Jesus was tough on rich people. Really tough. Remember when he told the one rich guy to sell everything and give it to the poor? What about his treatment of the Pharisees? They were rich, and it’s fairly safe to say that with the exception of a few (like one or two) He wasn’t a fan of them.
It’s not that rich people are bad- Joseph of Arimathea was rich- and he provided a tomb for Jesus to borrow for a couple of nights. It’s just that rich people- okay I’m generalizing here- most rich people want to stay rich. It’s a common desire- and not inherently bad. I just wonder if it’s inherently biblical.
Let me clarify. I am not saying that God doesn’t want people to be rich. I don’t know if He does or not – the word “blessing” can mean a lot of things.
I am saying that God will judge the rich on how they treat the poor.
It’s odd to me that one of the most popular characters in Hollywood movies is Robin Hood- considering that if Robin Hood did in fact exist today, he would spend a good amount of his time riding up and down Pacific Coast Highway stealing Bentleys and Mercedes from overpaid actors. But ever since Errol Flynn donned the infamous green tights, filmmakers have been cranking out Robin Hood movies nearly every decade.
And I’m not complaining. I love Robin Hood. In fact, my favorite Disney movie is the animated Robin Hood, and I have watched Kevin Costner’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves at least 100 times- both because I enjoy it and because for years it was the only VHS that I had as a kid. And I am equally as excited about the new Robin Hood movie coming out this spring, starring none other than Maximus himself, Russell Crowe in his first reteaming with Gladiator Director Ridley Scott. (Truth be told, I even love the current BBC TV show Robin Hood- even if I don’t get to watch it very often).
But I am somewhat shocked at how much audiences love Robin Hood movies. It’s as if Americans love watching Robin Hood steal from the rich and give to the poor, because- let’s face it, most Americans think he would be robbing from others and giving to them. But would he?
What about the church? Are we faring any better?
Christianity is a religion based on helping the poor. One of my favorite (and most challenging) passages in scripture is the parable of the sheep and the goats in Mathew 25.
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
I apologize for posting the entire passage, but it bears reading- repeatedly. Sounds very Robin Hood doesn’t it? Jesus says that we will be judged on how we treat the “least” of His people? Well church, how are we doing?
Oh, I know what you’ll say. Our church has a mission program- we give money every year to food banks- last year we even held a church wide clothing drive for a woman’s shelter. Good- but is it enough? Money is easy. Stuff is easy. But what’s so amazing about Robin Hood, why he interests me and thousands others, is not that he gave money to the poor. What amazes me about Robin Hood is that he gave his time to the poor. He gave his safety to the poor- he lived among the poor; he embraced the poor and made them his own.
What bothers me the most about Christianity, and one of the things I am the most embarrassed of (yes- there are times I am embarrassed to call myself a Christian- but never because of Christ) is that the world’s largest humanitarian organization isn’t Christian. In fact, in a web list of the top 25 NGO’s (Non-Governmental Organizations) in the world, only 4 are faith based? Is that taking care of the “least” of these?
But we have pastors in million dollar houses, a cottage Christian music industry full of wealthy artists (and producers), and an American church that refuses to face the fact that the cost of the Bible they are carrying and the clothes they are wearing is more money than most of the world has in their bank accounts.
We have to ask- if there was a real life “Robin Hood” would he give to us (as most of us think) or rob from us?
The problem is, we all know someone who is richer than us- and we think they’re the ones that Robin Hood would steal from. We’re wrong. The Robin Hood of the movies stole from all the rich- not just the “really rich.”
I understand that we don’t think ourselves rich. In fact, there have been plenty of times I have actually thought I was poor. And maybe at one point in my life- I was poor- by American standards. But I’ve seen poor. I’ve walked through towns in Cambodia so war torn that 3 and 4 year old children run barefoot and naked because they have nothing. I’ve seen villages that walk two miles to get fresh drinking water. I’ve seen poor, and I don’t know anyone in my life that is anywhere close to that.
Are there organizations that help? Sure- there are amazing Christian organizations that reach out to the world- organizations that will undoubtedly hear God proclaim His happiness at their work. (Living Water International is a personal favorite). And they deserve our financial support. We shouldn’t just focus on the world either. America has homeless- feed them. We have abandoned, shelter them. We have immigrants- help them.
Again, let me qualify my opinion. I have things. I am blessed. I want to make money. But I hope that when I die, my ambition does not outweigh my service. I hope that God looks at me and says, “Thanks for feeding the poor” and not just throwing a dollar in the plate and pretending like that’s enough. I hope God looks at me at says “Thanks for helping the nations” and not just by joining a Facebook group, but by getting my hands dirty digging a well in Uganda. I hope that God looks at me and says- “Thanks for being a Robin Hood,” for robbing myself – the rich one – and giving my time, energy, and passion to the poor.
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