The money or the people, just how desparate are we?

Is it the money or the people? Simple question but deep at the same time, it is a question at the heart of every pastor and in the mind of every person in the pews. I sat in church this afternoon, and watched an announcement about a women’s conference, (No, I am not against women’s conferences, nor am I against women serving in leadership positions. I know the difference between eternal truths and cultural standards, shame; many who have been through theological training apparently have allowed prejudice and foolishness to cloud their judgment about such things, but I digress)…
The conference was not what caught my attention it was the fact that this conference while it is free, apparently to enjoy a meal at the conference is not… If you wish to eat at this conference it will cost you 35 dollars to enjoy a breakfast and a lunch. That is exactly 17.50 per meal. Now some would say that it is a reasonable cost and that those who want to attend and eat should have no problem paying the cost to do so. All things being equal I would agree with such sentiment however in 2010, all things are not equal… We live in a time of high unemployment, and people not having enough money it seems to pay their mortgages, people are losing their homes, and in some cases having to have to choose between eating and keeping a roof over their heads, in some cases the choice is much starker than that, choosing to eat, or getting medications to prolong their lives or to improve their quality of life. Here is my question, if we claim that we have this great treasure locked up in earthen vessels, why is it that we seem to have a bad habit of making people that we claim to help suffer in the name of the Lord, and yet be okay with it? Why is it that we place choices on the people of God that common sense would dictate that we dare not? I can tell you this, there will be people at this conference that will pay the money to eat and wind up 35 dollars short paying a bill. People are hungry, and yes people are desperate, and when we do things like this, we take advantage of their desperation. I wonder what it will take for us to not do that?