Lent Post: Movie Week?

Salvete.

Today I listened to two sermons and a movie. Yesterday, since I watched another movie, I will be commenting on those movies this week. I won't say the titles, since that will give away the movies and perhaps spoil the blogs. I will be talking about one sermon today, and another sermon tomorrow.

One of the sermons I listened to today was centered around a TED Talk about the psyches of the wealthy and the poor. The link is here: http://www.ted.com/talks/paul_piff_does_money_make_you_mean
I find the results of his experiment fascinating, but I do not find them surprising. There have been numerous studies on the rich and poor, Republicans and Democrats (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/20/republican-democrat-brain-politics-fmri-study_n_2717731.html), and I would say they all narrow down to one truth: rich people are good at making and keeping their money. Duh.

This is a straw man, but it does have backing. For example, when taking the pretzels and candy, the wealthier individual is finding the initiative and taking it. The rich assess wealth and risk, and they are hesitant to randomly give money away. Thus, they are able to increase their wealth over that of a poor person, who may take money less seriously. Whereas Paul Piff concludes that this is an effect of being rich, I would like to assert that it is a cause of being rich.

It is very difficult to become rich without your focus being on making money, at least for a good portion of time. If, as Paul Piff concludes, becoming wealthier means more greed, protectiveness, and self-interest, this explains perfectly the wide income gap in the various regions of the world today. Essentially, once one starts making money, there is no coming back.

However, I might see this as a natural, if not good, aspect of society (minus the greed and the sinful desires). The people who are most ambitious and who know how to make the most use of their money will get the most money. While I would advise the Christian rich to tithe, I am fine with this scenario, and I don't care about the income inequality in America because very little of it affects me. I do hope, however, that all Americans, instead of merely rich Americans, prosper- of their own accord.