What Lindsay Lohan and Destructive Maga-Corporations Have in Common

There is a really good article at Al Jazeera about how the some of the world's largest corporations are guilty of destroying the eco-system. In other words, as Chip Ward argues, nature is part of the 99%

Here is the article.

Early this week, Lindsay Lohan was arrested and kept in jail for a whopping 4 1/2 hours. Eventually she was released because of overcrowding in the jail.

Here is an article about Lohan.

It doesn't seem like either Lohan or Ward's article have much in common. One deals with the destruction of the earth and the other deals with a girl who gets her own way and repeatedly shrugs off responsibility.

Ironically though, after some reflection, it is clear to me that Lohan and destructive mega-corporations have ONE major thing in common--both operate under a system that rejects that "The earth is the Yahweh's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein."
As Christopher Wright argues in his massive book Old Testament Ethics for the People of God, almost all, if not all, of Israel's ethics flowed from the fact that the whole earth belongs to God. When the prophets indict Israel, they remind them that their lack of justice is a reflection that they do not value what Yahweh values--a horrific sin since the world is Yahweh's.

Exodus 19:5 likewise sets down this standard--God desires to reach the nations since the whole world is His. Israel was called to reflect Yahweh to the nations--because they are Yahweh's!

So the sin of the me mega-corporation that exploits the poor and rapes the earth is the same sin as Lohan who lives as if she is the center of the world and free of justice. Both live as if the earth is not Yahweh's.

Which leads to an even more troubling discovery--often within the church itself this mindset is apparent. I recently attended the North Carolina Baptist State Convention and encountered way too many prideful pastors. The air was thick with ego. They too are guilty of the same sin as Lohan and the mega corporations--they forget that their pastorate and the size of the church is NOT their doing but depends on the fact that the earth is the Lord's.

Which leads to me. Do I not at times freak out about problems? Do I at times not worship God fully? Do I not get prideful? Do I not rely on self-righteousness? Yeah...all of the time. All of the time I forget that the earth is the Lord's.

Which perhaps means that Lindsay Lohan, destroyers of the earth and pastors like myself have more in common than we might think.




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