Christianity and Wealth 'Jesus said to the rich young man, "Go, sell all that you have and
give I to the poor. Then come and follow me." In the light of this,
Christians in the First World cannot justify their wealth.'
c) God could have created the world in such a way that resources would
be distributed to each according to his need. He chose not to do that.
He distributed resources, and allows us to develop and redistribute
resources, in such a fashion that some have much more than they need,
and some have much less. It cannot be denied that resources, and also
the opportunity to access resources, are far from being equitably
available to all. Either God is unfair, or God does not care, or else
there is a purpose to this scenario of disparate resources. The
purpose is actually quite obvious, and leaps to mind as soon as we
pause to ponder the subject. God intends for us to derive the
spiritual benefit which comes from sharing with each other, providing
for each other's needs. We are to live as family, and care for each
other as family. In case of the First and Third World this balance is
not achieved, but does this mean that every Christian should curse
their own wealth and prosperity, and dedicate every financial asset to
the poor and needy? Theoretically, this may sound a valid idea, but
practically, it is nieve and implausible.
There is n...
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...to life. Relating to modern society,
I believe the command is more of severe warning against the sins of
gluttony and selfishness, which can lead to modern crimes such as
fraud and theft. As long as you follow God's will and are wise in your
treatment of money, then having wealth is perfectly justifiable. In
order to follow God's will, you must acknowledge how fortunate you are
and treat God's creation with respect; which means supporting
charities and dedicating fractions of your life to helping the Third
World inhabitants. God does not want a world of ruthless capitalism,
but neither does he want a world of corrupt communism, otherwise he
would have equally shared resources. He simply wants the wealthy to be
treat his creation with respect and humility, and realise they have a
moral duty to aid the lacking and needy.
If your thirst for material goods is never quenched then you will not reach salvation.
The stronger will do anything in their power to make a profit, leaving the weak with nothing. Kuyper says, “…the more powerful exploited the weaker by means of a weapon against which there was no defense” (Kuyper, Abraham, and James W. Skillen 26). Additionally, he states that “…the idolization of money killed the nobility in the human heart” (Kuyper, Abraham, and James W. Skillen 31). Kuyper talks about how Jesus felt bad for the rich and sided with the poor (Kuyper, Abraham, and James W. Skillen 32). Matthew 6:19-21 says, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Earthly materials mean nothing because the real treasure awaits in
Andrew Carnegie was born in Dunfermline, Scotland in 1835. His father, Will, was a weaver and a follower of Chartism, a popular movement of the British working class that called for the masses to vote and to run for Parliament in order to help improve conditions for workers. The exposure to such political beliefs and his family's poverty made a lasting impression on young Andrew and played a significant role in his life after his family immigrated to the United States in 1848. Andrew Carnegie amassed wealth in the steel industry after immigrating from Scotland as a boy. He came from a poor family and had little formal education.
Richard’s purpose is to remind Christians about the importance of loving neighbor and to teach how Christians can help the poor with their hearts and minds. He relates an important commandment in the Bible, “Love your neighbor,” with the economics by using the concept of “consequence of action.” He promotes the Christians to live a life which God is expecting for them to live by learning about the economics. He wants the Christians to stop justifying ourselves that we love each other when we are not, and he wants us to truly understand God’s intention of putting “love your neighbor” as one of the important commandments. As we study economics, it is important to understand that we should not focus on worldly issues and that we should not forget about God’s commandments. Moreover, this article teaches the Christians that we don’t need to be afraid to study economics because we can use the economics to obey God’s
“A Millionaire in Blue Jeans?” One of the most valuable principles is found in the very first chapter. Our authors do a wonderful job at dispelling any delusions we have regarding what a Millionaire looks like. I had long assumed, like many others, that the Millionaires of America were the hyperconsumers and elaborate spenders. In fact, we learn that just the opposite is true. I came to understand that, “Wealth is not the same as income”. (The Millionaire Next Door, p. 1, Stanley & Danko) In many cases, income is not at the forefront of relevancy when determining whether someone will become wealthy. There are several factors involved, but ultimately, if a person spends their entire income, the number value of said income simply doesn’t matter. The old age adage regarding spending less than you make is of much more importance. In the Church, this is referred to as ‘living below our means’. We have often been counseled to exercise restraint regarding our spending habits, and have also been commanded to obtain a level of financially secure by building up our savings, staying out of debt, and living within our means. (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, (2006), 11423) It seems rather silly that a large percentage of our population would be under the assumption that living a large lifestyle, along with the accumulation of fancy things, would somehow equate to wealth. After reading the book, I have come to understand that many of us have an extremely distorted relationship with money, in the assumption that money is to get and spend, while those who are authentic accumulators of wealth understand that money should be invested and stored up as a measure of safety and peace.
