Let’s explore the financial reality with respect to clergy, and others as well, from a theological perspective.
Throughout the biblical story, there has always been a certain amount of tension between what God provides and what we want with respect to the material aspects of life. Let me note a few examples.
One of the first decisions about how much wealth is enough came between Abram and his nephew Lot in Genesis 13. It was wealth that caused the tension between their peoples. When Abram offered Lot the choice of land, he immediately chose the more prosperous section of land to occupy. His greed would eventually have devastating results. Later, in the Exodus, when God was leading the children of Israel across the wilderness, God provided them manna so that they could survive but it was not enough. Then, when they entered the Promised Land, God ordered the dividing up of the land so that each tribe had sufficient to feed their families. Knowing that over time there would be an inequality that would develop, they set up the year of Jubilee so that every generation would have a fresh start with sufficient to experience a secure life.
The examples could continue, but for Christians, the most significant evidence of God’s intent is contained in the words of the Lord’s prayer. We are taught to pray that God will give us each day our daily bread. Christians pray that prayer on a regular basis without considering that from God’s perspective, that is what we need. In contrast to that, Jesus told the parable of the man who built a larger barn to contain his abundant harvest, not recognizing that the blessing of this harvest would not protect his future and could be of benefit to his neighbor. (Luke 12:13-21)
Even for clergy, it is easy to get infected by society’s emphasis on the value of having more and never feeling we have enough.
