Matt 20

Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?'

I had a teacher in high school who did a bit of this and a bit of that. She took health and social sciences, occasionally filled in for English and generally wandered around the school. Mrs W had a few theories which she seemed to appropriate from textbooks and seminars and radio talkback. One of her theories was that there is no intrinsically ‘bad’ human emotion (she was one of ‘those’ teachers) – it was how you act on the emotion that is important. The exception to this rule, perhaps, is jealousy. This exception may be similar, biblically speaking, to the commandment to cease and desist coveting thine neighbour's ass!

Whatever the case I think there is a thread running through many western Christians which causes them to do a double take when they think of ‘those more fortunate than them’ – because there are always those less so. It seems to me that this is a good thing – the call to humility is the call of the rich man (and his young rulers). And yet the flip slide of the equation is that western Christians are fearful of any call to justice and the righting of wrongs – because we do not want to be perceived as envious.

The liberation theologians (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_theology) tell us that, while enough is enough, when you do not have enough you may well be envious, you may struggle for justice and you may seek restitution on the way to reconciliation.

I don’t know what to make of this, but I hope that the web of envy and justice and retribution and reconciliation and new life are dependent on God’s generosity and not the foibles of humanity.