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In the Gates

Material Wealth

The Law of God and Public Policy

There are dangers in making material wealth the standard of wellbeing.

 

“You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality, and you shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of the righteous. Justice, and only justice, you shall follow, that you may live and inherit the land the LORD your God is giving you.” Deuteronomy 16.19, 20

The business of life in our modern/postmodern world has become the business of economics. Government, education, work, relationships, personal decision-making – all are guided, above all else, by considerations of economic wellbeing: How can I maximize my personal prosperity?

Consequently, public policy-making is also driven – and justified – by appeal to economics, and that very broadly defined. If, for example, it is considered to be in the interest of the economy as a whole to “stimulate” this or that sector, policies will be established to do so, whether in the form of subsidies, tax breaks, or other means. At the individual level, public policies are established to ensure that individual citizens have the right to maximize their personal wellbeing. So whether the need is educational opportunity, supplemental income or other kinds of support, or even the “freedom” to abort an unwanted child, public policies are created to further the private economic interests of as many people as possible.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary “economics” is “The science relating to the production and distribution of material wealth.” “Material wealth” is the driving force of the American economy, and tends, therefore, to be the driving force for most other aspects of life as well.

But there are dangers here. Material wealth can be an uncertain foundation from which to pursue, and an unstable pillar on which to build one’s personal happiness. Even more, the quest for material wealth can divide societies, corrupt politics, justify all manner of questionable enterprises, and distract people from more important considerations related to human flourishing.

T. M. Moore

Visit our website, www.ailbe.org, and sign up to receive our thrice-weekly devotional, Crosfigell, featuring writers from the period of the Celtic Revival and T. M.’s reflections on Scripture and the Celtic Christian tradition. Does the Law of God still apply today? Order a copy of T. M.’s book, The Ground for Christian Ethics, and study the question for yourself.

T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He and his wife, Susie, make their home in the Champlain Valley of Vermont.
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