Migrations caused by war and economic distress, ever-widening

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2 Wisdom about Wealth and Poverty Patricia F. Walter, OP Migrations caused by war and economic distress, ever-widening gaps between rich and poor in and among nations, globalization, the collapse of financial infrastructures, the shock of people who "did everything right" yet are losing jobs, homes, and life savings.... The broad outlines of such a description of our contemporary situation would not be all that unfamiliar to the sages of the wisdom literature. For among the factors prompting their refiections were economic changes that brought about shifts in Israel's political fortunes, shifts that threatened the vision and practice of right relationships established according to the covenant. Kathleen M. O'Cormor says that the wisdom literature presents a "spirituality of the marketplace." Today's marketplace is both local and global, both real and virtual. As we search for guidance on the path of wisdom from the sages we need to respect both the different historical contexts and the setting of any particular saying within its particular literary and theological framework. This is particularly true of the vast treasury of pithy maxims and adages in Proverbs, which can easily be unmoored from their setting in the book and used as proof texts to justify our own ideologies and practices. At times Proverbs seems to function as one massive Rorschach inkblot, a definite shape susceptible to a wide range of interpretations that owe more to the interpreter's psyche than to the figure's actual form and content. For example, sayings about the correlation between righteousness and prosperity are cited approvingly by what Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. refers to as "affluence evangelists" promoting a "Prosperity" or "Health and Wealth" Gospel ("The Old Testament Promise of Material Blessings and the Contemporary Believer/' Trinity joiiriial n.s. 9: ), while other lines have been favored by proponents of liberation theology. When tlw Morning Stars Sang Together from The Book of Job. Illustration by William Blake ( ). 157

3 So in order to lay the groundwork for a contemporary "spirituality of the marketplace," let us first briefly examine the contexts in which the literature emerged. Next, theological principles and ethical practices concerning wealth and poverty will be identified. Primary attention will be given to Proverbs, with brief examples from Job, Sirach, and Qoheleth. The Economic Background of Wisdom Literature Just economic arrangements were an integral part of covenant living. In preexilic times these relationships were basically agrarian and communitarian. If people fell on hard times they received assistance from kinfolk. Ideally, every seven years there was a rebalancing of wealth, with lands restored to their original owners and indentured servants freed of their bonds. Parts of vineyards and fields were set aside for the poor. The Israelites were to live in right relationship with God, the land, their kinfolk, those who were most vulnerable, even strangers and aliens. Any taxes were normally in the form of a percentage of crops or herds, or in labor. Loss of crops was a misfortune in which everyone shared. In the post-exilic period, however, the Persians, Greeks, and Egyptians demanded taxes and tribute in money rather than goods. Economic migration and the lure of wealth threatened kinship connections and the communitarian economy. To come up with taxes, people had to take out loans and pay interest; they were forced to sell their land or to sell their children into servitude. What was the path of righteousness in such disorienting circumstances? The Good Life One of the purposes of Proverbs is "gaining instruction in wise dealing, righteousness, justice, and equity" (Prov 12:3-5). The point of such instruction is to lead a life of wisdom, which is a rich life more than a life of riches. Yet Lady Wisdom brings with her "long life," "riches and honor," "pleasantness," "peace," and happiness (Prov 3:16-18). Wisdom is compared repeatedly with precious things such as gold, silver, and jewels, and found superior to them. "Wealth," then, in Proverbs refers to material possessions, yet it is also a metaphor for what is most valuable in life: wisdom, virtue, and the treasure of relationships (Prov 8:18; 11:18-21, 28). The basic assumption of the sages is that everything belongs to God, through whose wisdom the world was created and ordered. As Psalm 24:1 affirms, "the earth is the Lord's and all that is in it." Acknowledgment of this truth engenders awe; thus "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Prov 9:10; cf. Prov 1:7; Job 28:28). Convinced of a wisely ordered universe and desirous of inculcating virtue, the author of Proverbs believed that actions have consequences, that acts shape character and flow from 158 THE BIBLE TODAY

4 character. Good people and good actions produce or are confirmed by good results. Conversely, people with vices such as drunkenness, gluttony, or sloth (Prov 20:13), or who do evil, experience negative results. So wisdom literature offers abundant examples of well-ordered life in a well-ordered universe to show how things ought to be and often are. Yet these authors know that all too often such a picture is, as Samuel Johnson said of a second marriage, "the triumph of hope over experience." Challenges, Modifications, and Limits There are also countless examples of rich people who are neither wise nor righteous. They may simply have inherited wealth, never working and leading profligate lives. They may be people who obtain and maintain their wealth by all manner of injustice from unethical business practices to depriving their workers of a living wage to preying on the defenseless. At the same time, there are virtuous people living in poverty. They might be the working poor paid inadequate wages, victims of other forms of injustice, or families who have experienced crop failure or catastrophic illness. In this category, mi i. r.. i widows and orphans represent ^he Wealthy OWe to the the old and the young, people poor not Only charity, who are particularly vulnerable. Vinf- inc-hiro The harsh realities of people who ' are destitute are expressed most eloquently in Job 24:2-12. Toward these people, those with economic resources have the obligations of charity and justice. They are to give assistance to the poor (Prov 22:9), refrain from harming them (Prov 22:22), respect their property (Prov 23:14), give loans without interest (Prov 28:8), and insure justice for the poor in the courts (Prov 15:27; 17:28; 22:22). The treatment of the poor by those with resources is of concem to God, who created all people. Whatever economic differences may obtain, they are relativized by the fact that poor and rich alike are created by God. "The rich and the poor have this in common: the Lord is the maker of them all" (Prov 22:2). What is done on behalf of the poor is done to God: "Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but those who are kind to the needy honor him" (Prov 14:31; cf. Prov 17:5; 19:17; 29:13). Although it is better not to be poor, material wealth is not an absolute value. The "better than" sayings reverse normal estimations of material goods in favor of virtues or immaterial blessings. "Better is a dinner of vegetables where love is than a fatted ox and hatred with it" (Prov 15:17). It is better to have dry bread than strife, to be poor rather than share unjust Patricia F. Walter, OP 159

