The Lure Of Downward Mobility
Sermon
MONEY AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD
Can The Rich Be Righteous; Can The Righteous Be Rich?
I first heard him speak some years ago at the Beecher Lectures at Yale Divinity School. More recently I heard him at our United Church of Christ Ministers' Consultation. I had read some of his works over the years, and frankly was not too sure I wanted to listen to what he had to say.
And what he had to say was this: the Christian, the devoted Christian, is called to a life of "downward mobility." To be a faithful disciple of Christ one must, said this disturbing speaker, give up the obsession with "upward mobility" for the calling toward "downward mobility." The faithful Christian will be more concerned with service than success, more devoted to empowering others than empowering oneself, more determined to raise the living standards of the many at the expense of the few, than to raise the living standards of the few at the expense of the many.
The speaker was none other than Father Henri Nouwen, priest and professor in the Roman Catholic Church. He had devoted his life to intense spiritual discipline and to unselfish service of the poor and desperate. So he stood before the crowd at Yale - themselves the archtypes of the upwardly mobile in a university which often holds the key to upward mobility - boldly advising us we should be obsessed with the other direction, with downward mobility.
To my surprise, the well--dressed, well--educated, reasonably successful, upwardly mobile crowd at Yale stood and applauded. Not only did I doubt the crowd's sincerity as they departed in their automobiles of outward and upward mobility to their hotels and homes accessible only to the upwardly mobile, I doubted few of them would actually change directions from upward to downward.
In many ways Father Nouwen's words seemed, well, un--American. What on earth did he think we Americans were working for anyway? Why had our immigrant parents worked so hard and sacrificed so much if it was not to give us a better life than they had? Their parents and grandparents had been going nowhere as peasants and serfs in Europe. They came to America, the land of opportunity, to overcome their inadequate background, to make a home for themselves, and to gain their fortune, or at least prepare their children for theirs.
Did you say we should give attention to the lure of downward mobility, Father Nouwen? No, thanks, we Americans, at least those of us on the fast track, are entranced by the lure of upward mobility. As soon as we are able, we are up and out of the ghetto, thank you; and if all goes well, we hope to leave most of the others in our dust.
James and John and the other disciples had similar thoughts. They had joined Jesus's campaign, increasingly confident he was going to be the glorious new ruler of Israel. If for years they had been paying tribute and taxes to the Romans, enduring their brutality and brusqueness, James and John and the others longed for the day when the tables would be turned, and the Romans would eat their dust, wait on their tables, and support them with taxes, tributes, and service. Did you say downward mobility, Jesus? No, thanks. We have in mind upward mobility. We've had centuries of the downward stuff. It's onward and upward to victory for us.
And yet there they are, these troubling words of Jesus' we usually gag on - "He who would be great among you, must be your servant, and he who would be first, must be slave of all, for the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve." Jesus asks us to consider the lure of downward mobility.
I.
It is ironic to note that the lure of downward mobility often leads to success in business.
It was the custom of the nobility in medieval Europe as well of the nobility of the ancient East and Near East to have the masses of peasants serve them. Land, which was the basis of wealth, was owned by the nobility and royalty and sometimes by the Church. Peasants and serfs farmed the land, tended the flocks, cultivated the vineyards and orchards, and conducted the harvests for a pittance of the produce and profits.
But strangely and ironically, it was the economic policy of "downward mobility" in this country which made available large amounts of land to our impoverished ancestors. By purposefully putting the land or the wealth in the hands of the poor, the poor became relatively well--to--do, rising to a large middle--class to form the backbone of the nation.
Consider the effects of industrialization. Henry Ford was famous for his assembly line production of his Model--T Ford, which brought the price of cars down within the reach of more and more people. But that was not enough. He then introduced the unheard of wage of $5 a day - think of it, $25 a week for the assembly line working man. Now, irony of ironies, the very men that assembled the Model--T Fords could afford to buy them. By moving the product downward in cost so as to be accessible and serviceable to more and more people, Ford, his executives, and stockholders became wealthier and wealthier.
