Piketty (20) Unrighteous Business

If a person works hard, and saves some of their earnings, their savings are righteous wealth. If they use their saving to buy assets that make them and other people productive, those assets are righteous wealth.

If a person starts a business that supplies goods and services that people need at a market price, without coercion, deception or manipulation, the retained earnings of the business are righteous wealth.

If the business relies on:

• limited liability laws,
• monopoly rights,
• government privilege,
• debt and inflation,
• exploitation of workers,
• cheating,
• coercion,
• theft,

it becomes unrighteous wealth.

Unfortunately, much modern wealth is unrighteous wealth. Christians should understand the difference.

Some Christians have inherited unrighteous wealth. It will blight their lives, because inheritance does not change its character.

There are only two ways to transform unrighteous wealth.

One is to give it away (preferably from those from whom it was taken, but that is not always possible.

The second is judgment (which is compulsory giving).