Loot

“If you want to give it all you’ve got,” Jesus replied, “go sell your possessions; give everything to the poor. All your wealth will then be in heaven. Then come follow me.” – Matthew 19:21

In the TV show Loot, Maya Rudoph plays Molly Wells (no relation), a jilted tech billionaire’s wife who has been trying to find her way as a philanthropist post-divorce (really no relation), with hilarious, cringey results as she tries to stay rich while doing good.

Spoiler alert: in the series finale, she goes to a Davos-like conference for billionaires and, surprising herself, makes a life-altering mea culpa speech:

“We’ve heard a lot about magic water machines and robot houses. But these aren’t solutions. They’re distractions. I mean look at who’s on stage right now: me and two other billionaires. If you think about it, we’re probably the worst people to be talking about changing the world. Why would we want to change a system that lets us live like kings? That’s why we have these stupid conferences where all we do is talk to each other! If we stopped to listen to someone who isn’t in our bubble, they’d tell us that we are the problem.

“Billionaires shouldn’t exist. I shouldn’t exist! I’m grateful that I’ve gotten to know a few people who have been telling me this for a while now. And I think I’m finally starting to hear them.”

She then announces that she’s going to, carefully, with help, and probably screwing up along the way, give all her wealth away.

Loot was a guilty pleasure to watch for nine episodes—oh the self-care strategies! The helicopter rides over traffic! We could all be Molly Wells for a minute, sweet and accidentally very very rich. But it became a holy pleasure watching episode ten.

You and I are not billionaires. But most of us reading this devotional have an epic level of wealth compared to many others, and certainly compared to previous generations.

What will we do with what we’ve got?

Prayer
Loot me, Lord, for heaven’s sake.

About the Author
Rev. Molly Baskette is the lead pastor of First Church Berkeley UCC and the author of books about church renewal, parenting, spiritual growth and more. Sign up for her author newsletter or get information about her newest book at mollybaskette.com.