Jesus Didn’t Come to Make You Rich
Looking out your window, C Dm (verse 1 slow)
ICE men coming round. Em Dm
Getting what you voted for, C Am
In your home town. Gm7 C7
You said you wanted just to F Fm6
Keep your taxes down, C C/B Am Am/G
And making sure to get your D7
Heavenly crown. G G7
But just a little problem, F Fm
A tiny little hitch: C -Bb- A7
Jesus didn’t come Dm G7
To make you rich. C G7
I know heaven’s on your side, (up tempo)
It’s on your license plate.
But I get heartburn when I
Hear the hate.
You’ll be the first in line
At that pearly gate.
And everybody else is
Second rate.
But if the last are gonna be the first,
The first will be too late.
Jesus didn’t come
To make you great. C C7
And I listened to the preacher, but I didn’t hear him say F G Cmaj7/6
Loving your neighbor means to send ’em all away Dm G C C7
Helping out the homeless and the hungry and the blind F Fm C Am
Maybe canceling their health care isn’t what He had in mind. D7 G7
And that’s the way I see it, just a tiny little hitch: F G C -Bb- A7
Jesus didn’t come to make you rich. Dm G7 C
So if you get the fantasy,
Rolling through the land
Be sure a bible is in
Everybody’s hand.
You’ve been telling me they need it,
Just don’t you let them read it.
Might not be turning out
The way you planned.
And that’s just the way I see it,
One tiny little hitch:
Jesus didn’t come to make you rich Dm G7 C Bb A7
Jesus didn’t come to make you rich Dm G C
©Doug Hendren 2025
What’s it about? One of the most jarring contradictions of the present historical moment is the passionate alignment of the “Christian nationalism” movement in the United States with the Trump administration and its policies, derived primarily from the “Project 2025” blueprint. Christian nationalism, which includes Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and US Supreme Court justice Samuel Alito, is not a religion. It is a political movement. The goal is political power at any cost, including violence and insurrection. Many scholars have examined the origins and history of Christian nationalism (see below).
I was brought up in the Protestant Episcopal tradition, which included reading the Bible. Even a cursory familiarity shows numerous themes of speaking truth to power, caring for the poor, feeding the hungry, and a strong, consistent theme of social justice running throughout. Memorable passages include (Matthew 20:16) “The last shall be first, and the first last.” The expression to “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Galatians 5:14) is one of the most powerful and well-known commands in all Christian scripture.
In stark contrast to traditional Christian values, the Trump administration is “where empathy goes to die.” In a widely reported interview, Elon Musk cited empathy as “the fundamental weakness of western civilization. Other conservative voices have echoed similar sentiments.
The Bible has quite a lot to say about immigrants and refugees, none of which would condone the aggression and cruelty displayed daily by the Trump regime.
With so many glaring contradictions, how do millions of self-identified “Christians” support such flagrantly anti-Christian policies and behavior? Apparently, the answer is simple. It’s not Christianity at all. It’s simply about power. These are the “wolves in sheep’s clothing” Jesus warns about in the Sermon on the Mount. These people are precisely the reason the Founding Fathers established a clear separation between Church and State, in order to advance freedom for everyone.
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Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation, by Kristin Kobes Du Mez (2021).
The Violent Take It by Force: The Christian Movement That is Threatening Democracy, by Matthew D. Taylor (2024).
The Power Worshippers, by Katherine Stewart (2022); The Religious Right is waging a political war on the norms and institutions of American Democracy.