Many will recall the complaint of well--to--do Pennsylvania farmers about the blotches of black, sticky liquid oozing into their streams and ponds. But it was John D. Rockefeller and others who saw not ugly blotches, but "acres of diamonds" in the oil deposits. As more and more people could afford to drive Henry Ford's cars, more and more people could afford Rockefeller's gas and oil from his Standard Oil Company to run them.
"Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door to buy it" - so goes the well--worn clich of the business world. Except the mousetrap today can be anything from a computer to copier to fax machine to cellular telephone to soap.
And speaking of soap, that reminds me of two men who made it big in soap. Richard Devos and Jay VanAndel failed in a couple of their business ventures. But working out of their garage in Grand Rapids, Michigan, they soon grew their Amway Corporation into a multibillion dollar business, selling as they said, a better laundry soap and other products for the everyday housewife. Now these two devout Christian Reformed Dutchmen are among America's richest. Once servant to all, they became masters of many.
Bill Gates is well--known as the founder of Microsoft and as America's wealthiest man, worth $38 to $40 billion. As companies go, Microsoft pays rather poorly except in stock options. Employees are invited to participate in the wealth by buying the stock. The downward mobility of the stock options plan democratized the potential wealth and ironically shot thousands of employees into an upwardly mobile trajectory of affluence.
Various other computer related, Silicon Valley companies are doing the same. Their downward mobile option plans to enable the rank and file to participate in the potential growth has made thousands millionaires overnight. In fact, it is estimated that each week in Silicon Valley, there are several new millionaires created.
Consider another economic venture in downward mobility. Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank had been fired from their jobs at a West Coast hardware chain. But they had a vision for a warehouse--size home improvement store. Starting with peanuts, they launched Home Depot in 1981, so that in 1996 it had nearly $1 billion in profits. One thousand dollars invested in 1982 was worth $152,000 in 1997.
Marcus and Blank are now very wealthy but so are thousands more working for Home Depot. Early on they told the employees, "If we can make it, you're going to get the rewards." So they offered stock options all the way down the ranks to spawn as many as 1,000 millionaires, and many other prideful employees who are well--to--do. It was a policy of wealth with downward mobility.
Other economies are catching on. Asian countries have realized that in order to gain wealth, people have to have jobs to earn money to buy products. An expanding economy cannot be sustained on the income of peasants and serfs. Ironically, in a paraphrase of Jesus' words, it is the wealth that serves, that becomes foremost; the wealth that goes downward in the democratization of riches ironically elevates the once economically last to be economically first.
Companies concerned only to amass wealth without service, corporations determined to squeeze the poor guy for the sake of the rich, businesses rewarding executives without relation to their productivity and service for the greater good - all such enterprises haven't gotten the message. Ironically, the way up is the way downward - downward to serve more and more people with better products and services.
II.
If, ironically, success is part of the lure of downward mobility, so is compassion. Many people of the world have neither the time nor the opportunity for the seeds for economic growth to bear fruit. They need help, and they need it right now.
We turn once again to Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank of Home Depot. Both men - Blank worth $600 million and Marcus worth $1.1 billion - plan to give most of their wealth to foundations rather than to family. Marcus wants to help severely handicapped children and Blank wants to sponsor programs helping women improve their self--esteem. They know that downward mobility is more than investment opportunity. It is also the opportunity for compassion - helping the helpless and serving those who just cannot get ahead because of inadequate abilities or opportunities or education or background.
Another example of wealth going downward is George Soros - the financial wizard worth $3.5 billion at this writing. Soros was the son of a Hungarian Jewish lawyer. Soros' father shrewdly arranged for their escape when the Nazis invaded Hungary in 1944, and started killing all the Jews they could find. Adoring his father, Soros later said of him, "I learned the art of survival from a grand master. That has had a certain relevance to my investment career." Then he also learned from a London professor and philosopher, Karl Popper, the principle of reflexivity. Eventually Soros learned the obscure discipline of arbitrage and trading in world currencies. So if in 1969, you had invested $100,000 in his Quantum Fund, you would be worth, in 1997, $300 million.
