What is the Christian view on wealth?

W

Wan

Hello. I have been thinking about what the proper view is on wealth, for a Christian.

I recall the verse that roughly goes, "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than it is for a rich man to go into heaven". Also, I have also read about how Jesus urged a man to give away his worldly possessions, in order to follow Him.

This makes me think. I mean, I am not greedy, I don't need to be rich. But, at the same time, I don't want to be poor, either. And I think it's not just me. This has real implications, because when we try to spread our message, and we tell unbelievers that they need to give away all their money in order to be a Christian, we would encounter a lot of resistance. I mean I can just see it happening.

So anyway, I am a bit torn on this subject. I would like to your thoughts on this. Thank you.
 
Wan said:
Hello. I have been thinking about what the proper view is on wealth, for a Christian.

I recall the verse that roughly goes, "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than it is for a rich man to go into heaven". Also, I have also read about how Jesus urged a man to give away his worldly possessions, in order to follow Him.

This makes me think. I mean, I am not greedy, I don't need to be rich. But, at the same time, I don't want to be poor, either. And I think it's not just me. This has real implications, because when we try to spread our message, and we tell unbelievers that they need to give away all their money in order to be a Christian, we would encounter a lot of resistance. I mean I can just see it happening.

So anyway, I am a bit torn on this subject. I would like to your thoughts on this. Thank you.
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As a pretty long time investor, and that I also help operate a stock group.
Its all how you are doing what you do. We teach people how to trade, we teach them how to be aware of fraud.
We teach that there is a honest way to invest and help others. I designed software that helps automate research for free
and can process over 10,000 stocks every 30 seconds. And I could easily be wealthy off the backs of those that would be willing to pay for
such tools and experience. But I would rather help people and help them find some peace and security.
And yes there is a catch. As I pray and thank God often in the group, so they know where my loyalty in this is.

Its not the money, its how you earn and use the money. I live pretty much debt free and that is because of investing.
However I stop there. I do not need a new car, I buy used pretty everything. Instead I use what I have to help others.
I am not saying having things is bad. But in God I am already wealthy beyond simple monetary gains.
I think we need to be humble in what we have.
In fact I seldom mention my independence from debt, because It means very little other then security why I am among the living.
And there is peace in knowing my family will be OK.

So my opinion what would Christ do if he was wealthy with Money ?
I wouldn't want Jesus living in the street, or under a bridge if he had worked to earn a modest way to survive.
God will place suffering in our lives, and most times it at our hands and Money is often the cause of many a sin.

So a good answer is, what would Jesus want us to have and live by?
I thought about quoting scripture. But in reality we all know in our hearts, what we need, and what we can afford to give.
Our time, our hearts, and even our wealth are all valuable in the beholder that these things are gifted. WE just have to be assured we
do so in his honor.
 
Wan said:
Hello. I have been thinking about what the proper view is on wealth, for a Christian. I recall the verse that roughly goes, "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than it is for a rich man to go into heaven". Also, I have also read about how Jesus urged a man to give away his worldly possessions, in order to follow Him. This makes me think. I mean, I am not greedy, I don't need to be rich. But, at the same time, I don't want to be poor, either. And I think it's not just me. This has real implications, because when we try to spread our message, and we tell unbelievers that they need to give away all their money in order to be a Christian, we would encounter a lot of resistance. I mean I can just see it happening.
So anyway, I am a bit torn on this subject. I would like to your thoughts on this. Thank you.
Click to expand...

Good morning, Wan;

You're doing fine, sister, and your thread tells me you're just doing a self check, as we all should, and how we respond to those who ask.

It's ok to earn money, have a home to enjoy, refuge, eat and sleep. These are abundant blessings entrusted and enjoyed to you by God. It's what you do with it that brings Him glory.

In my testimony Hazel and I give God's portion back to Him, first, through Church, a Jewish Christian organization, and wherever we give someone a cup of cold water. He has always taken care of everything else, secondary.

