World's 85 richest have same wealth as 3.5 billion poorest

I find it interesting that Jesus said we ought to be content with food and clothing. If that were our standard of “enough” then it would be awfully hard to grouse about someone else’s prosperity and our “lack” by comparison.

For us, it’s not a matter of Want to be a landowner? It’s a matter of containing housing costs with mortgage payments lower than rent in the long term and with the benefit of being a fixed cost instead of raising at a landlord’s whim.

Oh yeah, the Lord’s placed me and my wife in San Francisco to minister. So, why would I want to consider Detroit?

[Jim] Want to be a landowner? One could easily make $ 25,000 per annum in Detroit and can actually buy a condo in Detroit for $ 20,000 Mortgage on same would be less than $ 100 per month

Hoping to shed more light than heat..

We really should care what kind of people are “in control.”

15 Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a poor people. 16 A ruler who lacks understanding is a cruel oppressor, but he who hates unjust gain will prolong his days. (ESV, Proverbs 28:15–16)

There’s no reason for these verses to be in the Bible unless it matters what sort of rulers we have over us. So the questions for us are not “are we controlled by many or by a few?” but rather “Who is a ‘wicked ruler’?” and “What rulers ‘lack understanding’?” There is clearly a contrast with those who “hate unjust gain.” So a followup question is “What sort of gain is unjust?”

(The Scriptures really do call us to think about economics, justice, and “politics”)

Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.

A good ruler cares about the well being of his people. He is just. He is a man of his word. He does not allow himself to be bribed. The rulers we have now are definitely not good. They speak nothing but lies and flattering words. They are bribed by the corporate lobbyists. They would sell out their own people for a few hundred thousand in the bank.