselves. As if it needs no explanation. The implication is that just by the fact that there is such gross wealth disparity, well, that’s evil, and any person in that class is evil. I don’t think that helps anything.
Sandy
As Paul ssys in Philippians..
Whatsoever thou hast, therewith to be content..
As you have said before…Contentment in Jesus takes away envy!!
Good article.
Justin N. Poythress
Thanks! I love that — “contentment with godliness is great gain.”