Do We Favor the Rich?

For those of you new to Free Money Finance, I post on The Bible and Money every Sunday. Here's why.

Here's an interesting piece of Scripture I was reading the other day (James 2:1-9, NLT):

My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others?

For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well, doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives?

Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him? But you dishonor the poor! Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court? Aren’t they the ones who slander Jesus Christ, whose noble name you bear?

Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law.

Ouch.

Is he talking to me? Unfortunately, I think so.

Our society as a whole tends to favor the rich over others. People with nice cars, big homes, and the finer things in life get extra perks and privileges. They get the better seats and all that goes with them. They are different (in a good way) and thus given preference.

The poor, on the other hand, are often despised and ignored. They are often seated in the back or aren't even invited to events. They don't get the nicer seats and extra perks. They are different (in a bad way) and thus shunned.

This is the standard all across America. Even in our churches. Maybe "especially in our churches" since such organizations survive on donations. It's not supposed to be this way and those in authority (pastors) generally don't want it to be this way -- but it often is.

And, like I said, it's true in my life as well. Just like most others, I judge books by their covers and give preference to those who are perceived to be more "well off" or "like me." Sure, I give to organizations that help the poor, but when it comes to actually meeting and dealing with poor people, they get to play second fiddle.

I don't have a solution for this issue other than I need to try and love my neighbor as myself -- with "neighbor" being anyone, no matter their financial situation.

I know it's an introspective post, but it's meant to be that way. Maybe you're in a similar situation to me. If so, perhaps the Scripture above will inspire you to better things. If you're not in a similar state as I am, then good for you. Keep on loving and honoring people no matter how much they make or own.

Comments

[jayda]

I think it depends on whether you were always rich or were always poor over your whole life. I you were always rich, born with a silver spoon in your mouth, you likely look down upon the poor. If you were born poor and have always been poor, you will likely despise the rich. But if you were born rich and are now poor or vice versa, you are less likely to despise the other since you have walked in both sets of shoes. This is not always the case though. If you were born poor and are now rich, you may look at the poor as lazy since you worked your way out of the situation. If you were rich and are now poor, you may be ticked off at the rich for swindling you out of your money.

[Nick Knight]

The Christian Bible, is very set agianst the wealthy. The rich in America do not even want to provide to health care for society. How Right Wing, can ignore the bulk of the book they promote, is truly mind boggling. To be Christian, is an attempt to be Christ like. I am sure Jesus would oppose health care for society, and money for the lesser of our society. HAHA, See you in Hell, Moral Majority

[JimL]

Nick,

Just because someone opposes the Obama Health Care plan does not mean that they are against health care for society. Many see that they system that will go into place will not be an effective use of the money. We see systems like Social Security and Medicare running into very large fiscal problems that have not been solved. As such, there is a lack of confidence in the long term viability of another new large government program that could potentially be a larger problem.

In the end, if we bankrupt the system, ALL programs will be hit and even greater harm will come to people.

One other thing, Nick - The bible is concerned with what we do as an individual to help others. We should not be relying on the government to serve others, but instead, we as a body of Christ should be doing what we can.

[Matt]

Wow Nick. All I can say is give "Ceasar what is Ceasr's and God what is God's". As you know the Roman empire imploded probabably because they could not come up with enough tax money to support there empire. Sound familiar? People were miserable under Roman rule and anyone in power ( aka anyone in governement power)once again soind familiar? They will demand the respect of the wealth outlined in the passage. So who are the rich in my example that we should be weary of?

People do not want to be miserable.

Personally I would prefer to rely on God and my abilities than a government for my healthcare.

[Mary Kate]

I would rather help the disadvantaged my way versus the government prescribed way. A case in point is housing. The government gives poor people rent subsidies. I support Habitat for Humanity and similar organizations. It allows for affordable home ownership for those that are willing to be responsible. It is my opinion that people that work for and own their own housing are more likely to respect it and take care of it. They also end up with an asset. I'd rather have less money go to taxes so that I have more money to donate to HFH and the like.

I am not opposed to health care for poor people. I just don't agree with the government plan. I think they are not great managers of federal money.

Back to the post. I am also guilty of judging people based on looks. While we do not embrace fancy cars, houses, clothing, etc. the people in our everyday life tend more towards that side of life.

Most of our charitable donations go towards supporting the disadvantaged, but we do not on a regualr basis actually deal with those people.

A great post.

[MBTN]

This is a great, thought-provoking post for everyone, even those who aren't Christians. Our capitalist society does tend to favor the rich. The rich have money to spend and it seems like everybody wants a piece of that money. Perhaps that is a big cynical, but it is true. The more you have on deposit at a bank, the higher your interest rate. The more you have in your brokerage account, the lower your commissions. The more you charge on your credit card, the more you get back in rebates. The list goes on.

[Paula1849]

Wow, really great post. It is very easy to tell people what they need to do, but it is truly a brave thing to look at oneself honestly and openly like this.

I grew up in a very prestigious neighborhood, but was blessed to have traveled and taught to appreciate people from different backgrounds. I have also been very poor, and a single mom and have had peoples expectations of me change because of my economical status.

Additionally, I have worked with the homeless and severely mentally ill. My opinion has always been "but for the grace of God" in dealing with others who were less fortunate than I.

[The Extra Money Blog]

money talks, poverty walks...

i am sure we all have been (at some point) guilty of this. we are weak human beings who fall for such behaviors living in this society that we have created for ourselves. Jayda's post adds a lot of perspective to the discussion as well. Great thought provoking post - i hope it has caused some of us to take a step back and really reflect on what we do, why do we do it and how we can improvise . . .

