AUDIO
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Archbishop Peter Jensen's Christmas Message 2011 on the centrality of Jesus to human history
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I had an inglorious, undecorated, involuntary and very short military career.
Although it was almost 40 years ago I cannot forget one incident. I was on a training exercise in the mountain ranges west of Sydney. We had stopped our war training and queued up for hot drinks and high carbo’ army ration biscuits.
I was near the end of the long line of hot and hungry, tired and thirsty ‘birthday’ soldiers pouring strong tea into mugs and heaping in loads of sugar.
When my turn came I used up the last of the sugar, much to the disgust of the supervising officer behind me in the queue. He looked hard at the empty sugar bag and then fixed his narrowed gaze on me as I was stirring my tea.
When he was sure my wallaby-scared eyes were locked in the headlights of his very black, in fact, all-black glare, the words came out like sniper fire. “You %$#!” he snarled. And then he turned his back and walked away.
I trudged away, having lost my desire for the steamy sweet tea, looking for a bush I could crawl under to grieve over my greed and decry my impending dishonourable discharge. He was right. I hadn’t thought of those behind me in the queue. I had only thought of me.
The word ‘greed’ has all the feel of foul language. More multi-syllabic words like selfishness and self-indulgence soften the blow – a bit.
But greed? Me? You? The Yanks maybe, but good old egalitarian, be there for the other bloke, one for all and all for one, Australians?
God’s word, not surprisingly, has lots to say about this gutsy, gritty five-letter word. And it’s not pretty.
· A greedy man brings trouble to his family (Proverbs 15:27)
· Be on your guard against all kinds of greed (Luke 12:15)
· No immoral, impure or greedy person has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God (Ephesians 5:5)
If a country represents 4% of the world’s population but consumes 25% of the world’s resources (even with a vulnerable underclass), is there a greed problem lying behind the rhetoric of truth, justice and liberty?
But I don’t want to pick on one country, for that’s not the worst of it. If 2% of the world’s population consumes 50% of the world’s resources, and 10% consumes nearly 90%, doesn’t common sense say that it is unsustainable and downright unconscionable?
Here in Australia, if your assets (property, big ticket consumables like cars, hobbies and household wares, shares, superannuation) total $61,000, you are among the richest 10% in the world; and if your assets total $500,000 you are among the richest 1% in the world. Most Australians are in the top 10% and most baby boomer middle-class Australians, like myself, are among the richest 1%.
Seems that property takeover by boat people back in ’88 (1788, not 1988) proved to be very rewarding! Oh, for the days when it was fashionable to be a boat person.
Weren’t our forebears lucky, and weren’t we lucky that our forebears were lucky, to have been near the front of the queue when the sugar bag was big and bulging and before anyone realised that there was or would be a queue or that the sugar bag may not have been infinite?
Or did our forebears jump the queue with some help from the technology of the time. Gunpowder will always gazump a spear. Didn’t you hate people pushing in to the tuckshop queue at school and don’t you hate it in heavy traffic?
On an Australia Day a few back Michael Leunig posted a very poignant cartoon in the Herald. The cartoon was captioned THE BIG DAY OUT (as band festivals held in our cities on that day go by that name). Leunig drew two figures, one scantily clad holding a spear, and the other in British uniform pointing a musket menacingly at the first figure and yelling “GET OUT!”
But, is it now possible that the sugar bag is getting low, that the sweet stuff is running out?
Is it possible that we are ignoring those behind us in the queue, even our own children and grandchildren and the grandchildren we hope our children will have and enjoy as much as we enjoy them?
Is it possible that we are not only ignoring those behind us in the queue, but those beside us in the queue, who, hang the sugar bag, would be happy to have their tea straight or with just a dash of milk?
Is it possible for the 10% of us gorging on 90% of the world’s resources to ask, “Can we stop this madness?”
Is it possible, for example, and just for starters, to cut our consumption by 5, 10, 20, or in some cases even 50%, and give that percentage to help the world’s most vulnerable people?
Is it possible to replace the ugly face of greed with some big bulging spoonfuls of grace and generosity to those behind us and beside us, those our forbears pushed in front of, and those who have come later than us to the queue? Not to mention those who are queue-less.
Dam the greed and let grace flow!
