My View — The financial crisis and the Judeo-Christian tradition

Herbert W. Chilstrom

“As a religious leader, what do you think about the current financial crisis?”

I’m an ordained minister. Like others of my kind, I’m not accustomed to being asked questions like that.

The query, however, set me to thinking.

We often hear politicians speak about the “Judeo-Christian tradition.” Among other things, this means that the values and ideals of the Jewish and Christian faiths, especially as they are spelled out in the Old and New Testaments, are embedded in our country’s founding documents.

Those ideals are numerous. There are three, however, that seem especially relevant to our current crisis.

First, both Old and New Testaments teach us to resist the temptations of wealth. “Give me neither poverty nor riches,” says the writer of Proverbs (30:8). In the New Testament the watchword is, “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have….” (Hebrews 13:5).

Many of us grew up with the idea that we should live within our means. That’s not easy to do in a consumer-driven society. We have evolved into one where many assume they can live beyond our means. We buy more than we need or can afford. When we got those “stimulus checks” earlier this year a message came with them. “Spend, spend, spend! Our economy won’t work unless you spend.”

Now we’re at it again. Most of the money for the “bail out package” will be borrowed from rich sources abroad. Our debt will inevitably grow larger. And all because too many lived beyond their means.

Who are all these irresponsible folks? No, not just Wall Street tycoons. Most all of us are to blame to one degree or another. If we bought homes and cars and boats and televisions and vacations and meals we could not afford, we share in the debacle.

Living within our means will be painful. It will put people who depend on our excesses out of work. Yet, in the end, it is the only solution.

The second apt lesson to be learned from our Judeo-Christian roots is that we are given life and possessions so that we can serve our neighbor. Both Old and New Testaments summarize this requirement in the word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Leviticus 19:18 & Mark 12:31).

Some, inevitably, will accumulate some wealth. Hard work, intelligence, or inherited riches will move some to the top. Others, often through no fault of their own, will fall through the cracks.

In Old Testament times they tried to resolve the gap with their “Jubilee Year.” (Leviticus 25) Every fiftieth year the poor were given a chance to recover what they had lost and to get a new start in life. The purpose was to narrow the gap between rich and poor.

Our tax system was designed to accomplish the same purpose. Unfortunately, tax laws have been jerry-built into a system that is broken and unfair. The Judeo-Christian tradition cries out for government to make the tax system fair and workable, first and foremost, for the poor, not just for the illusive “middle-class” and surely not for the wealthy.

Can we really have better education, health care, roads and bridges, and law enforcement without raising taxes? When pressed on the tax question Jesus said, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” (Matthew 22:21). Isn’t it time for many of us to stop looking at taxes as a burden and start seeing them as our opportunity to serve our neighbor?

At the heart of the “Jubilee Year” is this word: “…the land is mine and you are but aliens and tenants.” (Leviticus 25:23). No one can ever say, “This is my business, my home, my savings account, my investment fund, my anything.”

When we retire we should give thanks for the work we were privileged to do, for fair wages, for good health, and for reasonable retirement income. But no excessive golden parachutes.

Finally, there is the issue of war. We can argue about the current wars. The question now, however, is one of cost. How much can we spend on war without destroying the vitality of our nation? And as the chief supplier of weaponry to dozens of countries around the world, how long can we keep doing this without becoming victims of our own twisted intentions? Isn’t this another message from our Judeo-Christian tradition: “…all who draw the sword will perish by the sword.” (Matthew 26:52).

Like other Christians and Jews, I treasure the good things that have come out of our Judeo-Christian tradition that make us the nation we are. But when some of the strongest elements of that tradition tell us that we are headed for disaster, should we not take heed?



Herbert W. Chilstrom is the former presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in American and a resident of St. Peter.