By 1970, Soros was very rich, but very unhappy and entirely unfulfilled. He and his children became alienated, he lost money, and then underwent a serious change in personality. Therapy helped, but he decided philanthropy was the cure.
So he helped countries with millions of dollars, sometimes surpassing the U.S. government's economic aid. He gave Russia $24 million, Hungary $16 million, and so on. $360 million has gone to projects all over the world. Inside our country he has given $50 million to the Emma Lazarus Fund to help legal aliens, $15 million for his controversial drug policy reform, and so on.
Soros' friend, Mr. Wien, says of him, "You must understand he thinks he's been anointed by God to solve unsolved problems. The proof is that he has been so successful at making so much. He therefore thinks he has the responsibility to give money away." While not all will agree with Soros' philanthropies, few can deny he is an extremely generous man extremely devoted to making a better life for millions of people. He's got it right. It's the downward mobility of compassion.
In our text, James and John and the others seemed to have in mind an upward mobility that would enable them to become wealthy at the expense of others and to lord it over others, keeping them in subjection just as the Romans had done to them.
But Jesus advised them he came to break the age--old pattern of oppression and exploitation. Strangely and ironically, the Son of God himself comes to serve rather than be served. And in a symbolic act of downward mobility at the Last Supper, the Master kneels before his disciples to wash their feet.
So it is, the Son of God invites us to consider the lure of downward mobility. He invites business people, economists, financiers, corporations, and entrepreneurs not to devise ways of making people poor at their expense, but to devise ways for wealth to go downward to be shared more equitably. There is no virtue in selling everything to make everyone poor. Instead, wealth should serve "downward" to make everyone "rich."
So it is, the Son of God invites educators to the lure of downward mobility in sharing knowledge; medical people in the lure of downward mobility to share health and healing; politicians and governments in the lure of downward mobility to share power and leadership; and all people with whatever money or talents or means to send it downward in investment and compassion and service. We all have something to give in compassion and service.
It's a strange thing - this lure of downward mobility - repulsive at first, but alluring at last. Irony of ironies, the servant becomes master and the last becomes first.
(I am indebted to the following special sources: Newsweek, August 4, 1997, and September 29, 1997; Forbes Magazine, 1997 Forbes 400 edition; and Time, September 1, 1997.)
Prayer
Almighty God, Creator of the universe who moves the stars along and who, in the far reaches of the universe, allows galaxies to collide and new stars and solar systems to form; as humble creatures of time and sense, we bow in worship in the presence of your eternal majesty and power. As the sailor says of his boat and the sea, so we say of our lives and your universe, we are so small, and you are so great. We adore you.
We give thanks, Almighty God, that you have not chosen to address us primarily with magisterial power, but have come to us gently, humbly even, speaking to us kindly through the vulnerability of the Babe of Bethlehem and the suffering of the Man on the Cross. Ever patient and forbearing, you draw us to yourself as the Good Shepherd seeking the lost sheep or as the loving Father earnestly waiting for the son or daughter to come to himself or herself and return home. Even though all the power of the universe resides in you, you stop to nurture us with tender hands and heart as you shape the tiniest, most delicate flower. We praise you.
You have asked us to make known our requests, so we pray you will look first into the deep longings within, lying too deep for words - these inward desires and hopes and pains which need your divine wisdom and loving solutions. Be pleased to help us also in our thoughtfulness of others. We confess how easy it is to be completely self--centered, to gaze, like Narcissus, always at our own reflection, to be absorbed in our own needs and goals and aches and pains and problems. Grant us strength and the disposition of mind and heart to seek also the good of others. Make us sensitive and helpful to the needs of our family - our parents, our children, our siblings. And for those less fortunate than ourselves, and for the orphans and the neglected and the abused, we pray ways of healing and helpfulness.
