Prima facie, such a topic is hardly debatable. Poverty is a curse, and prosperity is bliss. It brooks no argument; unless of course one is a Christian with a rudimentary knowledge of the Bible, and the orthopraxis of the Catholic Church. This “debate” entered my head while attending the 10th annual awards ceremony of the Christian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), on September 24 at Mumbai.
First, a little about the CCCI itself. Anthony Sequeira, the chairperson, said that it is an umbrella body of Christian business persons and industrialists, with 600 members nationwide. Its goal is to help them network, do brand building and wealth management, together with fulfilling their social responsibility. In the past it has organised business tours to Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand, and more such foreign forays are on the cards.
The CCCI presented three awards for entrepreneurship, and one each for Public Service, Social Service and Education. Interestingly, all the entrepreneurship awardees were Mangaloreans – Dr Jacob Crasta for Industry, Zelia Quadros for Women’s entrepreneurship, and Santosh D’silva for Young entrepreneurship.
This confirmed me in my belief that within the Catholic community, Mangaloreans are the best businessmen. Malayalees are also good at business, but they are mostly non-Catholics. Catholic Malayalees, like the Goans, prefer the professions, the service sector, or the lucrative Gulf. Incidentally, Goans have had the highest per capita number of officers in the defence services. In contrast, when I met a Mangalorean Brigadier in Chaubatia Cantt in 1986 he told me that he was the first Mangalorean to attain that rank.
As I said, these thoughts were sparked by averments made at the CCCI meet, and more specifically by Dr Christy Fernandez IAS (Retd), the former Secretary to the then President of India, Pratibha Patil. An illustrious civil servant in his own right, he received the award for Public Service. He averred that the Catholic Church did not pro-actively support business and entrepreneurship, unlike other Christian churches.
It was not even comfortable with the industrial revolution that had transformed Europe (erstwhile Christendom). It has no doubt stood in solidarity with the poor, through massive works of charity, but it was more like feeding you fish than teaching you how to catch fish. It continued to extol the virtues of being poor, a gross misinterpretation of the Sermon on the Mount (cf Mat 5:3). It conveyed a subtle message that earning money or becoming rich was bad! So the Poverty vs. Prosperity debate stands, and needs to be addressed.
Yours truly undeservedly got the award for Social Service, I had to speak just after Fernandez, so I took the cue from him. I said that the Catholic Church was perhaps uncomfortable with lay people in business, because the clerical church itself was into big business! I looked at Bishop Henry D’Souza of Bellary, who was the chief guest. While entering the hall he had said to me, “chhotebhai, you are like Pope Francis, you disturb people.”
I am not worthy of the comparison, and I’m not sure if that was a back-handed compliment; but I now said on stage that Jesus came to comfort the disturbed, and disturb the comfortable.
I belong to a family that has been in business for 160 years (my grandfather was the president of the U.P. Chamber of Commerce a hundred years ago). But my thinking is distinctly left of center, with a preferential option for the poor. My litmus test has always been, what does the Bible say? I believe that Jesus was the perfect human being, and the best management guru. So what does the Bible say about poverty and prosperity?
Ironically, the Gospel reading at Sunday Mass the next morning was about the rich man and Lazarus, the beggar at his gate. The latter goes to heaven while the rich man is condemned to hell (Lk 16: 20-25). The irony was not lost on me. The previous evening we were extolling the virtues of prosperity, and the next morning I was hearing the Lord condemn it.
Lest we draw hasty conclusions let me here add that Jesus was not condemning riches per se, but the rich man’s callous attitude to the poor man who needed his help.
A cursory reading would show Jesus’ preferential option for the poor in the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament (NT). In contrast, poverty is condemned, and prosperity is extolled in the Old Testament (OT). I do not wish to sound prejudiced or bigoted, because I am a firm believer in ecumenism. But in my various interactions I have found that non-Catholics quote the OT more, and what is referred to as the “prosperity gospel.” In contrast Catholic preachers use the NT more, and extol the virtues of being poor.
A world view would bear me out. Northern Europe, which is Protestant, is prosperous, and Southern Europe, that is more Catholic or Orthodox, is relatively poor. The contrast is even more marked in the Americas. Protestant North America is prosperous, while Catholic Central and South America is poor. A Catholic country is Asia, The Philippines, is among the poorest in the continent.
I do not wish to take sides. I believe in the Latin saying, “Virtus stat in medio” (virtue lies in the middle). Do the teachings of scripture and that of the Second Vatican Council bear me out?
