I nearly jump out of my chair each time I hear this. I wonder which Prince of Peace they are talking about. So what does Jesus say about Money?
Jesus blesses the financially prosperous -- i.e. rich -- right?Luke 6:24 But woe to you who are rich, For you have received your consolation.
Jesus says rich people are just like everyone else, right?Mark 10:17-26 (New King James Version)
17 Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”
18 So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 19 You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honor your father and your mother."
20 And he answered and said to Him, "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth."
21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”
22 But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
23 Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!" 24 And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
26 And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, "Who then can be saved?"
Luke 12:15-21 (New King James Version)
15 And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: "The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?' 18 So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry." 20 But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’
21 "So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."
Jesus wants us to do "all things unto the glory of God" so you should try and get as much money as possible, right?Matthew 6:19
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;
Matthew 6:24
[ You Cannot Serve God and Riches ] "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
It okay to want to be rich, right?Definition of covet: To desire enviously that which does not belong to you
Colossians 3:5
Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
1 Timothy 6:8
And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.
Hebrews 13:5
Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.
1 Timothy 6:9-10
But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
So what did Jesus do? What example did he give about money?Matthew 8:20, Luke 9:58
And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."
Matthew 17:26-27 (New King James Version)
26 Peter said to Him, "From strangers."
Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are free. 27 Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you."
JESUS did not have money even to pay taxes!So when you see financial counselors using Christian themes to teach people how to get wealthy, do you think Jesus would approve? How do the words of the Bible and Jesus differ from what some Christian financial counselors say about money?
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Comments (11)
Wow, this is so biblical! Great post!
Every man's work shall be made manifest. 1 Corinthians iii. 13.
For the fashion of this world passeth away, 1 Corinthians vii. 31.
Charity shall cover the multitude of sins. 1 Peter iv. 8.
The message is very clear, but I'm no prophet, soothsayer or savior. When I was a child I spake as a child. 1 Corinthians xiii. 11. I am a child no longer. Peace
Money represents quite a lot: provision, status, safety, shelter, comfort, freedom....and lots more. 'Love of money is the root of all evil' 1 Tim 6:10...not money itself. Without self-exploration to understand our motivation we're helpless to know what money represents to us. Each of us need money for provision...that's clear...and seemingly divinely orchestrated.
How much is too much isn't clearly answered in the Bible. Notice in the Mark passage, "...Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack..." He looked with LOVE...some have theorized that the rich young ruler was in fact Mark, as perhaps only the one who Jesus spoke to could see the love with which He spoke...and report on it later.
Also note that the verses directly following what is shown in the post are perhaps more telling (or confusing)...v 27-30"Looking at them, Jesus *said, “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.” Peter began to say to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You.” Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there
is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father
or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake,but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions"
He seems to say that sure its impossible for a rich man to get to heaven, but with God nothing's impossible. And perhaps that's His point all along, none of us are able to get to heaven based on our own righteousness, riches, whatever temptation we give into, but only through Jesus. Then perhaps more provocatively He seems to say, 'hey, whoever gives up stuff will get back a hundred times as much...even here on earth in this lifetime..." Then throws in a disconcerting twist at the end "...along with persecutions."
I don't know what it all means, but I suspect its not as simple as the OP seems to suggest. And actually I'm not sure what the OP is suggesting. If you live in an American urban center you're likely in at least the top 70% of all wage earners in the world. If you make $100k / year you're in the top 7% of wage earners worldwide. So it seems to me that to judge the guy next door for being rich is not the answer...or even judging ourselves.
Seems the invitation is for relationship with the living God right exactly where we are...and follow where He leads! Praise the living God!
Yours is at best an extreme interpretation. If we follow your statements to a logical (and supposed scriptural) end, then we need to give away all that we have, not worry about supporting our families, and only preach the Gospel as Jesus did. Although I will give you that most of us lean to far in the worldly direction.
The things Jesus taught, especially the parables, were and are for the average person to apply with wisdom in their normal life situations - working, education, raising families, etc. I agree that He does not want us wasting our efforts in pursuit of wealth and vanity and fame when there are so many more important things to pursue, but He was trying to make the rich, young man a disciple and to follow Him, or in other words, help lay the foundation of the Kingdom of God on earth.
