It’s amazing that for some reason a significant swath of Americans believe that capitalism and Christianity are somehow compatible. This would seem to strongly suggest that people don’t seem to understand well what Christianity means, and probably don’t understand well what capitalism represents, because for certain they should be at loggerheads, and to believe differently, is incorrect.
The first thing to recognize about Christianity is that it is not a self-centered materialistic religion. In other words, the Bible clearly makes the point that we are to share things in common, though we are under no compulsion to do so, and that wealth, rather than being seen as something that signifies how blessed that we are, would be more appropriately seen as something that makes many a person stumble for none of us can serve two masters, and those that are serving mammon are the same that are not serving Christ.
So too, when we look at Christ, we need to remember that Christ owned nothing material and did not desire to have riches, but rather made it His point to care for the downtrodden, the vulnerable, sinners, common laborers, and those that were, because of their position, such as tax collectors, out of favor with the people. While Christ did not begrudge those that were rich, He made it clear, that the rich while having the best of it here on earth, would find it problematic to obtain the kingdom of Heaven, because quite frankly, we are, in essence, what we spend our time doing and obtaining, and those that are after lucre, are the same that aren’t at their heart, faithful to the tenets of God and have failed to paid their dues to what Christianity truly represents.
While capitalism preaches the value that those that put their nose to the grindstone are fairly entitled to the profits so generated, the fact of the matter is, that those that are exclusively fixated on making money are the same that are going to frequently try or be tempted to tilt the playing field to their favor, because capitalism as it is played, encourages those at the highest level, to seek ever more profit, not just for their own benefit, but also as what they supposedly rightly owe to their investors and executive officers, which puts money at the forefront, leaving charity to be something basically akin to paying off society in a way and manner that it appears that capitalists are doing their fair part in giving back to their community.
Each of us has a calling in life, and those that find their calling to be the accouterments of material success will find that capitalism at its best, can fulfill that well on a personal level, but as in anything, because of the free choices that we have made, there is a consequence for those choices, so those that have it all in their monetary favor in this world, by prioritizing financial success over religious faithfulness, may believe that their subsequent donations and charitable acts will do them right in the skeins of time, but they must surely understand that when judgment comes, they will be seen as receiving credit for having heard the Word but paltry in their bearing of fruit.