Grant us, O God, the strength and compassion to imitate our Lord who came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
And what he had to say was this: the Christian, the devoted Christian, is called to a life of "downward mobility." To be a faithful disciple of Christ one must, said this disturbing speaker, give up the obsession with "upward mobility" for the calling toward "downward mobility." The faithful Christian will be more concerned with service than success, more devoted to empowering others than empowering oneself, more determined to raise the living standards of the many at the expense of the few, than to raise the living standards of the few at the expense of the many.
The speaker was none other than Father Henri Nouwen, priest and professor in the Roman Catholic Church. He had devoted his life to intense spiritual discipline and to unselfish service of the poor and desperate. So he stood before the crowd at Yale - themselves the archtypes of the upwardly mobile in a university which often holds the key to upward mobility - boldly advising us we should be obsessed with the other direction, with downward mobility.
To my surprise, the well--dressed, well--educated, reasonably successful, upwardly mobile crowd at Yale stood and applauded. Not only did I doubt the crowd's sincerity as they departed in their automobiles of outward and upward mobility to their hotels and homes accessible only to the upwardly mobile, I doubted few of them would actually change directions from upward to downward.
In many ways Father Nouwen's words seemed, well, un--American. What on earth did he think we Americans were working for anyway? Why had our immigrant parents worked so hard and sacrificed so much if it was not to give us a better life than they had? Their parents and grandparents had been going nowhere as peasants and serfs in Europe. They came to America, the land of opportunity, to overcome their inadequate background, to make a home for themselves, and to gain their fortune, or at least prepare their children for theirs.
Did you say we should give attention to the lure of downward mobility, Father Nouwen? No, thanks, we Americans, at least those of us on the fast track, are entranced by the lure of upward mobility. As soon as we are able, we are up and out of the ghetto, thank you; and if all goes well, we hope to leave most of the others in our dust.
James and John and the other disciples had similar thoughts. They had joined Jesus's campaign, increasingly confident he was going to be the glorious new ruler of Israel. If for years they had been paying tribute and taxes to the Romans, enduring their brutality and brusqueness, James and John and the others longed for the day when the tables would be turned, and the Romans would eat their dust, wait on their tables, and support them with taxes, tributes, and service. Did you say downward mobility, Jesus? No, thanks. We have in mind upward mobility. We've had centuries of the downward stuff. It's onward and upward to victory for us.
And yet there they are, these troubling words of Jesus' we usually gag on - "He who would be great among you, must be your servant, and he who would be first, must be slave of all, for the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve." Jesus asks us to consider the lure of downward mobility.
I.
It is ironic to note that the lure of downward mobility often leads to success in business.
It was the custom of the nobility in medieval Europe as well of the nobility of the ancient East and Near East to have the masses of peasants serve them. Land, which was the basis of wealth, was owned by the nobility and royalty and sometimes by the Church. Peasants and serfs farmed the land, tended the flocks, cultivated the vineyards and orchards, and conducted the harvests for a pittance of the produce and profits.
But strangely and ironically, it was the economic policy of "downward mobility" in this country which made available large amounts of land to our impoverished ancestors. By purposefully putting the land or the wealth in the hands of the poor, the poor became relatively well--to--do, rising to a large middle--class to form the backbone of the nation.
Consider the effects of industrialization. Henry Ford was famous for his assembly line production of his Model--T Ford, which brought the price of cars down within the reach of more and more people. But that was not enough. He then introduced the unheard of wage of $5 a day - think of it, $25 a week for the assembly line working man. Now, irony of ironies, the very men that assembled the Model--T Fords could afford to buy them. By moving the product downward in cost so as to be accessible and serviceable to more and more people, Ford, his executives, and stockholders became wealthier and wealthier.
