Occupy Wall Street? What’s the Real Solution?

The movement that started on Wall Street last month to protest the greed of the banks, the stock traders and the wealthy has been spreading across America. There’s a lot of blame to go around. But have these and other protesters across the political divide really pinpointed all the right targets?

The protesters gathering in New York and other cities have a lot of frustration and anger. Different protesters are angry about different things. Many people recognize there are fundamental things wrong with our society, but they aren’t really sure exactly what they all are or how to fix them.

Wall Street and the bankers are obvious targets as the epicenter of the financial crisis that seems to most Americans to have never left.

However, is it really just Wall Street? Does all evil and corruption begin and end there?

The Occupy Wall Street movement is just one manifestation of a general sense of dissatisfaction in the United States and other countries. The Tea Party is another manifestation of this disillusionment with the way things are going, but with a different target: big government.

Time magazine published a poll showing 81 percent of Americans feel things have “pretty seriously gotten onto the wrong track” (Oct. 24, 2011, p. 24). There’s agreement on that, but not much else. There are dozens of ideas of who is to blame, and most are partially correct. There is plenty of blame to go around. But have all the protesters missed a key cause of our world’s troubles?

The blame game

It is easy and common to point the finger at others and say they are the ones who are causing us problems. They are why our nation is faltering and floundering. This blame game has been going on through the ages, all the way back to Adam and Eve. Adam blamed Eve for partaking of the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and Eve blamed the serpent (Genesis 3:12-13). Yes, there was enough blame to go around. But the problem was that neither one admitted he or she was wrong and had sinned.

Hence life has marched on through time. Through the rising and falling of civilizations and empires, there has always been the pointing of the finger at others internally and externally.

We see it today in the Middle East, with the Palestinians and Israel and with the United States and Iran. We see it in Europe, in Asia and across the globe. It is easy to hear the pleasant things that we want to hear rather than having to deal with the bigger issues at hand, like our own part in the problem. As Isaiah wrote, people want to hear the smooth things, the easy things, but not the right things (Isaiah 30:10). We would rather hear lies than truth.

Actually, lies mingled with some truth are easier to take, because then we can believe it is someone else’s problem and not admit that we need to change ourselves.

There are major financial problems in the United States and other countries, and most of us can say we were never part of any administration, company or bank that spent recklessly. Some people do hold more blame in this particular problem than others.

Self-evaluation

But how about our own lives? In the area of finances, how do we spend and how do we teach our children about budgeting and money management? Does our spending and debt place burdens on other family members or other people? Have some of our decisions been based on greed and selfishness? Do we all need to have what the Joneses have?

God loves the poor and stands up for the oppressed. But He is not against the wealthy. There are also some great wealthy people who have worked harder, worked smarter and done some amazing things. Just because someone is wealthy does not automatically mean he is greedy. However, being greedy is a symptom of the real root problem. Greed is based on self.

Greed and selfishness

When we examine the selfishness inside all of us, we begin to see the many problems that lie within. Greed is a big one, but there is also lust, jealousy, hatred and the list could go on. All of the wrong and sinful acts we do, say and think are based on selfishness.

What are we going to do about them? Well, one of two things. We can pawn them off as someone else’s fault, like Adam and Eve did. Or we can be teachable enough to see our own faults and correct and change ourselves. Blaming someone else is not the real solution, nor will it bring about the real solution.

God’s solutions

One day when Jesus Christ returns—and He will—everyone will have a piece of the pie. As it says in Micah 4:4, “Everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid.” In other words, everyone will be given land to enjoy and to provide for his or her family. It will not be in the hands of just a few.

God’s system is one of giving and serving, not of greed and corruption. But today we have chosen man’s way over God’s. That does not mean we cannot try to be part of a solution, but it requires more effort than pointing fingers. By seeking first God’s Kingdom, we can be part of something that will produce concrete results.

So let’s occupy ourselves with a teachable attitude that can see our own faults and seek God’s help to correct them. By looking to God, we can find the real solutions that will lead to change for the betterment of ourselves, our families, our countries and our world.

Adam Sanders is a member of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association, and attends the Columbus/Cambridge, Ohio, congregation with his wife and four children.

See the previous blog post by Adam Sanders:

• Is Evil Becoming Normal?