FAITH = GREED Pt 2

Turns out Warren Buffett shares my view on buying on fear and selling on greed.

So, how does faith fit in?

Well faith is the opposite of fear. In the markets, greed is the opposite of fear.

Intuitively it means that when things are going well, it's easy to have faith, and it's easy to have greed. The last 10 years have seen the growth of the megachurch and the hyper-debt fueled asset explosion which is now finally unwinding.

Somewhere along the journey, our spiritual life and our material life have become so entertwined, that our faith, I believe has commingled with our greed ie. the love of money. The prayer of Jabez, and other fads that have swept Christiandom pair the two words together.

On one hand, if generosity and social justice is the offshoot of the wealth/faith continuum, then I think that is in general a positive thing, for those in need. However, the spiritual mindset of those who are at the source of this wealth transfer is what I question.

I'm not proposing that we pray for poverty, or lack, as that would be contrary to Bible. God blesses, and abundance is our inheritance. But the messages from the pulpits of some megachurches may be propagating a blurring of the faith/greed line.

Perhaps, instead of praying for more wealth (and to be fair, more to give away) we should be praying for humility and holiness. God is not a genie, and he is not around to grant wishes. He exists for us to worship, to submit, to be a servant of.

So for all those, who are doing well financially and growing in wealth; what are you praying for? More wealth? Take a look at the % you are giving away, and maybe you'll find that the amounts you give away are getting bigger, but the % has not.

So now that times are tough, and those in need are on the rise, and fear is ruling the world, perhaps a response of true faith, in the one who is worthy to have faith in, will take its rightful place.

Peace.