Andrew Carnegie and Walter Rauschenbusch represent two opposing sides in the integration of Christian faith into society. Carnegie’s Gospel of Wealth stated that the rich must reinvest their earnings into social programs that would benefit the poor without providing excess money that would enable them to spend frivolously on items that would not actually improve their overall situation. In contrast, Rauschenbusch was more concerned with the physical well being of those in lower classes. Both men wrote their works as a moral response to the rapid changes industrialization produced in their economies; similarly, today’s economy is rapidly changing as a result of technological development. However, morality has struggled to keep up with the exponential advancement in technology, leaving people with little
In Andrew Carnegie’s “The Gospel of Wealth” he outlines what the rich man’s responsibilities to the public is regarding his wealth. Andrew Carnegie was one of his times wealthiest men and wrote this in 1889. He states that, “Our duty is with what is practicable now-with the next step possible in our day and generation. It is criminal to waste our energies in endeavoring to uproot, when all we can profitably accomplish is to bend the universal tree of humanity a little in the direction most favorable to the production of the good fruit under existing circumstances (Carnegie 23-24).” In his writing he talks about the best way to dispose of the wealth one has acquired. The remainder of this paper will address the
Conwell puts having wealth into perspective. Conwell says that gaining wealth is a good thing. If a person has the opportunity to get wealthy, it can be there way to help the people in poverty. Money is not sinful until a person decide what they want to do with it. If that person decides to help others with his money, then having great wealth is a good thing. But on the opposing side, if a man keeps all of his money to himself, then that is a sin. God gave that person the opportunity to have wealth and they were selfish with God’s blessing. That money should go to people who need it. God could have given the opportunities to one of the less fortunate people, then how would the person who was selfish feel? Sure, money may feel great on this earth, but does God care about how much wealth we attain in our life, or does he care about how we used our wealth? If a man shows another man how to attain wealth instead of just giving the other man wealth, then he will be able to live on his
Jesus never proclaims that possessions or money is inherently evil, but he does warn against the danger of greed. Jesus does not attack money and possessions, but speaks against becoming enslaved to things of this world. Kraybill proclaims, “We too easily bow down and worship at the altar of materialism.”(Kraybill 2011). Kraybill explains that Jesus’ intentions were to have us apply the same structure and economic principles of the Jubilee to our entire life. The Jubilee system requires that the rich distribute what they have evenly, just as God distributes his love to us all without judgment. Jesus encourages us to practice this on a daily basis. Jesus builds his teachings around serving and loving others first. The pleasures of the world should never be the main focus of our life. Jesus teaches that only when we live our lives in this way can we truly see the Kingdom of God. If we allow money and possessions to be the ruler of our lives they will choke our spiritual growth and we will never be able to live out the true purposes of our lives. Jesus also teaches that we should not get caught up worrying about money or possessions. Faith that God will provide everything we need is all we need in the Kingdom of
The Bible does not say that money is bad. However, what it does say is
Carnegie, Andrew. "The Gospel of Wealth." Mountain View College Reader. Neuleib, Janice. Cain S., Kathleen. Ruffus, Stephen. Boston: 501 Boylston Street, Suite 900. 2013 Print.
“Look down and see the beggars at your feet. Look down and show some mercy if you can.
Furthermore, Jesus also demonstrated through this teaching that the poor are not cursed, heaven and hell are both real, and riches have the power to separate a believer from God (Pentecost, 1981). Thus in the case of this parable, the rich man was given one last chance to alleviate one man’s suffering (Lazarus), but in accordance with Pharisaic tradition, the rich man, who enjoyed a life a luxury, saw Lazarus as being cursed and thereby disregarded Lazarus’ needs (Pentecost, 1981). Subsequently, both men died at the same time, and while Lazarus enjoyed eternal life in Abraham’s Bosom, the rich man was sent to eternal damnation in Hades (Luke 16:22-23). Even today many Christian’s believe that heaven can be bought and wealth is a sign of God’s favor; thus as a result of this belief, many Christian’s have bought into the idea of the prosperity gospel. In the secular world, those who are rich continue to overlook the needs of the poor, but as Jesus demonstrated in the teaching of the rich man and Lazarus, a true follower of Christ, regardless of material wealth, will not overlook those who are in need (Pentecost, 1981). Just as Jesus showed offense to the rich man and the Pharisees in this parable so will God be offended if a Christian has the ability to help someone in need and does
In today’s society, Christianity is plagued with many disagreements about how to deal with current issues in society. These problems arise from the fact that Christians have the same fundamental beliefs, but they often disagree on the details. This is the reason why there is a panoply of denominations in the Christian faith. The way that many of the factions in Christianity interpret the word of God can be categorized into different styles of gospel, such as evangelicalism and fundamentalism. One such category that is beginning to gain popularity in today’s society, often taught in megachurches, is Prosperity Gospel. Prosperity Gospel, also called the “Health and Wealth Gospel” by Scot McKnight’s internet article “The Problem for the Prosperity Gospel,” is the belief that if humans adhere to God’s will, then He will in turn bless them with prosperous lives (McKnight). This prosperity often comes in the form of health and wealth according to many megachurches that preach this gospel. In times of economic strife, the prosperity gospel offers comfort in the hopes of having a prosperous future. It is also suspected that Prosperity Gospel has also become an outlet for the people who have a considerable amount of money as a means to justify their wealth. Whatever the reason for believing this gospel, it is important to remember that Prosperity Gospel is just one of the many ways that we can interpret the teachings of the Bible.
theft and cheating. Identity theft is a very serious crime and due to the resources made available