What in the world is wrong with being wealthy

“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” (Matt. 19:24.)

We commonly have warnings about the temptations of wealth and materialism to bridle our passions in this world.

40 And remember in all things the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted, for he that doeth not these things, the same is not my disciple. (D&C 52:40)

I believe we preach that Lord will prosper us for our efforts, and so rich blessings are not “wrong”. We are actually encouraged (sometimes too much in my opinion which leads to false priorities and expectations for thinking I can control my prosperity or expect the Lord’s will to help my family…perhaps another subject), but we are encouraged to seek after being blessed so that we have means to bless others. Being wise to store up to during 7 fat cow years to prepare for 7 skinny cow years.

Equally, the poor, although humble, are also taught to not be lazy and to seek to sustain themselves, to not bury talents but to try to increase the talents given to us, not to expect others to pay for our welfare, but to be generous no matter how poor we are, like the widow’s mite.

I think the overall message is not that being rich is bad…but being materialistic or attached to such riches is the evil…and so we are warned.

Nothing – and everything – and every point between those extremes.

For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required.

Maybe it’s not the wealth itself but the wealth inequality? I don’t know the stats but I think I remember hearing that 1% of people own 50% of the world’s wealth and that 50% of the world own 1% of the world’s wealth.

It’s too hard to judge how someone came into wealth. You could have been born into the right family, you could have worked hard and come up from nothing but sweat and effort, you could have worked hard and got lucky, you could have worked hard and had opportunity but only because you started from a place of privilege. The list goes on and on.

Is the entitlement generation going to destroy this country?

Possibly. Are the rich exempt from that sense of entitlement? CEO’s pay, when compared to an average worker’s pay, has skyrocketed over the last 30 years. Who had the sense of entitlement during those years? Are the workers then wrong for feeling entitled to erasing some of those gains?

Politics. :sick:

I’d hate to bring up a somewhat political discussion. But why? Why is it we’re always trying to demonize the wealthy in this country? Do people not realize that most of those who have a lot of money have worked hard for their money? I know several people who have come from nothing and now are millionaires. All by their hard work. I feel it’s a form of jealousy, I don’t know. Isn’t it a sin to covet thy neighbor? A friend of mine who’s a die hard bleeding heart supporter of Bernie Sanders truly believes that a rich CEO’s money belongs to him and several other of his peers. I just don’t get it. Is the entitlement generation going to destroy this country?

Hi, there. I usually abstain from commenting on political matters here on this site because I know we are a support community and these issues can be divisive and alienate people. Being someone who you would perhaps consider as a part of the “entitlement generation” (I’m assuming you’re just talking about Americans, here?) and perhaps a supporter of Bernie Sanders, maybe I should be a person to answer your question. Although, I don’t know if you really want me to. Do you sincerely want to listen to someone who you would probably classify as someone who “demonizes” the wealthy of the country? It would seem that you are set in your beliefs, and I don’t want to say anything that would cause a rift. I could say a lot of things to this conversation, but I will say this:

While you ask why people hate the wealthy, others ask, why do we worship wealth?

I think that you would find that many of the millennial generation, having been fed the American Dream their whole lives, are disillusioned when they discover it is not what they thought it was, probably similar to how some members of this site feel after after going through a faith crisis.

The American Dream as fed to millennials:

Work Hard = Material Success/Wealth = Happiness.

This is problematic on so many levels. Consider that America is becoming one of the most difficult developed countries in the world to improve one’s economic class. The “work hard and you will be successful” motto is turning into a myth and already is for many, many people.

Also, I will say this, while I won’t argue that my generation has its own sets of challenges and issues, we have also been statistically proven to the generation most involved in community service and long-term service projects as youth than generations before us (I would exclude the “Greatest Generation” here, because I feel their involvement WWII efforts more than qualifies for this). We are also the most tolerant American generation to date–less racist, less sexist, less homophobic, etc. than any that have come before us, and considering America’s deplorable history of racism, I think this is a positive thing indeed. Just as some would question whether or not my generation will hurt America, others would assume that we are America’s greatest hope for the future. It is a matter of perspective.

Absolutely nothing wrong with being wealthy – I don’t really buy into the idea that money corrupts people. I think it simply creates opportunity for people to be exactly who they are.

When you see rioters looting stores… How do you suppose those people would behave given unlimited wealth? Probably no different than the people they love to vilify.

If we are going to fight anything, let’s fight cronyism and corruption, which exists at all strata of the wealth spectrum, and probably makes up a small percentage of ‘rich’ people.

Do you sincerely want to listen to someone who you would probably classify as someone who “demonizes” the wealthy of the country?

I’m interested, if nothing else to hear a different perspective.

The American Dream as fed to millennials:

Work Hard = Material Success/Wealth = Happiness.

As a Gen-Xer (and boy, are we a hot mess), that was also what was taught to us. And to be fair, it used to be true, when the US was a manufacturing powerhouse. We’re not anymore, and nothing was going to prevent that from happening in the long-run.

Consider that America is becoming one of the most difficult developed countries in the world to improve one’s economic class.

The “work hard and you will be successful” motto is turning into a myth and already is for many, many people.

Maybe let’s qualify that statement by saying that it’s much more difficult for unskilled or manufacturing laborers to move up in class significantly. There’s just not the same market for those people. Also difficult for people who graduate with “softer” degrees: literature, humanities, political science, etc. I hear of a lot for people that go to college and graduate, only to find that their degree only commands $30k or $40k a year. I feel sorry for these people on one hand, but on the other hand, I have to wonder why this is a surprise…

People that graduate with engineering, science, MBA, medical degrees seem to be doing great. I work in computer science, and engineers straight out of college are making close to 6 figures.

And of course, there’s entrepreneurship. It’s easier now than it’s ever been to start and run a business with low overhead. Funding options have expanded significantly, and the entire world has opened up as opportunity. Entrepreneurship is booming. Failure rates are still high, and always have been, but that’s just part of the game.

Also, I will say this, while I won’t argue that my generation has its own sets of challenges and issues, we have also been statistically proven to the generation most involved in community service and long-term service projects as youth than generations before us

I freaking love millennials, and believe they offer a great hope for the future. The main thing that worries me is they seem to lack a bit in resiliency, maybe in large part because they were oversold how special they were, and weren’t properly prepared for the real world.

I believe the intersection of social consciousness and capitalism could be the great legacy of the millennial generation. But it doesn’t work by funding all the care and concern by milking “the rich” (while simultaneously demonizing them). It works best by you guys realizing that the American Dream is alive and well, but it requires a little more ingenuity than you may have first thought.

Demonize cronyism and special interests and political corruption. But realize that the 1% “you people” (ha ha) like to bash on include a whole lot of small business owners that are in the 1% based on their gross income, but are barely eking out a normal middle-class existence when you factor in payroll, expenses, etc.

You’re fighting to raise their taxes.

End of pep talk.

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It is interesting to me that we spend so much time in religion talking about money. I don’t think God cares about our income. I don’t think he cares about how often we fast or what rituals we perform. I think he cares very much about our social actions. Are we kind? Do we attempt to do good? Do we give better than we received?

I heard someone say that God doesn’t care what we do, but how we do it. I really liked that. I always intuitively felt that God wouldn’t care about our job, wealth, etc any more than he cares what socks we decide to wear.