“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

On July 10th, a seven-part documentary by filmmaker Nathan Appfel is being released. It centers on the “business” of religion, and is indeed entitled “The Religion Business”. Religion, including some forms of Christianity, is big money. This is so ironic, considering the man we say we follow, Jesus Christ, lived a very frugal life. Aren’t we supposed to imitate him?

When I became a Christian, I knew I was committing to a life of simplicity. That was okay by me. I grew up in a working-class family, so this was no big change for me. My husband and I had advanced degrees from prestigious institutions, so yes, we could have made a lot of money, but we felt called to devote our lives to service. No one forced us.

I always understood that working for the ministry meant you lived a frugal life. Not poor, just frugal. In fact, most ministers I know live this way. Many struggle to make ends meet. But not all. And that is where the business of religion comes in.

I have always been puzzled by the wealth I saw some ministers accumulate. After years of service, they retire owning multiple homes. That did not compute with me. How could that happen? Or they would vacation in fancy places. Or they would have side businesses. Where did they find the time? I suppose I have been so naive.

Of course, sometimes, ministers have inherited family wealth, and if they use that to live well, that is a different matter. The issue is when church funds have been used to enrich shepherds of the flock.

It is really disheartening when the members of the church are called to sacrifice, even manipulated and coerced sometimes, and ministers live in luxury. Again, that is not the majority of ministers, but those who do really live large. To me, it is wrong. I have sat with ministers whose whole conversation revolves around making money. This reflects badly on the church at large.

Recently, so many scandals have been exposed in the religious world. Interestingly, sex and money seem to go hand in hand. Moral corruption covers both. After I wrote a post on “When the Cover Up Gets Exposed” a few days ago, I received so many messages from people who provided further information, and much of it centered around financial issues. I guess I am still naive, but my jaw hit the floor.

Here I am in Nepal, and my minister rides around on a scooter, as he is not able to afford a car on his salary, so my world is far removed from the stories I hear. Profiting from the church is immoral and wrong. Churches are not known for transparency, and this is so not in step with Jesus.

Obviously, we want our ministers to live without having to worry about paying bills, but we should have the decency to live a simple life. And the money people give at church should go to the purpose intended. When church members give money for “missions”, it should go to missions, not to expensive meals and fancy hotels, or God forbid, sports season tickets (yes, this story came to me from a reliable source this week). When people give to the poor, it should go to the poor, not to other things. Or if it does, it should at least be transparent, and then people can make informed decisions about where to give their money.

Churches and non-profits can be a den of corruption. They can also be a beautiful reflection of the life Jesus modeled. So which will it be? And if we see wrongdoing, will we speak up?