Blessings Measured in Money

A very touchy subject.

There's no getting round the fact that the brethren as a group are wealthy. I don't think most within the group actually realise this: their idea of normality has been revised upwards over years so that what most people would consider comfortable appears to be poverty. I think that mismatch of standards is why they cannot understand any accusations of being money-obsessed.

I'm very uncomfortable with many aspects of the money situation. Most obviously, it worries me that it is deemed to be necessary to live so expensively to be a true Christian. That seems contradictory to me.

But there is a more subtle problem. Although the brethren claim to consider material things totally subservient to the life of the spirit, in practice they have come to measure spiritual health to some extent by financial means. The thinking is that if one does God's will in every detail, then He will ensure that one's physical comfort is assured. They would deny this in official doctrine, I suspect, but it runs deep and shows itself in so much.

I'm no theologian, but there are obvious pitfalls in this viewpoint. One is that those with monetary resource become the ones with status, but more worrying is that those without money have to labour under the suspicion that there is something morally wrong with them. I thought it was plain in basic Christian teaching that that was wrong. In addition, there is moral hazard in dependence on money, because money is essentially ammoral and likely to distort decision-making processes.

As I think about the issue (and I've done that a lot over years) I can see one clear parallel: that of physical health.

You might suppose from the way brethren view material circumstances that they would also think that a pious life would be rewarded with physical fitness. That would seem to follow from their assumption that financial health follows from a righteous life. But they don't. Sickness is seen as a sign of God's love: "whom he loves, he chastens". The associated troubles are a means to learn God and his ways better, and the entire congregation are meant to share in this learning. I think that's a good way of looking at it.

But I do think that the monetary side parallels the health issue. When Job was tested, his wealth was removed long before his health. I think the brethren could learn a lot from poverty. Not that I wish it on anybody.

I'm a bit worried about it myself. I don't have a lot of resource, yet I'm used to living comfortably. I expect to have to manage on much less, quite suddenly, and in my head I thoroughly approve. Restrictions are a positive thing, both for creativity and personal growth. But I can't help wondering whether I'll find it hard to adapt.

It's a start, at least, to identify an outlook I've been influenced by, even if I'm not too confident I'll overcome it.