All kinds of greed
Several times a year, the Bishop of Birmingham organizes a study morning for the clergy of the diocese. This week we heard two talks from Professor Nigel Biggar of Oxford University, one of them ‘A Christian View of Current Economic Issues.’ He spoke of ‘speaking truth to power’, for example when church leaders remind the government of the day of their responsibilities, as with the recent open letter from the bishops. He then pointed out that in a democracy power also lies with the people. In other words, we bear some responsibility for the government we have and what that government does.
This set me thinking about the recent (and ongoing) financial crisis in this country. We are quick to criticise the bankers for their greed, and also the government for failing to regulate the bankers. But are we not also partly to blame ourselves? Did we complain while we were getting richer through the same financial policies that we now condemn? It seems the bankers are not the only greedy people in the country.
Jesus warns us, “Be on your guard against all kinds of greed” (Luke 12:15). The greed of some may be more conspicuous, but I know that I too need that warning. The bankers are not the only ones who need reminding that, “a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” – but rather, as Jesus puts it, in being “rich towards God.”