God or money?

Feb 22, 2025

More worrying news from Oxfam, the global aid group which works to fight inequality and poverty.

Last year alone, billionaire wealth grew by $2tn (RM8.94 tn). This means billionaires grew $5.7bn (RM25.48 bn) richer every day. That’s three times faster than the growth rate in 2023.

In 2024, the world had 2,769 billionaires – up from 2,565 from the year before.

Incredibly, their combined wealth swelled from $13tn to $15tn (RM58.11 tn to RM67.05 tn) last year. And guess what? Most of their wealth is not earned: 60 per cent of it comes from inheritance.

In a decade from now, Oxfam predicts, the world will have five trillionaires. It is hard to imagine such stupendous wealth. The world’s richest person now has around $400bn (RM1.7 tn) in wealth. It won’t be long before that trilliondollar wealth threshold is reached.

At the other end of the scale, the number of people living in poverty has hardly changed.

What this tells us is that the wealth disparity is growing in many parts of the world.

Billionaires can be found at the helm of major transnational companies (including Big Tech and Big Pharma companies) and global investment fund management companies. Then there are the companies dominating the militaryindustrial- media complex.

Every year, many of them gather in Davos for the World Economic Forum to discuss their plans to accumulate more wealth and power.

During the recent US presidential inauguration, a few of the wealthiest people on the planet could be seen facing the cameras behind the new president. It tells you who are the real movers and shakers in the world.

A big part of the problem in today’s world is greed. Profits and shareholder wealth are never enough.

It is hard to reconcile the demands of the kingdom of God with the obscene wealth and greed on display.

This is why the wealthy man walked away sadly when Jesus told him what he lacked. It is not just about the wealth but how it is acquired and what their owners overlook that matter.

Imagine if the billionaires gave up even a fraction of their wealth – through higher taxes, for instance – many of the world’s problems could be solved. Imagine a world with less hunger, poverty, disease and illiteracy. Imagine if everyone had access to nutritious food and quality education.

This was also the crux of the problem when Jesus walked the Earth.

When religious leaders collaborate with powerful political leaders, ordinary people invariably face a hard time.

When religious leaders are silent on corruption and policies that favour the wealthy, it implies they see no wrong with the status quo.

When they emphasise rituals that burden ordinary people while remaining silent on social injustice, they stray far away from Gospel exhortations.

When, in quiet back rooms, they collaborate with world powers oppressing ordinary people, Jesus bellowed: “Den of thieves!” He toppled the desks of the money changers. They were the ‘frontliners’ facilitating a lucrative business of selling animals for sacrifice in the Temple.

Not only that, the Temple even functioned as a financial hub, a central bank of sorts. It facilitated the extraction of wealth from the countryside – through banking, taxes, loans and debt collection – to the centres of power.

The Roman occupiers had a huge say in the appointments of the high priests. In this way, they exercised strategic control over the Temple’s economic activity.

The influx of pilgrims to Jerusalem during festive occasions indirectly benefited the Romans as they profited handsomely from taxes imposed on the movement and sale of goods.

This sometimes uneasy political-religious collaboration led to heavy burdens on ordinary people. Independent farmers and fisherfolk found it increasingly hard to keep their head above water. Some even lost their land when poor harvests made it impossible for them to service their loans.

It is still happening. Notice how the land of Gaza is now being coveted – for property development and perhaps access to offshore oil and gas reserves. All this while ordinary people are killed in a genocide, dying of hunger and displaced from their homes.

When Jesus arrived on the scene, He peppered His parables and sermons with words like daily bread, hunger, debt, wages, landlords and servants, the rich and the poor. These were the pressing issues of the day.

In today’s world, the divide in society has grown much larger. Many live on the edge, their livelihoods precarious, sometimes unable to put enough food on the table.

Many governments around the world often work closely with vested interests while the poor and the working class receive the short end of the stick.

When combined with neoliberal policies that favour big business – tax cuts for the rich, cuts in education and health care, low wages and suppression of the workers’ movements – the wealth inequalities grow wider.

Even the middle class finds themselves squeezed. This leaves many ordinary people restless and more ready to blame others for their socioeconomic woes.

Unscrupulous politicians then tap into this latent discontent. They find easy scapegoats – people of other ethnic or religious backgrounds, migrants and refugees or LGBTQ communities. Classic divide and rule.

During the time of Jesus, the division was most pronounced between clean (ritually observant) and unclean (lepers, sex workers - usually people at the bottom of the social ladder).

No surprise that Jesus gravitated to the latter group. In His eyes, what counted more in this kingdom was love, compassion and mercy.

Moreover, those who prided themselves as clean and followed all the religious obligations lacked these essential kingdom values.

Not only that, Jesus constantly talked about wealth and possessions. By one estimate, about a third of His parables touched on this subject.

“It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for someone rich to enter the kingdom of God.” - Mark 10:25

Why is that so? The sheer injustice of a world where some have obscene amounts of wealth while others go without basic necessities cries out to the heavens.

It is crystal clear: “No one can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second, or be attached to the first and despise the second. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.” – Matthew 6:24

(Anil Netto is a freelance writer and activist based in Penang. He believes we are all called to build the kingdom of God in this world.)

The views expressed are entirely the writer’s own.