The problem in the world today is that the majority of people in the western world are more interested in pursuing their own personal welfare than finding out the truth of what is going on in the world around them. That is why they operate inside of a bubble and can be manipulated by the mainstream media. That is also why the church in the western world operates inside of a bubble and has little influence in the world - the church doesn't understand what is happening in the world, nor is it interested in finding out.
I don't fault anybody for working hard to provide for themselves and their family and building up wealth. We are living in a hyper-competitive environment that has largely been created by government policy and globalisation over the last 30 years. In such an environment, that some people obtain wealth through hard work while others miss out is unavoidable.
What I do fault people for is pursuing their own welfare in a bubble without any desire to find out what is really happening in the world. At the rate we are going today when this kind of bubble-approach is at epidemic levels (epitomised by the Baby Boomer generation), the west is not going to recover and nor is the rest of the world. We are drowning in lies. The next thing to look forward to will be the return of Jesus Christ.
First, in the British armed forces such as Australia, officers eat last, after all the enlisted personnel have been fed. The Canteen Officer should know this and not expect junior soldiers to go without so he can have his sugar ration.
Second, if the unit was so badly resourced that your tea was make or break, then the Canteen Officer/Quartermaster were very poor at their job.
The leadership of your unit was disorganised and poorly served you. Contrast these leaders with the Centurion in Matthew 8 who came to Jesus on behalf of his servant. Now that is leadership and concern!
RJE
I don't know you personally so I'm not sure what your consumption is like, but those statistics challenge me to assess how much I consume in daily life, and where I should curtail my lifestyle.
Articles like this are refreshing and challenging - especially when written by a Christian.
I don't know where everybody got this idea that Australia is the land flowing with milk and honey. It doesn't match up to anything that I've experienced in this country in the last twenty years since the "recession we had to have" in 1991 (that profited the banks with interest rates in excess of 15% while the citizens struggled like drowning people to make their mortgage payments). This country has serious structural problems (eg. housing affordability as Robert indicated).
Sure, it's possible to make alot of money in Australia if you become a corporate drone and devote your life to a limited liability company that can discard you as it pleases, but who wants to do that? What about starting a business? Yeah, go and knock yourself out if you want to deal with all of the red tape that's been set up to monitor your every move.
Lastly, we're a nation of 22 million people. What exactly are we going to offer the 3,500 million people in Africa, India and China (ie. 1.0 + 1.2 + 1.3 (respectively) = 3.5 billion) in material terms? They outnumber us by about 170 to 1.
The 'economic struggle' of young people in Sydney to buy a house can hardly be compared to that of people living in conditions of poverty.
I think part of the problem many young people find themselves in today is influenced by status anxiety. Housing is much more affordable in rural parts of Australia, and even here in Sydney there are alternatives. I don't hear many people who are in this situation seeking to live within (or below) their means, rather they see large homes, overseas holidays and fine possessions as necessary. Perhaps ministers could address this problem.
If more people in Australia lived within their means, rather than getting restrictive mortgages, they would have more money to give to others, thus working against greed.
> Sure you can live in a rural area but are there jobs there? Also, do you propose that the churches encourage all their young people to leave the city for the bush? That's a pretty big dislocation.
> What are the alternatives for housing that you allude to? Renting is not an alternative. Long-term renting has a transience about it that is very disconcerting for anybody. When you rent, you are absolutely beholden to your landlord. It's a feudal arrangement.
> No, you are absolutely wrong. It's not status anxiety at all. Young people are struggling to even make it on to the lowest rung in the property market.
> Do you really think that giving paper money (fiat currency) to other people is the solution to the world's problems? This is a common line of thinking that originates from the economic system that has been constructed as our prison. We need to get back to understanding what the real source of prosperity is - land. Out of the ground comes food, timber and minerals. Paper money (fiat currency) is not going to solve any of the world's problems. Rather, the fact that all money issued in the Western world (and in most other countries) is issued as debt, together with fractional-reserve banking (which is fraudulent), is the source of much of the economic turmoil in the world today.
This article and the responses that it's generating such as yours is turning into what looks like a brainwashing exercise on behalf of the church. Does anybody really think that I don't have previous experience with brainwashing exercises in the church in years gone by? For example, why is it that God created human beings with amazing physiology of great beauty. However, the level of physiological well-being in the church (comprising the foundational elements of nutrition and exercise (ie. muscular and aerobic or muscular and cardiovascular)) has historically been far below its potential. And why is this? Because, historically, according to the church, taking good care of oneself is vanity or narcissism.
