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Many people were startled to hear that the richest 1% of people in our country now own more wealth than the bottom 90%, or that since 2009, 95% of economic gains went to the top 1% of people. Experts say the concentration of wealth at the top does not bode well for an economically healthy country. The Bible does not condemn wealth in itself, but it does condemn unethical ways of obtaining it and immoral ways of using it. One comment on wealth comes in the book of James chapter 5. There we read: “Look here, you rich people. Weep and groan with anguish because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you. Your wealth is rotting away, and your fine clothes are moth-eaten rags. Your gold and silver have become worthless. The very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh like fire. This treasure you have accumulated will stand as evidence against you on the Day of Judgment. For listen! Hear the cries of the field workers whom you have cheated of their pay. The wages you held back cry out against you.” This and other texts teach us that if God allows us to inherit wealth or earn profits, He expects us to be faithful and fair as stewards over it. He will hold us accountable for the way we obtain wealth, how we handle it, and the way we disburse it.
