Christianity vs. Wall Street

Upon this holy day of the Christian calendar I compare and contrast the luminosity and generosity of the world's greatest religion with the normal way of doing business in the country supposedly its greatest exponent -- the United States.

Last evening I read a poem which describes what a Christian life should be like. Here is the poem:

Salvation is:
liberation from evil,
the defeat of the devil,
the transfiguration of man,
living authentically,
putting on Christ,
the restoration of the image of God in man,
participating in the life of God,
restoration of communion with God,
incorruption,
receiving the Holy Spirit,
becoming temples of the Holy Spirit,
forgiveness of sins,
ascending to the throne of God,
participating in the kingdom of God,
being by grace what God is by nature,
the destruction of death,
seeing the light,
being in a process of growth that never ends,
living life the way God meant it to be.*


I doubt there has ever been a more succinct description of the Christian life or salvation.

Compare what is being said here to the way business is done in America or any other place. How close do the men and women of Wall Street come to this description? Not only are they not close, they are not even in the same world. Too often, I have not followed this description myself, though I have not been a Wall Street tycoon.

It is not too much to hope that in coming years, the way of doing business so common for so long can be reformed. But let us be clear about just what is wrong and what our goals are. The poem above can be a start as we leave Christmas Day.




* from Introducing the Orthodox Church: Its Faith and Life by Anthony M. Coniaris