Christianity Today: Love Thy Trillionaires, by Luke Simon:
Last month, Elon Musk became the first trillionaire in recorded history.
A trillion requires imagination. It approaches a quarter of total US federal tax revenue. It exceeds the combined net worth of Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, and Jeff Bezos. According to Oxfam, it surpasses the total wealth of the poorest 46 percent of humanity. Money at this magnitude does more than stretch our math; it forces a moral question. Is it wrong to be a trillionaire?
For the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)—who won congressional primaries in New York City just days after Musk’s milestone—the answer was never in doubt. …
You do not have to be a socialist to think Elon Musk’s trillion dollars raise legitimate questions.
But go a little deeper and something different emerges. A Pew Research Center survey found that one-third of Americans under 30 think it is “morally wrong” to exist as a billionaire. Among young Democrats, the number approaches one-half. …
[R]esentment of the wealthy may be the most defining quality of my generation’s politics, cutting across ideological lines in ways that should alarm everyone.
The right has its own version. Instead of railing against the billionaire class, it warns about globalists, financial elites, and shadowy networks of power. The vocabulary is different. The emotional logic is identical. Find the small, powerful group responsible for everything that feels broken, and direct your fury that way. …
The far left and far right arrived at the same place by different roads, because they were always animated by the same impulse. And the Bible has a name for it: coveting.
Scripture is not gentle with the wealthy. Jesus warned that riches can crowd out faith. James condemned landlords who exploited their workers. The prophets raged against people who trampled the poor. We know what greed does to those who have too much. We are slower to reckon with what coveting does to those who have less. That’s what makes the tenth commandment so remarkable.
Christians are not immune to wanting what others have. In fact, we’re often uniquely susceptible because we have sophisticated vocabulary for disguising our desire. The Christian on the left wraps resentment in the language of justice and solidarity. The Christian on the right wraps it in the language of protecting Western civilization from shadowy elites. Both can quote Scripture to justify their anger. Both can be entirely blinded by envy. …
Jesus was not subtle about what to do with your enemies. Love them. My generation has decided that trillionaires are the enemy. But the ultimate question is not whether Elon Musk deserves a wealth tax. It’s whether we’ll see him as a human being made in the image of God and worthy of love.
Is it wrong to be a trillionaire? I am not sure. Christians can disagree about economic policy. But I am sure of something else. If you spend your whole life despising the rich, the greatest tax will be on your soul.
If my generation becomes known for anything, I hope it is not our ability to count someone else’s money. I hope it is our willingness to count every person—rich and poor alike—as our neighbor. Will you love your trillionaires?
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