You Want the Truth – Follow the Money
Upton Sinclair was a Pulitzer Prize winning author whose works spanned the first half of the twentieth century. The Jungle, his most popular novel uncovered the horrid and unsafe conditions in the meat packing industry. Americans were outraged! In 1906 these revelations led to the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act. If you enjoy a disease free steak or burger, thank Upton Sinclair!
But Sinclair was not loved by all. In fact his scathing exposes revealed unsafe work conditions, pollution, corruption, and fraud and was no respecter of persons or industries. Oil barons, coal titans, automobile empires and even journalist found themselves exposed, often due to their unchecked greed. His investigative journalism and unfettered truth telling gave him a prophetic type personality. And we all know what happened to the prophets!
Sinclair’s most memorable money-line was, ”It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”
Sinclair was a change agent. Change for good. Change for the sake of the common person and worker. However change is not always welcomed. Jesus knew a bit about this when he shook up the religious world of his day. “But the Pharisees went out and conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.” ~ Matthew 12:14
Face it. Money clouds the picture for many. Whether politicians receiving bribes, Wall Street bankers benefitting from bail outs, health insurance executives charging exorbitant premiums, non-profit leaders fund raising with little going toward causes — or yes, even churches and clergy spending and living lavishly on themselves.
It was AA Founder Bill Wilson who aptly defined our human condition which leads to all kinds of malice by saying, “selfish self-centered, this we think is the root of all of our difficulties”. And St Paul penned this, “The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some have wandered away from the faith and have impaled themselves with a lot of pain because they made money their goal.” ~ 1 Timothy 6:10 CEB
In a new political and social era branded and trumpeted by the word “great” and the shameless promoting of nationalist ideology of “being great again”, how then do we as individual followers of Jesus and churches and non-profits alike not buy into the “bigger, better” trap?
It’s hard, right? I recognize I’ve been raised in a “privileged” environment. Individualism and my rights are often my “go to” world view. But what if it weren’t? What if I instead focused on the ways of Jesus? What if I adopted this kind of Jesus mindset.
“Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.” ~Philippians 2:6-8 The Message
And so this is the path I am trying to walk – imperfectly for sure. But one I’m at least aware. If I so choose, I do have a better way. The question is this, “Will I follow?” What about you?
Jim
