Los Angeles herald., 1908-11-15
CHRISTIANITY AND
WEALTH

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| n UR contemporary who says ''if II
Is a sin to have wealth then this
Is the most sinful age and we are
the most sinful people" is taking a
wrong and indefensible view of the
subject.
No sane human being ever objected
20 the accumulation Of riches by any
other human being. 1t is extreme pow
srty and deprivation which are repre-
hensible. and, In a nation possessed OF
as much wealth as the United states,
bread lines, deaths by starvation, closed
high schools and decimated public
schools arc disgraceful, and If we do
not make a reasonable attempt to al
low all deserving men to earn enough
money with which to support and edu-
cate their families then It will not be
extravasant to call our national selves
THE most sinful people Of the most
sinful age OF the world"
Let a man. II he will. heap up noun
tains OF treasure. Let him pile Ossa
on Pelion and see whether he can
scale the gates of heaven by way OF
the mountains of wealth. He cannot.
and nothing deindividualizes a man so
rapidly as the possession Of immense
riches. But that Is his lookout. 1t is
absolutely impossible to persuade OF
error any OF these people who think
they know the philosophy Of life better
than Jesus and believe their secret con-
tempt for the Christian doctrine can
be covered by a big contribution to a
church fund. Jesus was well acquaint-
ed with the prototypes of these modern
synagogue Christians and not only de-
nounced them repeatedly In the Bit
terest invective which the Hebrew vo-
cabuIary afforded, but on one occasion
even resorted to physical violence. as
saulted some Of them, flung them out
Of the temple and their money-bags
after them.
However. bear in mind 1t was not
money, but the arrogance Of the money
power, typified by the sordid changers
in the temple, that was scourged by
the founder of Christianity, and as the
only occasion on which Jesus openly
displayed indignation was when he
saw commercialism IN the church. it
was certainly one of the most note
worthy events or incidents In his life
But, for some reason, 1t is not a favor
ite subject for sermons. Jesus did not
teach It was a sin to have wealth, but
he did teach, and we have chapter and
- cir fn
cumulate money wrongfully, that 1t
was a sin to oppress the hireling In
his wages, a sin to grind the face OF
the poor, a sin TO interfere with the
freedom and education Of children and
make Industrial slaves of them, sin
to have great possessions and allow
poverty to affiict ones neighbor. Dives
was not damned because he was rich,
but because he allowed his poor neigh
bor to languish In poverty and rags
on his doorstep, while he guzzled and
drank in the dining room.
1t is not sin to have wealth. 1t is
sin to have poverty continually in
terfering with and destroying part OF
the human efficiency of great and
popuious nation. Nobody but fanatic
or fool wishes the abolition OF riches
or fortunes. But everybody who uses
his reasoning powers and has heart
in his body does wish most earnestly
and is willing 10 work most strenuously
for the abolition OF the degrading, dis
graceful and outrageous poverty which
is furnishing the historical record Of
the American nation. Nay, for the
sake of Dives. we ought to compel him
to have consideration for Lazarus. II
it is not pleasant to think Of Lazarus
sitting ragged. sick. friendless and neg
Iected, beside great riches. it is equally
unpleasant to think Of Dives bowling
in hell.