It is a matter of good, better, and best. We should be pursuing the best things without being extreme. We should follow the individually directed promptings of the Holy Ghost in applying Jesus' teachings and not accept the wisdom or the traditions of man.
If we truly live like kingdom Christians, God will take care of all our needs, including our finances. And, here is my testimony about this.
About two years ago my family heeded the call to full time missionary service. We kept most of our furniture, one car, and sold or gave away everything else, including our home. We shipped everything we have in one single container to Albania where we now live and serve. I used to make on average of $200,000/year as a successful small business owner. Now, as missionaries we make no more than $36,000/yr for a family of five. When I was making a lot of money we had a lot of debt and somehow struggled to pay our bills each month. Now, not only are we completely debt free, but pay all of our bills and still have a little extra money left over each month that we either treat ourselves to, spend it on others, or put it back into savings. We tithe each month and we support two other missionaries. This not to mention that we have a sizable savings account from the sale of our home that we use for emergencies or future use if we ever decide to come back to the States.
This is not to boast, but to be a testimony of how God faithfully takes care of us if we remain obedient to Him in a radical way. Don't shoot for the American Dream, it's way overhyped and its certainly not a biblical concept. Instead, love God and love others. This is the greatest commandment (and dream) of all.
What if I told you that Jesus had a house? What if I told you that Jesus had enough money, that it was the job of one of the disciples to take care of it? What if I told you, that the Bible says that if you do not take care of your family, you are worse than a heathen?
The rich young ruler, was not to show that riches were evil. It was to show that if you care more about money, than God, you cannot be saved.
There is a difference, between wanting money, and coveting.
If I want money, it is to pay bills, support my family, buy food, give to charity, and take care of those who God put in my life. Which do you suppose I give up?
BTW Jesus was more then a bit extreme, the church no longer holds several ideas Jesus put forward at his time... they are too radical for us today
@ProudToBeAChristianFruitcake@xanga - Taking care of his mother is not his house but his families... earthly which he gave up to preach His Father.
Living up to responsibilities does not mean catering to desires, their are many households that provide food and clothes for their kin but still get their children taken by CPS, responsibility is not defined by material goods, or lack of responsibly is also not shown by lack of goods... this is an exhortation against laziness, then effort to provide, not the effort to indulge. Working min wage and being on food stamps can be providing, and taking a high dollar job that require too much time away from family could be negligent.Luke 12:1515 And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness (desiring what you do not have), for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
@BiblicalTruth2@xanga - I'm not talking about Nazereth, I am talking about His personal house in Capernaum.
Matthew 4:12-16 (ESV)
"
12Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee.
13And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali,
14so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
15"The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
16the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
the people dwelling in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,
on them a light has dawned."
Mark 2:1 (ESV)
"
1And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home."
So, according to the Bible, He packed up and moved to Capernaum, sometime before He started preaching, and had a home there, that People knew about and visited to hear Him preach.
@ProudToBeAChristianFruitcake@xanga - Yes Jesus had a place he could live... at that time. I believe that when He said he did not have a place to lay his head he at that time did not have the house available to him, which makes me believe it was a family home, and not just his personally, he would have been the head of household (if indeed Joseph was gone) as the firstborn son so yes the family home would have been his, but his relation to his brothers pre-Resurrection was very rough and so it is likely they had a split leading to his not having a place to stay.
@BiblicalTruth2@xanga - There is nothing in those verses, that indicate, that the house was a family home. It says that He (Jesus) moved to capernaum. It doesn't say they, It doesn't say that Jesus and his family moved. This was the start of His ministry, so most likely since Jesus knew He was going to die shortly, may have left one of His siblings to take care of Mary.
Luke 9:58 is one appearance of the "no place to lay my head" phrase that trips people up. If you notice in the section before that, He had sent messengers in verse 52, ahead to a town in Samaria, to make preparations for them. The town rejected Jesus, causing the Sons of Thunder, to ask if Jesus wanted to wipe the town off the face of the map. Jesus said no, and continued on, That is when someone comes up and says that he will follow Jesus anywhere. Jesus looks at him and says really? I don't even have a place to lay my head.
Jesus had just been rejected by the town, and now He is asking this guy if he is really willing to go anywhere. I think that verse has been misconstrued to mean that Jesus didn't own a house. I think it means that Jesus was away from the house, and had just been turned down for housing. Not that he has never had a place of His own.