Christians, Wealth and Poverty

Christians, Wealth and Poverty

The Bible does not say that money is bad. However, what it does say is

that it is "the love of money is the root of all evil", a powerful

message. The Bible also says "no one can serve two masters". What this

means is that you cannot be too attached to your money or it will lead

you away from the one true master, God. It means you cannot use your

money in selfish or bad ways, but rather for the good of others.

Christians are expected by their faith to earn their living by honest

means. For example, selling drugs for a living is completely against

Christian morals as it is making money on the addiction of others to

substances, which destroys their life and physical health, and hurting

those around them such as family and friends. For this reason, loan

sharking is also wrong as it gives money to people having financial

problems but with very high interest rates, so really it only makes

their problems worse.

The Parables of The Last Judgement and the Good Samaritan relate

heavily towards our responsibility of helping others less fortunate

than ourselves. For example, in The Good Samaritan, a man is robbed

and beaten by bandits and left on the side of the road. A Priest and a

Levite walk past, ignoring him. This shows how many people ignore

their faith to keep their lives simpler and to simply not get

involved. It also shows the hypocrisy of the two men of faith, they

ignored what they were taught and teached. However, a poor Samaritan

saw the man and took pity on him, taking him to an Inn and ensuring he

was well looked after. It shows how the Samaritan was a better person

than the other two re...

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God, living a self-centred life based solely on pleasure and material

satisfaction. For example, there are rich people who have managed to

lead Christian lives, for example, Sir John Templeton. He owned a

business as a financial consultant in Wall Street, New York. However,

he always gave away 10% of his profit to charities, a practise known

as tithing. In 1992, after a lot of work he sold his business for

$400,000,000. As you have seen, Sir john has always combined his

business interests with his Christian faith. He also started the

Templeton Prize in 1972 and gives money to support projects around the

world that further the understanding and the importance of human

character.

In conclusion, I think being rich is perfectly fine, however, you

cannot allow money to become the most important factor in your life.