Many will recall the complaint of well--to--do Pennsylvania farmers about the blotches of black, sticky liquid oozing into their streams and ponds. But it was John D. Rockefeller and others who saw not ugly blotches, but "acres of diamonds" in the oil deposits. As more and more people could afford to drive Henry Ford's cars, more and more people could afford Rockefeller's gas and oil from his Standard Oil Company to run them.
"Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door to buy it" - so goes the well--worn clich of the business world. Except the mousetrap today can be anything from a computer to copier to fax machine to cellular telephone to soap.
And speaking of soap, that reminds me of two men who made it big in soap. Richard Devos and Jay VanAndel failed in a couple of their business ventures. But working out of their garage in Grand Rapids, Michigan, they soon grew their Amway Corporation into a multibillion dollar business, selling as they said, a better laundry soap and other products for the everyday housewife. Now these two devout Christian Reformed Dutchmen are among America's richest. Once servant to all, they became masters of many.
Bill Gates is well--known as the founder of Microsoft and as America's wealthiest man, worth $38 to $40 billion. As companies go, Microsoft pays rather poorly except in stock options. Employees are invited to participate in the wealth by buying the stock. The downward mobility of the stock options plan democratized the potential wealth and ironically shot thousands of employees into an upwardly mobile trajectory of affluence.
Various other computer related, Silicon Valley companies are doing the same. Their downward mobile option plans to enable the rank and file to participate in the potential growth has made thousands millionaires overnight. In fact, it is estimated that each week in Silicon Valley, there are several new millionaires created.
Consider another economic venture in downward mobility. Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank had been fired from their jobs at a West Coast hardware chain. But they had a vision for a warehouse--size home improvement store. Starting with peanuts, they launched Home Depot in 1981, so that in 1996 it had nearly $1 billion in profits. One thousand dollars invested in 1982 was worth $152,000 in 1997.
Marcus and Blank are now very wealthy but so are thousands more working for Home Depot. Early on they told the employees, "If we can make it, you're going to get the rewards." So they offered stock options all the way down the ranks to spawn as many as 1,000 millionaires, and many other prideful employees who are well--to--do. It was a policy of wealth with downward mobility.
Other economies are catching on. Asian countries have realized that in order to gain wealth, people have to have jobs to earn money to buy products. An expanding economy cannot be sustained on the income of peasants and serfs. Ironically, in a paraphrase of Jesus' words, it is the wealth that serves, that becomes foremost; the wealth that goes downward in the democratization of riches ironically elevates the once economically last to be economically first.
Companies concerned only to amass wealth without service, corporations determined to squeeze the poor guy for the sake of the rich, businesses rewarding executives without relation to their productivity and service for the greater good - all such enterprises haven't gotten the message. Ironically, the way up is the way downward - downward to serve more and more people with better products and services.
II.
If, ironically, success is part of the lure of downward mobility, so is compassion. Many people of the world have neither the time nor the opportunity for the seeds for economic growth to bear fruit. They need help, and they need it right now.
We turn once again to Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank of Home Depot. Both men - Blank worth $600 million and Marcus worth $1.1 billion - plan to give most of their wealth to foundations rather than to family. Marcus wants to help severely handicapped children and Blank wants to sponsor programs helping women improve their self--esteem. They know that downward mobility is more than investment opportunity. It is also the opportunity for compassion - helping the helpless and serving those who just cannot get ahead because of inadequate abilities or opportunities or education or background.
Another example of wealth going downward is George Soros - the financial wizard worth $3.5 billion at this writing. Soros was the son of a Hungarian Jewish lawyer. Soros' father shrewdly arranged for their escape when the Nazis invaded Hungary in 1944, and started killing all the Jews they could find. Adoring his father, Soros later said of him, "I learned the art of survival from a grand master. That has had a certain relevance to my investment career." Then he also learned from a London professor and philosopher, Karl Popper, the principle of reflexivity. Eventually Soros learned the obscure discipline of arbitrage and trading in world currencies. So if in 1969, you had invested $100,000 in his Quantum Fund, you would be worth, in 1997, $300 million.
