According to a recent article by CNN, “The five wealthiest people on Earth have become a whole lot richer in recent years. Since 2020, these billionaires’ net worth has skyrocketed 114% to a total of $869 billion.
“At the same time, nearly 5 billion people globally have become poorer, as they contend with inflation, war and the climate crisis. It would take nearly 230 years to eliminate poverty based on the current trajectory.
“Overall, billionaires have seen their wealth grow by $3.3 trillion, or 34%, since 2020, with their fortunes expanding three times faster than the rate of inflation, according to Oxfam.
“Some 148 of the world’s largest corporations made nearly $1.8 trillion in profits in the 12 months leading up to June 2023. “That’s 52.5% higher than their average was between 2018 to 2021.”
The oil and gas industry, pharmaceutical companies, and the financial industry have reaped the highest profits in the last year or two.
God’s Standard
Did God plan for the rich to get richer, while the poor got poorer? Both the rich and poor can covet with the result that covetousness is a rot in the individual’s soul and among society.
The 10th Commandment states, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor” (Exodus 20:17).
God forbids covetousness because He knows it can corrupt our character and actions, leading to significant injustice.
It can consume an individual and become a deep-seated craving that drives behavior. Covetousness is not just an innocent desire; it’s a condition of the heart that inevitably leads to actions driven by greed.
Covetousness is a misalignment of God’s intended guidance of humans. As Micah and other prophets show, it impacts not only the individual but is the root of injustice and oppression.
While we recognize that all humans are tempted to covet, God pronounces judgment on the powerful whose greed and covetousness bring harm to the vulnerable.
Woe to those who devise wickedness
and evil deeds on their beds!
When the morning dawns, they perform it,
because it is in their power.
They covet fields and seize them,
houses and take them away;
they oppress householder and house,
people and their inheritance. (Micah 2.1-2)
The prophet recognizes that all actions are created twice. An artist or builder first conceives of their project. After they have imagined their creation, they use their abilities to achieve what they have pictured in their mind.
The same principle applies to powerful, greedy humans. They first devise plans and then act on them. Their victims are often those who are too weak to oppose their schemes.
The Psalm writer understood this principle.
They plot mischief while on their beds;
they are set on a way that is not good;
they do not reject evil. (Psalm 36.4)
At the root of their attitudes and actions is a lack of the fear of the Lord.
Transgression speaks to the wicked
deep in their hearts;
there is no fear of God
before their eyes. (Psalm 36.1)
If they had the fear of the Lord, they would recognize God’s greatness and give Him wholehearted love. They would recognize God’s infinite wisdom and humbly seek His guidance and obediently follow His directions.
Instead, pride and power have left them blind and hard-hearted to their responsibility to a needy world.
God’s Action
When humans act as if there is no law or guiding force in the universe, God steps in to right wrongs.
Therefore thus says the Lord:
Now, I am devising against this family an evil
from which you cannot remove your necks,
and you shall not walk arrogantly,
for it will be an evil time. (Micah 2.3)
Jesus’ Parable of the Sheep and Goats in Matthew 25 highlights His concern for the poor and powerless in society.
Paul identified greed as a component of idolatry in Colossians 3.6. It is something that should be excluded from a Christian’s life.
Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry) – Colossians 3.6.
Readers of my blog will not change the behavior of the world’s richest people and corporations. However, we can examine our lives and root out all covetousness and greed.
Where possible, we can assist those in need around us.
YouTube Video
Rudy Ross and I discuss this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
Real Voices 