[50plusfinance]

Everyone does this. You judge people by the car they drive, appearance, financial status, job, family, education and color. Be on the right side of all these attributes and your a "good person". It stinks we are like this. Why is it so hard to overcome this?

[Squirrelers]

The amount of money someone has is not correlated, in my view, to the quality of the person's character.

That said, I too have judged people based on their material possessions or appearances, particularly when younger. Not as much anymore, or so I hope.

Everybody deserves to be treated with equal respect, at face value.

[BD]

I guess I do sorta favor certain people, but in the REVERSE of what the Bible says. If someone is rich and drives a BMW and has nice clothing, I tend to avoid them, and not go near them or even get to know them.

However, if someone drives up in a clunky car, and is wearing ripped jeans and a t-shirt, and looks 'poor', I'm much faster to warm up to THEM because they're in my economic class, and we'll understand each other. So I guess I favor poor people over rich people.

[rdub98]

This is the first time I have felt the urge to post on the weekly Sunday topic. As someone who was raised Christian, but has a problem with belief and faith, I find myself relying on my own personal values (it is possible to be without faith and have a Christion-like view in life). I used to look up to people with "status", meaning nice cars, houses, gadgets, etc., but after reading this blog for several years and living life, I find myself shunning people of "means" and associating more with people without. I worked myself out of poverty, a horrible, painful, and taxing divorce, found love, and have built myself up to someone with a positive net worth over the course of 10 plus years (both monetarily and emotionally). I can tell you that I no longer favor the rich. I used to, but no longer. I have realized that their excesses have been a negative influence on my own habits and that the meek typically have a stronger work ethic overall because it means putting food on their table, clothes on their childrens' backs, and a roof over their heads rather than the cars in their garages, and their vacation villas. For me it comes down to what it is worth to work hard and build wealth both monetarily and emotionally and the balance that comes from doing both and maintaining a family. I've been poor and I have been the "Jones" and I would much rather be someone with the right work ethic and have strong family values (regardless of religious view), than to be one "with means" without the ethical compass that many of the "rich" of today have. My two cents.

[MasterPo]

It's very curious to compare the Old Testiment to the New Testiment in terms of the representation of wealth and those who have it vs. those who don't.

In the Old Testiment persons like Abraham are clearly wealthy (by the standard of their day) and it is equally clear that wealth came to these people in large part by following G-d's laws. Hence, the lesson to the reader is that if you live the good spiritual life and follow G-d then he will reward you in THIS life.

By contrast, in the New Testiment, the philosophy changes abruptly into rewards of the NEXT life. That is, even if you do all the things G-d asks of you, follow all the laws and commandments etc. that may not (even probably not!) help you now. But later when you die you'll get your reward in the after-life.

A very stark contrast.

ps- @Rdub98: There's another saying "It's not sin to be poor, but it's no great honor either!"

[KH]

I agree with Nick--a whole lot of "Christians" out there wish the poor would just die already without costing them anything in health care, or they wish the poor would go back to Mexico already and stop mowing their lawns and picking farmers' produce and all.

Had a guy at my door the other night canvassing for a local Republican trying to get elected to the state house. We chatted a while about health care and schools, which his candidate on his campaign literature claimed to want to improve. He actually said that poor people were poor on purpose and that's why we as a society don't have to help them pay for their health care (and besides, it's too expensive!). Of course, he didn't have another plan except to keep things as they are. And of course, his candidate himself has great health care because he works at a large company in town who has it for all employees. Great for him, but for the poor? I guess they don't matter...!

And his "idea" on schools was to cut funding so they would be "better" (?somehow?).

I don't like paying taxes either, but I think that in a civil and Christian-based society there are things worth paying for as a community. These include educating the poor and taking care of them when they're sick. That it's expensive isn't a valid excuse for not doing it.

[MasterPo]

KH - Most people (MasterPo included) don't mind paying taxes. But just as you go to a store to buy something, you want to see your hard earned $$$ spent on productive things. You want to see ALL the taxes paid actually bear tangible fruits.

And that just isn't happening.

Instead, year in and year out, Americans are bombared with how we just need to spend a little more. It's "only" X or Y bit more.

All those "only"s add up over the years to where we are today.

[BD]

KH, as a Conservative Republican and official Poor Person (earning well under poverty level) myself, I'll tell you that we wish that the *ILLEGALS* would go back where they came from. For some reason, you people bring 'race' into it, and pretend that all the Republicans/Conservatives who are against illegal immigration are against "Mexicans". Wow, how racist are you? We're against crime/criminals (like crossing into the USA without even bothering to do things the legal way). There is a big difference.

There are enough poor LEGAL American citizens (like myself) who are forced to lived in squalid conditions and can't get help. Why not help us FIRST? Why help all these illegal people who shouldn't even be here in the first place first and ignore your own citizens? Oh right, because we don't have a million children, because we're trying to be responsible and not bring a child into a bad situation, so as single adults, we get SQUAT. I've had poor friends who are employed and have NOTHING turned down for food stamps and health care because "they do not have kids". Unlike some illegals who shouldn't be here in the first place but get full benefits because they pop out children. (and yes, this is the case in my state. Our paper even ran an article on how they do it, due to the lax laws our state has concerning illegal aliens...they only consider the income of the child, and nothing that the 'undocumented' parents bring in, so the parents could be earning $40,000 under the table, and still get full benefits for their entire family).

You do not know how much snide, uninformed comments such as your own make me rage. If we're poor, it has a lot to do with the fact our options are even MORE limited, thanks to all the illegals taking over our poor areas. (It's kinda hard to get a job picking fruit or working factory work, or cleaning up after pigs or working fast food nowadays when no one on the job even speaks your own language, and you don't even get considered for the job anyway because you're 'different' from the typical person applying for said jobs). Grrrr.