Matthew 10:42, 42 And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.” - NKJV

Matthew 25:37-40, 37 The righteous will then answer him, ‘When, Lord, did we ever see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? 38 When did we ever see you a stranger and welcome you in our homes, or naked and clothe you? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?’ 40 The King will reply, ‘I tell you, whenever you did this for one of the least important of these followers of mine, you did it for me!’ - GNT

How much should I give?, asks the unbeliever or new Christian disciple. I can see the stress when some ask this question. God assures us in the New Testament;

In 2 Corinthians 9:7, Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. - ESV

In my testimony God knows we have expenses but have experienced when we gave what we truly can, reference 2 Corinthians 9:7, it is given cheerfully with no expectation of payback from God. God can take what little or plenty and still do great things with what we give.

Thank you for asking an important question, Wan, a question that is being read by many on the world wide public.

God bless you.

Bob
 
Wan said:
Hello. I have been thinking about what the proper view is on wealth, for a Christian.

I recall the verse that roughly goes, "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than it is for a rich man to go into heaven". Also, I have also read about how Jesus urged a man to give away his worldly possessions, in order to follow Him.

This makes me think. I mean, I am not greedy, I don't need to be rich. But, at the same time, I don't want to be poor, either. And I think it's not just me. This has real implications, because when we try to spread our message, and we tell unbelievers that they need to give away all their money in order to be a Christian, we would encounter a lot of resistance. I mean I can just see it happening.

So anyway, I am a bit torn on this subject. I would like to your thoughts on this. Thank you.
Click to expand...
No reason whatsoever to be "torn" my dear friend.

The Scriptural truth is that the Bible condemns greed—but it doesn’t condemn financial success, if it is gained legitimately and with the right motives.

If you will recall, some of the greatest men in the Old Testament—men like Abraham and Job—David-----Soloman were also people of great wealth, and their wealth was seen as a sign of God’s blessing. Does that mean God wants all of us to be wealthy? No, it doesn’t; after all, Jesus didn’t have any material wealth, and the Bible teaches that wealth often causes people to turn away from God. Jesus warned, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money” in Matthew 6:24.

However, everything you have—including your ability to be successful in business—is a gift from God. But why did He give these gifts to you? To put it another way, what difference is there between you and someone else who is successful but isn’t a Christian?

The difference is this: Everything you have is God’s, and should be used for His glory.

All around you are people who need Christ and His love. What are you doing with your money to help them find Him? Ask God to give you a generous spirit. The Bible says, “Each man should give … not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” in 2 Corinthians 9:7.
 
Major said:
No reason whatsoever to be "torn" my dear friend.

The Scriptural truth is that the Bible condemns greed—but it doesn’t condemn financial success, if it is gained legitimately and with the right motives.

If you will recall, some of the greatest men in the Old Testament—men like Abraham and Job—David-----Soloman were also people of great wealth, and their wealth was seen as a sign of God’s blessing. Does that mean God wants all of us to be wealthy? No, it doesn’t; after all, Jesus didn’t have any material wealth, and the Bible teaches that wealth often causes people to turn away from God. Jesus warned, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money” in Matthew 6:24.

However, everything you have—including your ability to be successful in business—is a gift from God. But why did He give these gifts to you? To put it another way, what difference is there between you and someone else who is successful but isn’t a Christian?

The difference is this: Everything you have is God’s, and should be used for His glory.

All around you are people who need Christ and His love. What are you doing with your money to help them find Him? Ask God to give you a generous spirit. The Bible says, “Each man should give … not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” in 2 Corinthians 9:7.
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Good morning, Major;

Well said, especially what you wrote, However, everything you have—including your ability to be successful in business—is a gift from God. But why did He give these gifts to you? To put it another way, what difference is there between you and someone else who is successful but isn’t a Christian?

I agree.

God bless you and thank you for sharing.

Bob
 
This is a great discussion, and I'd like to add some of my reactions and thoughts to it:

"The eye of a needle" may have referred to the name of a gate instead of the miniscule size of the hole in a sewing implement. If we look at it this way, Jesus could have been saying something along the lines of, "A camel CAN go through a small gate, but it's difficult. A self-involved, materialistic person can get into heaven, but they will need to toe the line", just as you, Wan, and others have been and are examining their motives and behavior.

forgiven61 makes a worthy point in that if the wealthy share their wealth, it is a righteous action.

PaulisSaved beliefs and actions reminded me of something Pastor Jay recently said in one of his Sermons, something along the lines of, "who you are versus what you do". As an investor, we could look at his occupation as a moneymaker; one who finds money important. But if we look at his actions, we see an individual who shares his wealth with those in need. PaulisSaved is more of what he does than what he is.

bobinfaith mentions that when we see a need, we help to fulfill that need to the best of our abilities. We don't just "turn our heads and look the other way".

