Riches Not A Passport To Heaven

It is true that many church men are already too keen for material things. The church is now too much allied with property, wealth, and prosperity. Money has its place, but its place is simply a means to an end and should not become an end in itself. Money is just like food, clothing, and sleep. A certain amount of it is necessary; but after one gets a certain amount, any excess is a care rather than an asset. If the leaders of the Church will put their emphasis on Matthew 19:24, instead of on the need of money, all will go well. Statistics show conclusively that Jesus's teachings regarding wealth are sound. Most business men who have acquired riches will freely admit it.

While attending a certain Layman's Church Conference in Pittsburgh, I was invited to luncheon by a prominent Cleveland business man. As a guest he had with him the Secretary for Religious Work of the Cleveland Y. M. C. A. The question arose as to how to interest the wage workers of the country in the Church. Also how to re-create in these wage workers a desire to produce and to take joy in service. I stated that this could be done only when we Christian business men, who could afford it, would make a real demonstration of public service from the employers' standpoint. I suggested that we could operate our industries as a public trust the same as we do our library associations, hospital boards, and charitable institutions.

Can A Thousand Righteous Be Found?

The answer was made that if any one business man did this at the present time he would be severely criticized by his associates and perhaps would be misunderstood by his wife and children. This probably is true, but would it be true if a large group did it? If a thousand manufacturers and merchants, with a gross business of a billion dollars a year, should agree to use their profits as some impartial commission might deem best for the community, I am sure that none of these thousand men would be criticized. Instead, I believe that they would go down into history like the signers of the Declaration of Independence. They would do for industry what our forefathers did for democracy.

Statistics show clearly that to-day we have gone crazy over material things and have forgotten that the real joys of life come by other means. This applies to employers and wage workers, to men and women, to all races and nations. Something spectacular must be done to bring people to their senses in order that they may think along better lines. Although this suggestion was made simply offhand, at a luncheon in Pittsburgh, may there not be something in it?

The masses must see with their own eyes that those of us who own the bulk of the industries have the good of the community at heart and are not simply operating these plants for personal profit. Furthermore, as more of us get this bigger vision our investments will be most enduring in a practical, as well as a spiritual sense. Statistics show that the lack of this vision on the part of investors is responsible for a large percentage of the losses.