The Book of Proverbs in the OT lists various causes for poverty. Among them are laziness, lack of industriousness, indiscipline, drunkenness, the love of pleasures, and living in a world of fantasies. Referring to an overgrown and idle vineyard it says “I drew this lesson from the sight. A little sleep, a little drowsiness, a little folding of the arms to lie back, and poverty comes like a vagrant, and like a beggar, dearth” (Prov 24: 32-34).
“Whoever rejects discipline wins poverty and scorn” (Prov 13:18). “The drunkard and glutton impoverish themselves, and sleepiness is clothed in rags” (Prov 23:21). “Whoever chases fantasies has no sense” (Prov 28:19). “Pleasure lovers stay poor, no one will grow rich who loves wine and good living” (Prov 21:17).
Had the dialogue ended there it would have been a harangue against riches. Fortunately, it doesn’t. When the disciples express their astonishment at this harsh admonishment of the rich Jesus clarifies that “By human resources this is impossible; for God everything is possible” (Mat 19:26). So by divine grace riches can certainly be put to good use.
Proverbs attributes poverty to various personal habits. However, today we know that there are many other causes of poverty, like social injustice or psychological traits. Likewise, riches could be either ill-gotten or the fruit of hard work. So it would be simplistic to extol or condemn either poverty or prosperity per se.
Poverty is no virtue, if it is circumstantial. It becomes so only if it is voluntary, for a greater good. This is how St Paul contextualizes it for the Corinthians, “You are well aware of the generosity which our Lord Jesus Christ had that, although he was rich, he became poor for your sake, so that you should become rich through his poverty” (2 Cor 8:9).
To this end he exhorts the Christians to follow in the Master’s footsteps for an equitable distribution and sharing of wealth; “There should be a fair balance – your surplus at present may fill their deficit, and another time, their surplus may fill your deficit, so there may be a fair balance as scripture says, No one who had collected more had too much, and no one who collected less had too little” (2 Cor 8:14-15).
The teachings of the Second Vatican Council echo those of scripture. Regarding evangelical (voluntary) poverty this is what it says. “Poverty, voluntarily embraced in imitation of Christ provides a witness which is highly esteemed … Religious ought to be poor in both fact and spirit … they should aim at giving a kind of corporate witness to their poverty … let them avoid every appearance of luxury, of excessive wealth, and accumulation of possessions” (PC 13). What was addressed to the Religious was also said to the secular clergy, “Priests are invited to embrace voluntary poverty. By it they will be more clearly likened to Christ, and become more devoted to the sacred ministry” (PO 17). Even the laity is exhorted to “be free from enslavement to wealth, they should aspire for those riches which remain forever … Following Jesus who was poor, they are neither depressed by the lack of temporal goods, nor puffed up by their abundance” (AA 4).
It is in this light that we need to see Pope Francis’ exhortation to be a church of the poor and for the poor (but certainly not to remain poor). He is leading by example, living in a two room guest house, using a small car that can hardly take his large frame, and exhorting priests and nuns to cycle. How many have followed his example is a moot point though.
Vatican II also addresses the question of socio-economic disparity. It says “Many in various places even make light of social laws and precepts, and do not hesitate to resort to various frauds and deceptions in avoiding just taxes or other debts to society” (GS 30). Further, “Human freedom is often crippled when a man falls into extreme poverty, just as it withers when he indulges in too many of life’s comforts and imprisons himself in a kind of splendid isolation” (GS 31).
It says that sometimes “Economic growth intensifies inequalities, resulting in a contempt for the poor” (GS 63); and continues that “Luxury and misery rub shoulders. While the few enjoy great freedom of choice, the many are deprived of almost all possibility … and often subsist in living and working conditions unworthy of human beings” (GS 63).
I would sum up this “debate” by saying that while evangelical poverty is a virtue, circumstantial poverty is a curse that needs to be eradicated. Obviously this is not possible without economic growth and development, including business and entrepreneurship, as promoted by the CCCI. As I said at the meet, “Making money is the easiest thing in the world. It depends on how you earn it, and how you spend it”.
It would be unjust of me to end this “debate” without a reference to Dr Crasta. He is a PhD in organic chemistry, and was earlier dealing in laboratory equipment. However, after the Kargil War of 1999, he felt the urge to upgrade his production to environment simulation products, where he simulates various high temperatures, pressure, humidity and other parameters. His research and development work has made 48 Defence Research Development Organisations, not just in India, but even in other countries, seek his technical expertise and products. They are used from high tech areas like missile technology to something as mundane as anti-corrosion for car doors.
With good people like Drs Jacob Crasta and Christy Fernandez around, and the CCCI supporting them, I am sure that we are firmly set on the path of poverty alleviation and universal prosperity.