Unrighteous Wealth (3)

If a person works hard, and saves some of their earnings, their savings are righteous wealth. If they use their saving to buy assets that make them and other people productive, those assets are righteous wealth. If a person starts a business that supplies goods and services that people need at a market price, without coercion, deception or manipulation, the retained earnings of the business are righteous wealth.

On the other hand, business that relies on any of the following produces unrighteous wealth.

• limited liability laws,

• monopoly rights,

• government privilege,

• debt and inflation,

• exploitation of workers,

• cheating,

• coercion,

• theft,

Unfortunately, much modern wealth is unrighteous wealth. Christians should understand the difference, but many hold unrighteous wealth that is blighting their lives.

• Some Christians have unrighteous wealth that they accumulated before the came to faith.

• Some Christians have inherited unrighteous wealth. It is still unrighteous, because the process of inheritance does not change its character.

• Many Christians are engaged in activities that produce unrighteous wealth.

There are only two ways to transform unrighteous wealth.

1. Giving it away (preferably from those from whom it was taken, but that is not always possible.

2. God’s judgment (which is compulsory giving).

I will describe these further in the next two posts.