The Fear and Greed Index
A Meditation by Rev. Cameron Trimble
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”— Matthew 6:21
There is a common lie we tell in most countries around the world—that greed is simply ambition, that markets are neutral, and that wealth is a sign of virtue. But scripture disagrees. In the Christian New Testament, the Apostle Paul calls greed what it really is: idolatry.
Today, greed is not just a personal vice. It has become the organizing principle of our economy. The passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill has made this painfully clear. The law enables the largest transfer of wealth in modern U.S. history from the poor and working class to the ultra-wealthy. It slashes Medicaid, food assistance, and housing support. It removes environmental protections. It pours over $170 billion into immigration enforcement—building detention centers across the country and creating what some experts now call the largest domestic law enforcement apparatus in U.S. history, reporting directly to the executive branch.
This is not accidental policy. It is a worldview with theological consequences.
The late biblical scholar and theologian, Dr. Walter Brueggemann, taught that greed is a violation of neighborly relationships, a refusal of covenantal obligation, and a repudiation of divine generosity.1 It is not simply an unfortunate trait. Greed is a deliberate rejection of God’s vision for life together.
In the biblical tradition, the economy was never meant to be separate from morality. God gave laws to ensure fair distribution, to cancel debts, to protect the vulnerable, and to remind people that the land and all its resources ultimately belong to God, not to private owners. The Sabbath and Jubilee systems were designed to interrupt the concentration of wealth and power. But in our society, we have abandoned those constraints. We have replaced covenant with consumption. The result is a system that rewards exploitation, punishes the poor, and treats human beings as expendable.
What we’re seeing now is not just economic inequality—it is spiritual dislocation. Greed demands that we view other people not as neighbors, but as obstacles or tools. It trains us to accumulate without regard for consequence. It severs our sense of responsibility to the common good.
The CNN.com Fear & Greed Index, now registering the US economy at “Extreme Greed,” may seem like a financial curiosity.2 But it is a symptom of something deeper. It tells the truth we don’t want to face: our nation, our world, is being driven by a destructive energy that prioritizes profit over people. We are worshipping the wrong god.
Brueggemann reminds us that in Pharaoh’s Egypt, this same pattern played out: control of labor, concentration of wealth, and disregard for life. In every age, the prophets are sent to speak against it, to remind us that enough is enough, that God’s abundance is meant to be shared.
In a time when cruelty is policy and greed is law, faithfulness requires more than personal charity. It demands collective resistance. It calls us to expose the lies we’ve been taught about success, security, and scarcity. It urges us to build new economic relationships rooted in dignity, mutual care, and justice.
We cannot follow the Sacred and serve Mammon. We must choose.
We are in this together,
Cameron
Reflection Questions
Where in your life have you been taught to equate wealth with worth?
How has greed shaped your understanding of what is “enough”?
What would it mean to join others in resisting an economy that harms the poor?
A Prayer for the Day
For Eyes to See and Courage to Act
God of justice, We live in a world where greed is no longer hidden. It is praised, rewarded, legalized. We confess that we have often remained silent. We have accepted this system as normal. We have forgotten your commands to care for the widow, the orphan, and the stranger. Give us eyes to see the harm being done. Give us strength to tell the truth. Give us courage to act. May we not look away. May we not grow numb. May we remember who we are—and whose we are. Amen.
Spiritual Practice
Practice Economic Imagination
Set aside 15 minutes today to reflect on the economy of your own life—not just your finances, but your relational and spiritual exchanges. Ask yourself:
What am I accumulating, and why?
Where am I spending that reflects my values?
Who benefits from the choices I make?
Then, make one small shift toward generosity. It may be material—a donation, a gift, a paid debt. Or it may be relational—a gesture of time, attention, or care.
The alternative to extreme greed is not austerity. It is communion.
Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…
SOLD OUT!!! July 20-25, 2025 - The Art of Wilding: A 5-Day Expedition in Wyoming for Women Leaders. Click here to learn more in case you want to come next year!
REGISTRATION OPEN! August 11, 2025, 2pm ET - Dr. Andrew Root and I will be hosting a 6 part series on Spirituality in the Secular Age based on his research. The dates are August 11, 18, September 8, 15, and October 6, 13. Register here!
September 4, 4:30pm ET - I will be collaborating with the Anderson Forum for Progressive Theology to host a conversation with Thomas Jay Oord on Open and Relational theology. It’s a FREE event. Register here.
October 15-18, 2025 - Converging 2025: Sing Truth Conference (all musicians invited!) at Northwest Christian Church in Columbus, OH. Register here!
I drafted a Strategic Framework for Congregations as we move into the coming years of increased authoritarianism around the world. If interested, you can download it here.
If you are a leader or member of a congregation looking for consulting support in visioning, planning, hiring or staffing, please consider Convergence.
https://churchanew.org/brueggemann/greed-which-is-idolatry
https://www.cnn.com/markets/fear-and-greed
When Moses came down from the mountain with his tablets of the law for healthy community he was shocked to see his people worshipping their newly minted golden calf. Nothing has changed. Trump and his cohorts, local and global, are designing and celebrating a faux golden dome and faux trinket money.
As always, Cameron, thank you for these words and for causing me to reflect and ask questions worth asking of myself. Yes! And a heart recommendation to all: check out The Soul of Money, by Lynne Twist — it’s core message is a counter to greed; she teaches the gospel of sufficiency, the declaration that who we are and what we have is enough.