According to a Pew Research Report, the wealth of upper-income families is 7 times greater than middle-income families, and 70 times greater than poor families. The top 1% of the wealthy is worth more than the bottom 90%. Experts say a gap like this is not good for the country. We know, of course, that the Bible does not condemn people for having wealth, but it has a lot to say about how they get it and what they do with it. The last great worldwide recession left many businesses bankrupt, many family homes in foreclosure, and many people out of work. The FBI arrested a man in Europe for helping to trigger the stock market crash by illegal trading. God declared through the prophet Micah that the day would come in his nation when greedy merchants would suffer the consequences for taking advantage of the less fortunate. We read in Micah chapter 2 where the prophet said to the merchants, “You steal the shirts right off the backs of those who trusted you, making them as ragged as men returning from battle. You have evicted women from their pleasant homes and forever stripped their children of all that God would give them. Up! Be gone! This is no longer your land and home, for you have filled it with sin and ruined it completely.” Still today, God calls everyone to be fair and righteous in all their dealings, and that certainly includes those who profess faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Dr. Melvin E. Banks, Sr. is the founder and chairman of UMI (Urban Ministries, Inc.). Under his direction, UMI has grown to be a leading publisher of Christian education resources for churches in the African American community. Read More
