Mark Perrin, a friend, a darned good attorney and a man who cares about justice and poverty in Dallas and the nation, sent me the following note after our annual prayer breakfast and Mayoral Forum yesterday:
Doug and I were touched by our time at the breakfast this morning. Thank you.
Please tell Reverend Britt that, in our opinion, "soulless materialism laced with random acts of charity" is the best and most significant line since Bob Dylan wrote "people don't do what they believe in, they do what's most convenient - then they repent."
Thanks, Mark! And, of course, Gerald's statement, as always, was brilliant and powerful!
We have a lot left to do here in Dallas, don't we?
Larry, I was recently reading an interview that was done by Catholic Reporter News with theologian Gustavo Gutierrez. One of the topics of discussion was the context of Latin American that made "liberation theology" necessary. In this country we've had black theologies of liberation, womanist, and feminist. Gutierrez hinted that what we need most liberating from in the present time is our "materialism". I think reverend Britt's statement about "soul-less materialism" is right on point. The challenge is that this materialism is so much a part of the Christian culture that it is hard to speak a prophetic word to the wider world when many of us Christians suffer from the same soul-killing malady. As a culture we worship wealth and success. This includes many of us in the Christian camp with our mega churches, mega-houses, and mega cars. I believe it is a real challenge to have all this wealth and success and then not to allow all this wealth and success to have us. True indeed, we are in the buckle of the Bible Belt--with some of the largest churches, richest pastors, and richest congregants. I know I struggle against the temptation to try to gain the whole world and yet still try to hang on to my soul. You guys are doing a great work. I just recently become more familiar with all that you do via Dr. Kenneth Greene, my pastor. I will soon pay you all a visit when I get time out of my hectic schedule. Blessings, Walter Taylor.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post, Mr. Taylor. Look forward to meeting you! Thanks for stopping in.
ReplyDeleteI am of the opinion that liberalism/socialism is a much bigger threat to this country than greed/materialism.
ReplyDeleteI can't think of any poor people who are able to create jobs to move the economy along. Also, I take exception to the opinion that people of wealth are necessarily greedy or soulless. That is just stupid. Have you ever considered that they just work hard and are good stewards?
Hey Chris, Walter here….A couple of things.
ReplyDeleteCan you elaborate on your statement “…that liberalism/socialism is a much bigger threat to this country than greed/materialism?”
I agree with your contention that the poor are not the ones creating jobs. Also, I don’t believe I or anyone else means to imply that “…people of wealth are necessarily greedy or soulless.” In fact, there are many generous, wise, and spiritual people of wealth and means. As you say that is “stupid”. Saying the rich are necessarily greedy and soulless has no more basis in truth than saying that poor are necessarily lazy and irresponsible. However, even Jesus taught that riches can be, but don’t have to be, a hindrance to spirituality and justice (see Mat. 19:16-26; see also Enron).
Furthermore, I would ask you this, is the creation of jobs alone presently meeting the demands of the poor and un-employed, and under-employed? I don’t think that a formula for solving the problem of poverty is simply the creation of jobs. Have you ever heard of the “working-poor”? Have you ever heard of a man who works to support his family but can’t afford to put his family on his company’s health insurance plan? Oh yeah, not all jobs provide health care coverage. This simple phenomenon (i.e., no health care coverage) can easily make it hard to survive for the working poor—having their income sucked up in high medical bills and the cost of medication. This is why re-tooling the CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance program) is so important—I see this problem everyday. Blessings, Walter.
Walter, very, very wise words. Keep posting!
ReplyDeleteLarry, I've started a tutor/mentor blog exchange and encourage you to add your comments, and your network. Read more at http://tutormentor.blogspot.com/2007/05/volunteers-tutormentor-leaders-donors.html
ReplyDeleteHopefully, this can help you connect with others in the Dallas area who are already doing this type of work, as well as with volunteers and business leaders who would become partners.