Again and again David and I have warned against the corrupting influence of money inside the church. We've warned about the large profits Evangelicals haul in through royalties, conference speakers' fees, copyright licensures by publishers and Bible societies, salaries of pastors and missionaries and parachurch staff workers, donor gifts; and the list goes on. We've proposed that everyone disclose their profits, pay, and perks for all to see.
We know men hate for us to write about church profits. We feel their anger.
University of California, Berkeley is an odd place to turn, but maybe it has something to teach men of God...
From the LA Times today, this summary of a UCBerkeley study on the corrupting influence of riches:
The rich really are different from the rest of us, scientists have found — they are more apt to commit unethical acts because they are more motivated by greed.
...Because rich people have more financial resources, they're less dependent on social bonds for survival, the Berkeley researchers reported Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. As a result, their self-interest reigns and they have fewer qualms about breaking the rules.
There are men of God who have addressed this danger by refusing to get rich. John Piper is one of those men. It would greatly encourage the people of God to know who else has avoided the deceitfulness of riches.
