Greed Versus Responsibility

by Carol Howard Merritt

Gospel Reading: Luke 12:13-21

For Sunday, August 4, 2013: Year —Lectionary 18

My daughter is twelve and I caught her reading a college textbook. I don’t tell you this to brag (although if you’d like for me to tell you about how amazing my offspring is, I’m happy to do so). I share this bit of information because the sight of her devouring that book on freshman anthropology gave me a sinking feeling that resulted in a paralyzing fear, like being flushed down into a toilet of wet concrete.

Dollars and Sense

College is six years away. She’s already reading the books. Which means she’ll probably shoot for a doctorate. What will college tuition prices be like when she’s ready to go?

When she was born, I was still paying off my own student loans. I looked at the websites that told me how much I needed to save in order for my daughter to go to a decent institution. When the crystal-ball calculator asked me to put away a little more than my salary, I gave up. We have a bit stashed away, here and there, but nothing close to what the experts say we’ll need.

First Tuition, then Alpo

My inability to save didn’t stop the financial advisors from droning on about how much we ought to be putting away. After I stop worrying about my daughter’s education, then I begin to imagine my retirement.

I’m a part of Generation X. Social Security will surely be depleted by the Boomers, and we’re the generation famous for our political apathy. So, I imagine I’ll be spending my twilight years in a tent at an encampment in some desert region eating dog food.

Would You Say that Today, Jesus?

When I turn to the text, I read Jesus’ words, “One’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” Then Jesus highlights the importance of his message with a parable, about a greedy man, saving up food for his future.

I think, “This message of Jesus must have been culturally bound. They didn’t have the long life expectancy that we have. They didn’t have college education costs like we do. They didn’t have health care costs—they had Jesus healing them! Capitalism is based on greed, so how can we follow the way of Christ in our capitalistic society?”

The Hardest Question

That leads me to the question: Can we really take the words of Jesus seriously? If we don’t have a bit of greed, aren’t we irresponsible?

Carol Howard Merritt grew up along the beaches of Florida. After being raised as a conservative Baptist and attending a fundamentalist Bible college, she went to Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and decided to become a minister. Carol has been a pastor for 13 years, serving growing Presbyterian Churches in the swamps of Cajun Louisiana, a bayside village in Rhode Island, and in an urban neighborhood in D.C. She is the award-winning author of Tribal Church (Alban 2007) and Reframing Hope (Alban 2010). She has contributed to numerous books, websites, magazines, and journals. Her blog, TribalChurch.org, is hosted by the Christian Century. She blogs regularly at Huffington Post and Dukes Divinity's Faith and Leadership site. Carol is a sought-after speaker. She hosts Unco (short for Unconference), open-space gatherings where participants dream about and plan for the future of the church.  And she co-hosts God Complex Radio, a podcast with Derrick Weston. Carol lives in Chattanooga, TN with her daughter and husband, Brian Merritt, who is starting a new church. You can follow her on Twitter (@CarolHoward) or  Facebook.