Major mentions monetary wealth gained legitimately with the right motive which reminded me of Luke 3 where John the Baptist instructed the crowd, the soldier, and the tax collector. Basically, he was saying, "Do your job and be fair".

Back to bobinfaith again, regarding the gifts God has given us, as being successful in business. My artistic ability is my gift from God, and I often share it freely, which is not difficult on my part.

Case in point. Recently a neighbor saw a metal sign which I had created & displayed and informed me a relative of his who saw it and wanted to buy it. I said, "Fine, whatever he wants to give me". Since the sign was a 4th of July and there was a ways to go before Independence Day, I went ahead and made a duplicate and presented it to my neighbor. "You didn't have to do that" he said. "Any excuse to do art", I replied.

I am not going to turn down money if someone desires to purchase my art, but I have given away more of my art than received money for it.
It's a balance, and I feel very good about sharing my gift from God, whether I receive monetary reimbursement or not.

Thanks to you all. As I previously stated, "Great discussion!"
 
Davey D0 said:
This is a great discussion, and I'd like to add some of my reactions and thoughts to it:

"The eye of a needle" may have referred to the name of a gate instead of the miniscule size of the hole in a sewing implement. If we look at it this way, Jesus could have been saying something along the lines of, "A camel CAN go through a small gate, but it's difficult. A self-involved, materialistic person can get into heaven, but they will need to toe the line", just as you, Wan, and others have been and are examining their motives and behavior.

forgiven61 makes a worthy point in that if the wealthy share their wealth, it is a righteous action.

PaulisSaved beliefs and actions reminded me of something Pastor Jay recently said in one of his Sermons, something along the lines of, "who you are versus what you do". As an investor, we could look at his occupation as a moneymaker; one who finds money important. But if we look at his actions, we see an individual who shares his wealth with those in need. PaulisSaved is more of what he does than what he is.

bobinfaith mentions that when we see a need, we help to fulfill that need to the best of our abilities. We don't just "turn our heads and look the other way".

Major mentions monetary wealth gained legitimately with the right motive which reminded me of Luke 3 where John the Baptist instructed the crowd, the soldier, and the tax collector. Basically, he was saying, "Do your job and be fair".

Back to bobinfaith again, regarding the gifts God has given us, as being successful in business. My artistic ability is my gift from God, and I often share it freely, which is not difficult on my part.

Case in point. Recently a neighbor saw a metal sign which I had created & displayed and informed me a relative of his who saw it and wanted to buy it. I said, "Fine, whatever he wants to give me". Since the sign was a 4th of July and there was a ways to go before Independence Day, I went ahead and made a duplicate and presented it to my neighbor. "You didn't have to do that" he said. "Any excuse to do art", I replied.

I am not going to turn down money if someone desires to purchase my art, but I have given away more of my art than received money for it.
It's a balance, and I feel very good about sharing my gift from God, whether I receive monetary reimbursement or not.

Thanks to you all. As I previously stated, "Great discussion!"
Click to expand...
Excellent post. I agree completely.

Over the years I have been asked to come and preach revivals. I never ever asked for any gifts. All I asked was travel expenses but there was never a church that did not compensate me for the job done in preaching the gospel and "stirring up the faithful".

Keep up the great posts!!!!
 
I have heard preached that the "eye of a needle" was a smaller gate for people to go through, but a camel had to kneel down and crawl to go through the "eye of a needle" gate. Hard to know for sure since this concept was from 2000 years ago, though the disciples asked how it was possible to ever get into Heaven, and Jesus says that through God all things are possible.

One more passage I would bring up to go with this conversation. The passage about the talents given to three different men. One received 5 talents and made 5 talents more. The second man was given 2 talents and made 2 more additional. The third was given 1 talent. He was scared to risk it, so he buried it so he could be sure to return the 1 talent to the master. The master was angry that he did nothing with the small amount, that he didn't even put it in the bank to earn interest for the master. This is found in Matthew 25. Reading the whole chapter, we find that we should use our money and talents to serve and further the Kingdom of God. As long as your goal is true, then it doesn't matter how much money goes through your account. Doing something to serve or solve problems for others in God's will is all that matters.
 