5 spoils or lie (16:19; 19:22b), to have a good reputation rather than wealth (Prov 22:1), to be poor and discerning rather than wealthy and ego-inflated (Prov 28:11). The regular refrain of the sages is that the enduring value of wisdom is beyond all material possessions (Prov 16:16; 3:14-15; 8:18; 11:18-21, 28). Ill-gotten wealth is evanescent (Prov 13:11; 21:6), of no use "on the day of wrath" (Prov 11:4). Getting rich should not be one's all-absorbing acfivity: "Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint" (Prov 23:4). The wealthy may be kidnapped for ransom; this is not a danger for the poor (Prov 13:8). The rich can be tempted to trust in their wealth rather than in God. They can neglect the needs of the poor (Prov 18:23; 29:7): Remove far from me falsehood and lying, give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that I need; or I shall be full, and deny you, and say, "Who is the Lord?" or I shall be poor, and steal, and profane the name of my God." (Prov 30:8-9) The wise person, then, desires moderation and contentment with respect to material goods, since the temptation to violate covenant relationships is often more acute in the extremes of affluence and deprivation. Sirach Sirach basically accords with Proverbs' view of possessions, poverty, and almsgiving, with one striking exception: the author does not reiterate any of the sayings that blame or judge the poor. Instead, Sirach intensifies the demand to give alms, which can serve as a sin offering (Sir 3:30b). This obligation is expressed in Sirach 4:1-6: My child, do not cheat the poor of their living, and do not keep needy eyes waiting. Do not grieve the hungry, or anger the one in need. Do not add to the troubles of the desperate or delay giving to the needy. Do not reject a suppliant in distress, or turn your face away from the poor. Do not avert your eyes from the needy, and give no one reason to curse you; for if in bitterness some soul should curse you, their creator will hear their prayer. 160 THE BIBLE TODAY

6 This passage powerfully acknowledges the claim of the poor on those who have resources. They should be helped immediately, for their need is immediate. Their anger over mistreatment or lack of assistance is righteous; God will hear their curses as prayers. Their innate human dignity is undiminished by their material straits; rather, the lack of resources necessary to survive, let alone thrive, is an affront to their intrinsic worth. So Sirach enjoins his readers to treat the poor respectfully: "Give a hearing to the poor, and return their greeting politely" (Sir 4:8). Qoheleth (Ecclesiastes) The first example of futility Qoheleth presents is that of gaining profit from labor. The recurring refrain of profit and loss is a clear example of Qoheleth's ironic use of financial language and economic metaphors to critique greed and the Hellenistic market economy. Work does bring satisfaction, but there is no lasting profit from it. Death ends the laborer's enjoyment of accrued wealth; heirs may squander what is left to them (2:18-22). So for Qoheleth human wisdom lies in enjoying what are, in reality, gifts of God (cf. 3:12-13; 5:17-18; 9:7-10). Job Job is the rock upon which the Prosperity Gospel founders. The book opens with a description of Job's immense wealth; no lesser witness than God applauds Job's unparalleled rectitude. Job himself describes his righteous treatment of the poor in a splendid passage that details the actions of a just man whose use of wealth is faithful to the covenant (Job 29:12-17). So the terrible sufferings of Job demolish the assumptions of the retributive theory. Job's friends are still caught in its grip, advancing one suggestion after another about how Job's actions caused his poverty, sickness, and the death of family members. God's eventual response to Job shows that God hears prayers, despite appearances to the contrary. God knows the inner workings of everything and everyone in the universe. With this Job is satisfied. Conclusion The sages offer instruction on the path of abundant life. A component of that life is the blessing of material goods sufficient to provide for one's family, to live comfortably, to offer hospitality to family and friends, and to assist those in need. Some advice is mere common sense: diligent work normally brings rewards; laziness leads to failure. Some advice expresses what the affluent would like to believe: "people get what they deserve." However, the impact of growing economic disparity, the loss of a Patricia F. Walter, OP 161

7 communitarian system of exchange, and the devastation caused by wars, migration, and tribute to foreign overlords threaten people of every economic status, revealing such an adage as an expression of hope and desire for justice rather than a universal statement of fact. The sages remind their readers that there are limits to creation and to wealth, that true wealth lies in the wisdom to live in right relationship with God, one another, and the land, and that justice and charity are key dimensions of covenant living in every economic climate. Patricia F. Walter, OP, is an associate professor of systematic theology at Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis. She holds an STL from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley and a PhD from the Graduate Theological Union. She has published in the areas of theological education and Dominican spirituality. 162 THE BIBLE TODAY

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