First, thanks to my good friend John Stark who is the technical wizard behind my ability to be here. I'm sure this will be an interesting adventure.
Second, the evening news yesterday reported a widening gap between America's richest and the "working class" poor. For Christians who favor the free-market system and support capitalism to its fullest, there is a little problem here. We want to promote freedom--especially economic freedom, and the image of the success that can be attained via the "Christian work ethic." This is basically a good idea.
However, it may be beneficial, based on the economic climate in which we live--where there are a lot of "have nots," to think through the totality of our view. For while we may support the free market system and the virtues of capitalism, it may be helpful to remember that God says that "the righteous is concerned for the rights of the poor," (Proverbs 27.7).
It seems that one of the challenges for us (Christians) is to balance our desire to reach up to a higher level of economic prosperity with the understanding that each of us individually also has a responsibility to reach back and lift up "the poor."