We should remember that several patriarchs and early believers were quite wealthy.

Consider Job and his wealth.

Consider also Philemon. He was a slave owner, but Paul addresses him as a friend with several brother believers and beseaches him to accept back a one-time slave, Onesimus as a free brother in Christ.

As has been said in other posts, it is not money itself, but the place money occupies in our hearts that is the problem. An example here being Ananias and his wife. As was made clear by Peter in Acts 5:3-4, the money they withheld meant more to them than the acclaim of other believers.
 
Siloam said:
We should remember that several patriarchs and early believers were quite wealthy. Consider Job and his wealth. Consider also Philemon. He was a slave owner, but Paul addresses him as a friend with several brother believers and beseaches him to accept back a one-time slave, Onesimus as a free brother in Christ. As has been said in other posts, it is not money itself, but the place money occupies in our hearts that is the problem. An example here being Ananias and his wife. As was made clear by Peter in Acts 5:3-4, the money they withheld meant more to them than the acclaim of other believers.
Click to expand...

Hello Siloam;

Here's a thought. I know wealthy people who have a strong faith but they didn't give the sense they were rich. Come to think of it they don't dress with a glittery wardrobe.
 
Siloam said:
As has been said in other posts, it is not money itself, but the place money occupies in our hearts that is the problem. An example here being Ananias and his wife. As was made clear by Peter in Acts 5:3-4, the money they withheld meant more to them than the acclaim of other believers.
Click to expand...
Well spoken!

The Bible cautions about wealth because it can give a false sense of security. People who have wealth, have access to material goods, medical care, education and it can easily shift your dependency from God.

Its nothing wrong with acquiring wealth but our hearts have to be with the Lord.
 
bobinfaith said:
Hello Siloam;

Here's a thought. I know wealthy people who have a strong faith but they didn't give the sense they were rich. Come to think of it they don't dress with a glittery wardrobe.
Click to expand...
I remember a discussion with the pastor where I first became committed to Christ. It centered around a member who passed away a little prior yo the discussion.

This member got involved in various ministries, but was never thought of as worldly wealthy. But whenever there was a special charitable drive, the pastor would receive a large donation. After the member passed on, it was noticed that these gifts stopped. He gave the gifts anonymously, using the pastor to quietly receive the donation and see that it was put to good use.
 
I think this has more to do with critiquing our economic system then our personal Christian views. We can't choose to not participate in capitalism - if we want to survive, nay thrive, raise a family, etc we have to participate, which means potentially taking advantage of other people. It's just how our system works unfortunately. But I think there's value in reducing the harm as much as possible. Personally I would never buy a property as an investment as that makes it more difficult for struggling families to get on the housing ladder and start building equity, which is an important part of a family's economic needs.
 
Hi MattTheCricketBat ... Your name makes me giggle. Welcome to the forums.

For the sake of definition... I looked up the basic definition of Capitalism vs Socialism. I live in Canada so I am thinking
we are probably considered a Socialist country. I know it's much more complicated than that... however... for the sake of
simplification.... I will leave it at this as a starting point.
  • Capitalism is based on individual initiative and favors market mechanisms over government intervention.
  • Socialism is based on government planning and limitations on private control of resources.
  • Many economies tend to combine elements of both systems.
From where I sit... I have greatly benefited from a country that is mostly dependent on the government. Because I have been ill for most of my adult life... I was able to STILL live a good ( although minimalistic ) life. I have received a Government pension for the last decade and I am MOST GRATEFUL for the care that has been shown to me. On the other hand... I am NOT what you would call an avid consumer. I do not keep the economy going... because I do not buy things from major retailers. I have never owned a vehicle or a home... I don't have a phone... or a television. I have chosen to live within my means. Not sure why I added this... HA. but there it is.

With the above said. It seems to me that NO MATTER the economic system we come from and I do believe these forums have a variety of countries contributing.... it appears to me that EVERYONE is suffering. Government institutions seem to be crumbling right before our very eyes.... which leads me to wonder.... I think much can be said about Christian communities such as the Amish who live together and work the land.

For Christians.... we have the HOPE of a SAVIOUR... and we have the PROMISE that God will care for us. I wonder in these times and as the future approaches if some might not separate themselves from the world as it is... to form more simplistic lives away from consumerism.

This might not be on topic... If it's not... then forgive me. HA.
 
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