This year I'm continuing my Lenten commitment to spiritual reading. Usually one book takes me at least half way to Easter. But this year I began reading The Maker Versus The Takers by Jerry Bowyer on Sunday afternoon. By dinner I had read most of it and was looking for a second Lent book by Tuesday. Makers is a slim volume, but that's not the reason I read it so quickly. I finished the book in two days because I couldn't stop reading. Bowyer presents a fascinating analysis of Jesus's statements on wealth, debt, and money when viewed from an economic perspective.
We've probably all heard some version of the "Jesus was a socialist" meme. Modern popular wisdom holds that he abhorred money, period. He told the rich young man to give away all he had. He said a camel could navigate the eye of a needle more easily than the rich could enter "the kingdom of heaven" (an important distinction in terms, as the reader learns). In one of his parables, the rich man who ignored the beggar at his gate goes to hell; the beggar, called Lazarus, goes to heaven. What more proof do we need that Jesus was anti-wealth?
We need context. The modern interpretation of Jesus's antipathy to wealth is one-dimensional and ignores the layers of meaning behind his words. Where was Jesus when he made such criticisms? Who was he speaking to, and why? What is the significance of the locations where Jesus teaches? The Maker Versus The Takers answers these questions. The reader learns that the province of Galilee, where Jesus grew up in the town of Nazareth, was a working class, entrepreneurial place. It was bustling with merchants and shopkeepers--small businesses, if you will. Jesus learned the carpentry trade from his foster father, Joseph, who earned his living through building.
In Galilee, there is no record of Jesus ever speaking a word against wealth or money. Apparently the Lord has no problem with people working hard to make an honest living, to support their families, and to better themselves.
During his years of ministry, Jesus traveled south to Judea where Jerusalem is located. Judea was more wealthy than Galilee; the reader learns about the caste-like socio-economic class system of ancient Israel. Jerusalem, with its priestly class, its political and religious elites, roughly correlates to modern-day Washington DC. The Roman and Israeli rulers of the time were corrupt and greedy; they taxed and exploited the poor and working class citizens for their own gain and to ensure their grip on power. Sounds familiar, right?
All of Jesus's harsh pronouncements on wealth occur in or close to Jerusalem. Most often he is launching pointed barbs at the ruling elites. The author links many of Jesus's quotes directly to Old Testament scripture and provides detailed historical background to support his premise. Some of the facts presented are startling in their modern relevance. For example, I never knew there was a huge financial crisis (akin to the 2008 meltdown) in Rome the year Jesus was crucified, and that its political implications for the Roman governor Pontius Pilate contributed to his condemnation.
I could go on, but that would be a poor substitute for reading The Maker Versus The Takers for yourself. It's a great resource if you're interested in learning a substantive answer to the book's subtitle: "What Jesus Really Said About Social Justice and Economics." The odds are it's not what you think.