By 1970, Soros was very rich, but very unhappy and entirely unfulfilled. He and his children became alienated, he lost money, and then underwent a serious change in personality. Therapy helped, but he decided philanthropy was the cure.
So he helped countries with millions of dollars, sometimes surpassing the U.S. government's economic aid. He gave Russia $24 million, Hungary $16 million, and so on. $360 million has gone to projects all over the world. Inside our country he has given $50 million to the Emma Lazarus Fund to help legal aliens, $15 million for his controversial drug policy reform, and so on.
Soros' friend, Mr. Wien, says of him, "You must understand he thinks he's been anointed by God to solve unsolved problems. The proof is that he has been so successful at making so much. He therefore thinks he has the responsibility to give money away." While not all will agree with Soros' philanthropies, few can deny he is an extremely generous man extremely devoted to making a better life for millions of people. He's got it right. It's the downward mobility of compassion.
In our text, James and John and the others seemed to have in mind an upward mobility that would enable them to become wealthy at the expense of others and to lord it over others, keeping them in subjection just as the Romans had done to them.
But Jesus advised them he came to break the age--old pattern of oppression and exploitation. Strangely and ironically, the Son of God himself comes to serve rather than be served. And in a symbolic act of downward mobility at the Last Supper, the Master kneels before his disciples to wash their feet.
So it is, the Son of God invites us to consider the lure of downward mobility. He invites business people, economists, financiers, corporations, and entrepreneurs not to devise ways of making people poor at their expense, but to devise ways for wealth to go downward to be shared more equitably. There is no virtue in selling everything to make everyone poor. Instead, wealth should serve "downward" to make everyone "rich."
So it is, the Son of God invites educators to the lure of downward mobility in sharing knowledge; medical people in the lure of downward mobility to share health and healing; politicians and governments in the lure of downward mobility to share power and leadership; and all people with whatever money or talents or means to send it downward in investment and compassion and service. We all have something to give in compassion and service.
It's a strange thing - this lure of downward mobility - repulsive at first, but alluring at last. Irony of ironies, the servant becomes master and the last becomes first.
(I am indebted to the following special sources: Newsweek, August 4, 1997, and September 29, 1997; Forbes Magazine, 1997 Forbes 400 edition; and Time, September 1, 1997.)
Prayer
Almighty God, Creator of the universe who moves the stars along and who, in the far reaches of the universe, allows galaxies to collide and new stars and solar systems to form; as humble creatures of time and sense, we bow in worship in the presence of your eternal majesty and power. As the sailor says of his boat and the sea, so we say of our lives and your universe, we are so small, and you are so great. We adore you.
We give thanks, Almighty God, that you have not chosen to address us primarily with magisterial power, but have come to us gently, humbly even, speaking to us kindly through the vulnerability of the Babe of Bethlehem and the suffering of the Man on the Cross. Ever patient and forbearing, you draw us to yourself as the Good Shepherd seeking the lost sheep or as the loving Father earnestly waiting for the son or daughter to come to himself or herself and return home. Even though all the power of the universe resides in you, you stop to nurture us with tender hands and heart as you shape the tiniest, most delicate flower. We praise you.
You have asked us to make known our requests, so we pray you will look first into the deep longings within, lying too deep for words - these inward desires and hopes and pains which need your divine wisdom and loving solutions. Be pleased to help us also in our thoughtfulness of others. We confess how easy it is to be completely self--centered, to gaze, like Narcissus, always at our own reflection, to be absorbed in our own needs and goals and aches and pains and problems. Grant us strength and the disposition of mind and heart to seek also the good of others. Make us sensitive and helpful to the needs of our family - our parents, our children, our siblings. And for those less fortunate than ourselves, and for the orphans and the neglected and the abused, we pray ways of healing and helpfulness.
Grant us, O God, the strength and compassion to imitate our Lord who came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
