Sunday, July 26, 2009

US Income Distribution and Christian Stewardship

The L-Curve: A Graph of the US Income Distribution

As you study the graph and info. quoted above, you will note a certain prejudice. Nevertheless, the information is useful. It reminds us that most of the money in the USA is owned and controlled by a relative small percentage. If you and I would think about being a wise and good stewards of the wealth put into our hands we would do well to ponder these issues.

Here are a few things the Bible says about us as we seek to serve our Lord and use what He has given to us. Jesus does, in fact, speak often about this issue:

Luke 18, for instance, has Jesus speaking about a persistent widow who kept pressing a certain judge for justice. Then he goes on to tell a parable about a Pharisee and a tax collector. Tax collectors were notorious for making money through the Roman system of farming out tax collections. They were, naturally, despised by the Jews for several reasons. Then he is confronted by a rich, young politician or land owner. We're not told the source of his wealth. He was, however, enamored by his wealth. So Jesus had to confront this issue.

When Jesus challenged him to sell everything and follow Him, the young man turned away. This led the Lord to say, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

His point: wealth can become your god. That ultimately leads to destruction and eternal separation from the true God. But God, in His grace, has made it possible to be saved. To those called into the KINGDOM Jesus promises, "no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life."

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So what do you think? I would love to see a few words from you.