Psalm Meditation 913
Third Sunday of Advent
December 17, 2017

Psalm 73
1 Truly God is good to the upright, to those who are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped.
3 For I was envious of the arrogant; I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 For they have no pain; their bodies are sound and sleek.
5 They are not in trouble as others are; they are not plagued like other people.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them like a garment.
7 Their eyes swell out with fatness; their hearts overflow with follies.
8 They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression.
9 They set their mouths against heaven, and their tongues range over the earth.
10 Therefore the people turn and praise them, and find no fault in them.
11 And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12 Such are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches.
13 All in vain I have kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence.
14 For all day long I have been plagued, and am punished every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will talk on in this way,” I would have been untrue to the circle of your children.
16 But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17 until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end.
18 Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin.
19 How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors!
20 They are like a dream when one awakes; on awaking you despise their phantoms.
21 When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart,
22 I was stupid and ignorant; I was like a brute beast toward you.
23 Nevertheless I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me with honor.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
27 Indeed, those who are far from you will perish; you put an end to those who are false to you.
28 But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, to tell of all your works.
(NRSV)

We make heroes out of wealthy people, believing that wealth is a blessing God bestows on people who deserve it. At the very least we believe that rich people have worked hard through their lives and have earned everything they have. Since they have done it we see it as possible for us to work hard, make the right choices and reap the same rewards and benefits as all the rich people who have made it ahead of us. Barring that, we gamble on lotteries and other games of chance, knowing that God will give us a turn at winning and all will be well. Wealth is seen as an unlimited commodity and there is a place for us in the ranks of the rich.

In the biblical era wealth was seen as limited and set. The only way someone could become rich was to make someone else poor. In this view, the only people who can become rich are those willing to take advantage of people for the sake of their own prosperity. In order to be rich one must also be wicked. Rich people tend to turn away from God since they have everything they could possibly want or need.

There are always those who look up to rich people as a class. People know that, unlike all the other rich people, ‘I could handle being rich and popular without taking advantage of others.’ Most people are convinced that having money would not change them. I believe that to be true. People who are kind and generous continue to be kind and generous with money; people who are selfish and self-serving will continue to take advantage of others once they add money to their reasons to lord it over people.

It turns out that both world views have some truth and merit. The supply of wealth and resources has much higher limits than we can imagine, and those who have money tend to take advantage of those who don’t in a variety of ways. The deciding factor in whether or not rich folk exploit those around them lies in a relationship with God. Those who trust God to provide out of the bounty of creation are much more willing to share and spread their wealth than those who trust themselves and their abilities. Any rewards we are reap are from the motivations of our hearts in God rather than from the prosperity itself. God does not want us to be rich, God wants us to be faithful.

December 11, 2017
LCM