As for the Mrs Jellyby solution of everyone reverting to peasanthood so as to somehow “help†the world’s poor, this is also unserious. The rapid rise in world living standards, especially in SE Asia, has resulted from increased trade and capital flows, not because of the 1st world going herbal and hemp, and living in tents.
There are jobs available in rural areas. I don’t think every young person should leave the cities, but those who are struggling to afford to live there could consider it a possibility. Imagine what a blessing it would be to struggling country churches if young people from well- resourced churches in Sydney moved into their town.
The best alternative is simply less. Consuming less of everything, which would also contribute in a small way to some of the problems raised in the original article. For those who can’t afford to buy a home in Sydney then renting has to be an option – as would be living with friends or family, purchasing a home with another party, or purchasing later in life.
It is status anxiety. Owning a home is not a precursor to having a family (as Robert suggested). Is it viewed that way because that's what everyone else seems to think?
I don't know what the solutions to the world's problems are. I do know that giving something to someone who has less than I do helps a little, for that one individual. You mention that loaning money is not the solution – neither is it for young people in Sydney, unless they can reasonably service that debt.
Finally, I certainly wasn’t brainwashed by attending Anglican churches in Sydney or by using this website, as you suggest.
The health problems you allude to are often brought about by over-consumption. The good things God has given us can be enjoyed in moderation - what God’s word recommends.
There are many Christians who struggle with status anxiety, I am basing everything I say on observations of my Christian peers and my own heart.
If people can't afford to live in Sydney then somewhere outside of the cities is a good option, or there are other alternatives.
As an aside, please don't align me with Mrs Jellyby. I'd much rather be like her daughter, Caddy, who knew how to think for herself. But she also knew how to listen to and be chastened by sensible people around her, like Esther Summerson. From my study of Dickens, he uses the Mrs Jellyby archetype to criticise the parochialsm of the developed world's view of poor people, not living a frugal lifestyle.
And I am not suggesting anything 'hippy and hemp'. Just less - smaller homes, smaller cars, holidaying locally, less food thrown away, less hobbies, utilising a local library instead of buying books and dvd's, more sharing of possessions, less clothes, less appliances etc etc.
If anybody wants to get married and uproot themselves every two to three years, that's their decision, but I know what renting is like and I wouldn't want to rent when I'm married. There's also this: Women in Sydney don't want to marry men who can't afford a property. They don't want to commit to a relationship in the context of such uncertainty, which is understandable.
Financially, renting is a road to nowhere. The whole idea of retirement is that your property is paid off so that you only have to finance your living expenses. People who arrive at retirement while still renting have a difficult time. Some run out of money and die prematurely.
When I attended an Anglican church in the 1990s, I remember a talk where we were told of the joy of going and living in Green Valley away from consumerism in a fibro house with deep commitment to the person who we're married to. Um, okay. And what exactly is the point of doing that? Christians need to get over themselves and realise that being wealthy is not a sin. Job was wealthy and he was the most righteous man in all the land.
I sincerely admire Christians who live the whole herbal, organic, "go gently", house church lifestyle. I just think its unrealistic for everyone. I especially think those doing this subsistence living should avoid the sin of pride as much as others should avoid the sin of greed.
Nothing I have written is intended as a personal attack on you. As I don't know any of you personally I can't do that.
But I can't concede that Christians don't participate in the greed and over-consumption that is rife throughout our country. As the statistics in the original article suggest, just living here means being in a position of extraordinary privilege, compared to most of the world.
God's word condemns greed and extols generosity, community and self-control. These are the bible's realities and any economic decisions should be made through that framework, rather than what is normal in society. The bible doesn't say we have to own property, live near our families or marry superficial women, and it doesn't condemn such decisions either.
Stephen - Just because you don't know any Christians who do struggle with greed doesn't mean they don't exist. You don't seem to be able to accept that the statistics David referred to in the original article point to a patterns of greed in the developed world. I am interested to know how you would then understand them?
David - Could you provide a source for those statistics please?
Robert - Choosing to consume less and live within one's means is not the same as being a 'hippy' as you continue to categorise me.