We know from experience that Scripture painfully confronts each of us in one or more areas of our lives. We do not feel that any of us is exempt from God’s judgment. Yet, nonetheless, we feel called to speak prophetically in this situation.
We have noted from the media that the Hearst family professes a belief in God and regularly attends church. On the one hand, we wish to express our compassion for the deep suffering that they are undergoing. But, on the other hand, given their professed belief, we feel it is necessary to ask: why have they not submitted to the Lordship of Christ in their lives in the matter of wealth? Why have they not done what Jesus commands them to do as one of his would-be wealthy followers--that is, give their riches to serve the poor?
Jesus said to the rich young man who came to Him seeking eternal life:
If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. (Matthew 19:21)
He went on to say to his disciples:
Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God...With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:23-26)
While Scripture protects the right to property as a means of securing the basic necessities of life, it explicitly condemns the excessive accumulation of wealth. Old Testament covenant law tried to accomplish a fairly equitable distribution of wealth by a number of radical provisions. First, the law legislated a yearly distribution of harvest surpluses (Deuteronomy 24:19-22) and a tri-annual tithe (Deuteronomy 26:12) to provide for those who were without property and therefore without a means of livelihood.
Secondly, the law tried to prevent the excessive accumulation of wealth by requiring a redistribution of property every fifty years; it stipulated that all property which had been sold out of necessity during the fifty year period revert back to the peasant families who originally owned it (Leviticus 25).
Thirdly, the law prohibited the use of human need as a means of enriching oneself. It not only explicitly forbade the taking of interest on a loan (Exodus 22:25)--a classic means of amassing a fortune--but also commanded the lending of surplus funds to those in need, loans which were automatically cancelled in seven years if not repaid (Deuteronomy 15:1-111).
The prophets condemned the Israelite upper classes both for their pious platitudes and for their use of legal subterfuges to get around the stringent demands of covenant law in order to enrich themselves. Isaiah says pointedly:
Woe to those who join house to house, who add field to field, until there is no more room...(Isaiah 5:8)
We do not condone the tactics of the SLA in kidnapping a 19 year old for the sins of her parents and in murdering Marcus Foster. Scripture condemns actions of this sort as well as economic exploitation. Nonetheless, we see God’s judgment in the kidnapping. So, similarly, the prophet Isaiah saw Assyria as an instrument of God’s judgment against Israel while at the same time condemning Assyria’s military attacks on Israel (Isaiah 10:15-19).
We feel that what has happened to Patty is, in large part, due to the sins of the upper class of which the Hearsts are a part. They are part of an unjust establishment which allows some to have millions and others to be on the brink of starvation, and which drives some of its young people to extreme acts in an attempt to redress the imbalance. We are sure to see other events of this kind unless our society changes.
We also affirm that each person is equally valuable in God’s sight. The many thousands of people who innocently suffer harm daily in this country deserve as much attention and sympathy as Patty Hearst.
We are praying that through this crisis the professing Christians among the rich can come to understand that the radical discipleship to which we, as Christians, are called is costly--and that other rich Americans will come to repentance on the same basis. Repentance means much more than merely feeling sorry; it means doing the will of the Father as it is made known to us in Scripture.
We are also urgently praying for Patty Hearst and for the members of the SLA.
Editor’s note: recent press reports indicate that Patricia Hearst has decided to stay and join the SLA. We will comment on this dramatic turn of events in the next issue of the Post American.
CWLF was founded in Berkeley in 1969. When this article appeared, it was one of the few groups to emerge from the Jesus movement with a commitment to radical discipleship. It fell within the Anabaptist stream of church tradition.
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