Gimme Mine

On another blog recently, a conservative writer argued against the notion of providing health care for all Americans. His argument was that to do so would require him to have to pay for not only his health care, but his neighbors as well. He took moral umbrage at this idea.

This reminded me of another song by Mark Heard, Gimme Mine:

GIMME MINE
by Mark Heard

Ever since I was a young boy
I wondered what to be
Watching all the grownups shaking on the money tree
You know that everybody's got their places
Everyone fits just fine: all except me, Lord
Now when You gonna gimme mine?

All across the nation (everywhere) people do their things (pulling their hair)
Pushing on buttons and pulling on different strings
You know that everybody's got their places
Everyone fits just fine: all except me, Lord
Now when You gonna gimme mine?

Now when You gonna gimme importance?
When You gonna gimme wealth?
When You gonna make me like everybody else?

I got to get me a high position, got to get me a Cadillac
Got to get me a raise, I got to get me a heart attack
You know that everybody's got their places
Everyone fits just fine all except me, Lord
Now when You gonna gimme mine?

Oooh working at the Neiman Marcus, working at the five and dime
Got to have the money gonna make it in the nick of time
You know that everybody's got their places
Everyone fits just fine all except me, Lord
Now when You gonna gimme mine?

From Eye of the Storm and Fingerprint. With thanks to the Mark Heard Lyric Project

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Notice how this song is contrary to the "Gospel of Wealth" that is getting preached to so many Christians today. It is all about the notion that financial success is tied to piety. It says that people are not poor due to some moral failure.

But it was Jesus himself that told the rich young ruler to give away all his wealth. The Gospel of Wealth is a Capitalist construct, not a Christian one. It is pretty unique to our culture. Hoarding of resources is more of a greedy concept than a Christian one; so why are so many Christian leaders pushing it as moral?