Wealth in Christianity

[keeganblaik]

always understand and interpret the bible with the rest of the bible.  For example, God deliberately blessed and caused numerous people in the bible to become be wealthy.Abram, Job, David, Solomon--just to name a few.   Often times these people would glorify God with their resources.  So, just ponder on that a bit.

 

Money is not evil.  Food is not evil nor drink.  Romance within marriage is not evil.  Knowledge and talent are not evil. But...

 

the love and pursuit of ANYTHING more than our love of God is evil.  This is the essence of the 1st comm.   

[enoob57]

Try this verse on for size-

Mark 4:19 (NKJV)

[19] “and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other

things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

Now the hermeneutic demands this question can you have riches without the deceit?

I contend that in this system no and that is the warning strewn throughout Scripture

warning all that seek for such... I personally have found that the time spent to pursue

such is a violation of the suggestion of Scripture

2 Corinthians 1:12 (NKJV)

[12] For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves

in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God,

and more abundantly toward you.

To examine the power of this deceit think upon this no one can can endear themselves to

The making of money and live in simplicity... Their minds will fill with the acquisition and

keeping in an ever increasing complexity! Love, Steven

[GoldenEagle]

So after reading the thread again it seems there can be two extremes that are out of balance:
 

On the one hand all wealth is evil and we should all as Believers seek to be poor. Being poor is a sign of spiritual maturity.

On the other hand some say God will bless you with wealth, health, and prosperity if you just have faith to claim it. Being rich is a sign of spiritual maturity.

 

 

<-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------->
Wealth is evil and                                                               Truth                                              God wants all His followers to be wealthy
people who are spiritually mature are poor                                                                         and wealth is a sign of spiritual maturity

 

 

I believe the truth is somewhere in-between the two. God sometimes calls us to be poor and others to be rich for a season of our lives. God also rewards hard work. The proverbs speak to this. Yet Job shows us that sometimes God allows bad things to happen to "good" people. So God uses all things to work for our good if we love Him and are called to His purpose.

God bless,

GE