economic justice

When a parking ticket spirals into homelessness

"Remember the sabbath" is a costly commandment. Our culture’s assault on it extends far beyond Sunday.

June Carbone and Naomi Cahn follow the life trajectories of two couples with much in common—but not marriage.

Members from more than 500 congregations marched in Charlotte, North Carolina, last October as part of the “10 Percent Is Enough” campaign. While conceding that careless spending is the chief cause of consumer debt and needs to be addressed, march organizers object to credit companies' enticing offers of easy credit, their increased interest rates and their profitable penalties. The "10 percent" campaign proposes a cap on interest rates.

When Jim Douglass graduated from college, his father sent him a life insurance policy. Jim thanked his father but returned the policy. He could not accept the gift, he said, because he wanted to understand the truth of an “economics of providence” that he had read about in Matthew 6. Rather than pay premiums on a life insurance policy, Jim said he would store up treasure in heaven by sending a monthly payment to provide basic care for a little girl in France. I’m convinced that Jim is right.

Julie Clawson needed a new bra. Most of the time she would have just gone to the store, plunked down some cash and come home with a bra. But she had been reading about globalization, sweatshops and child labor, and her conscience made her wonder where her money was going and what was being done with it. So she decided to try an experiment. She decided to find a “justice bra”—to make a purchase that could do no wrong. Did such a bra exist?

One of my seminary teachers once said that if you can’t think of anything original to preach, you should tell Bible stories—they have enough power to turn people’s hearts toward God. This may not work with every text, but it certainly works with the drama and wisdom of the story of Naboth and the story of the woman who washes Jesus’ feet with her tears.

I remember seeing Helena, a widow, unfolding a $20 bill to put in the offering plate. I knew that her family was selling its possessions to pay the ransom for her only son, imprisoned by guerrillas.

Why does Paul resort to both shame and pride to raise money for the Jerusalem church?