Dionysus on a Bike

Proverbs 11:23-30 – 7/15/2026

Do not hoard wealth. If you have excess, let others who are in need have access to your surplus. Storing riches is contrary to the commands of scripture, and it prevents true community from forming. When one has much and their neighbor has little, there is bound to be strife and misgiving, mistrust and animosity. Withholding one’s surplus increases the suffering in the world needlessly. There is no excuse.

As a leftist Christian, I am often told that various aspects of my belief system and faith are heretical and non-biblical, that I twist Scripture to fit my (ungodly) values. What strikes me ironic and noteworthy about this charge that others throw at me is that virtually no “biblical” conservative Christian I have met follows or believes in the Bible’s teachings about wealth. I will be charged with “grave sin” for accepting the love and relationships of queer people with verses in Romans and Leviticus cited as evidence for my apostasy, but those same Christians will straight up ignore the passages throughout scripture that condemn hoarding wealth and command showing generosity to those in need.

No one can be completely “Biblical.” Between the contradictions across various others and books, the fact that there is much scripture where interpretation is under-determined, and the fact that we have to transpose ancient values and ideas onto a quite different modern context, the ideal of living completely biblically is an impossible illusion. When it comes to wealth however, Scripture is unambiguous even as its teachings may be hard for some. Amassing wealth without giving it those in the most need is contrary to the commands of God and to the good of all people. It is impossible to love people and to amass great wealth.

Revised Common Lectionary Readings for 7/15/2026:
Proverbs 11:23-30
Matthew 13:10-17
Psalm 92

Reflections of a Dionysian Lutheran, comments on the daily readings of the Revised Common Lectionary by Justin Marquis