JOHN PAUL GETTY was the richest man in the world in his generation. He was once famously asked, “Mr. Getty, what would it take to make you feel secure?” He answered in one word: “More.” His focus on money was so intent that he refused to pay ransom for his kidnapped grandson, whose severed ear had been delivered to him. He tied up his vast fortune in so many different trusts with so many tax loopholes that it took years after his death to even begin to discern who inherited what, and to begin to release it. The major portion went to the Getty Museum in southern California, where the trust holds his incredible art collection, and can never be sold—or taxed. It turns out that wasn’t his intent, but he outfoxed himself. And now, his fortune is protected. “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?” (Luke 12:20)
The 1980’s began the rise to power of the ‘Boomer’ generation in America, and by the turn of the century that decade had been labeled “The Decade of Greed.” It was a time of hedge funds and corporate takeovers and CEO salaries in the ten-digit range. It was also a decade in which the tastes of the Boomer generation gravitated not just to “more,” but to “more and more.” And it permeated the entire culture, and became an accepted standard for the generations that followed. It then trickled down to the ‘lower classes’ in the form of designer jeans, bling, and custom everything. And the television ads changed from “this well-made product will meet your needs,” to “you deserve this” and “you have the power,” both of which statements are patently false. Two of the most famous ads were, first, for Calvin Klein jeans, which said nothing about jeans but everything about the shape that filled them, and second, the Burger King ad, which told us, “Have it your way.”
And now, in the richest country that has ever existed on the earth (America surpassed ancient Babylon during President Bill Clinton’s second term), the U.S. taste for “more and more” that exists in every home in the nation also walks the hallways of the House and Senate and the residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. The national debt has ballooned beyond the capacity of the GDP to sustain it, by any economic measure. The 2008 economic collapse taught nothing to the nation, which by 2022 has further helium-ballooned debt by multi-trillion-dollar handouts. Not only is it not sustainable, but the grim reality of impending collapse is played out in increasing measure on the nightly news as cities burn, and as politicians burn through money. The remnant is beginning to hear a voice: ‘You fools…’
There remain few voices to decry this absurdity. And who are the remnant? They are you, and they are me. And we need to pay attention to the voice of truth. Jesus warns, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” (Luke 12:15) By the 1960’s, voices began to speak to these issues, even as America wallowed in the Golden Years after the Eisenhower Administration, and the country expanded and personal wealth expanded with it. So too did the evangelical church begin to change, and exhibit the inroads that the wealth culture was making into the church. One modern theologian commented that *“The Western Evangelical Church has become the spoiled brat of Christianity.” Today’s church has fulfilled his prophecy, even as before our eyes biblical prophecy is being fulfilled. And, a voice calls out, warning, “Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Cor. 6:17-18)
Paul adds to Jesus’ warning about ‘more,’ saying “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (1 Tim. 6:10) Just prior to this statement, he spoke about a wise response to our own perception of need. “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.” (1 Tim. 6:6-9) The greatest teacher of all says, “For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matt. 6:32-33)
As you and I make our plans for tomorrow, we do so during unprecedented circumstances in the world. Certainly, there have been historically great events that have placed the cultures across the globe at risk, none more so than WWII. But here and now, with over seven billion people stretching the resources of the world, in the grip of a current pandemic with economic markets wildly swinging to the events on the news each day, the rattling of the sabers of nations is growing more pronounced. And, there is one sword in particular, the **Sword of Damocles, that hangs precariously over the heads of the powerful, and in fact, over the peoples of the earth. That sword is perceived with some fearful degree of clarity by everyone, and the tension on the thread is watched by all. The eyes of the remnant, however, are more perceptively turned to observe the biblical prophecy rising out of the Book of Revelation, and their ears to hear the mighty voice of the powerful angel. “Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great! Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues. In one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her. Woe! Woe, O great city, O Babylon, city of power! In one hour your doom has come!” (Rev. 18:1-8)
Father, today and every day, hear the prayers of the remnant. Listen, O God, to the cries of our hearts as we pray for unsaved loved ones, as we pray for the innocents, the young with so much of life awaiting them, as we pray for the day-to-day needs of your daughters and sons. We cry out for your churches, Jesus, to be true houses of worship, rightly dividing the word of truth, and wielding it skillfully as the Sword of the Spirit when we are so called. Father, we trust you as Jehovah-Jireh, our Provider. Protect us from the evil one, and help us, Lord, to keep our eyes and our hearts focused on you.
Q. Have I chosen to sever my heart from coveting? (10 th Command)
*C. S. Lewis, “Mere Christianity” – 1952.
**Possibly: Timeaus of Tauromenium, “A History of Sicily” – 3 rd C. B.C.
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