Does God Want You To Be Rich?

Here's an interesting piece I found from Time magazine titled Does God Want You to be Rich? I wanted to share it with all of you today despite the fact that I am always leery of secular publications trying to answer biblical questions. Why? They don't believe in the Word of God -- so how can they accurately interpret it? In most cases like this you see secular media using bits and pieces of the Bible, pulling verses out here and there (out of context many times, by the way), to justify what they wanted to say in the first place. So you usually can't place too much authority in their conclusions.

This piece is better than most, but if you read it closely enough, you can certainly see signs of bias. The magazine is certainly no biblical expert (believe me, if I was looking to Time magazine to get biblical insights, I'd be in BIG trouble), but then again, neither am I. However, I am honestly seeking to find the truth of the matter through reading scripture. I would guess that Time is not.

The piece is way too long for me to cover all the points raised, but I did want to share this paragraph which shows why such a debate is even possible. It all hinges on one's interpretation of scripture. Here's how Time summarizes the situation:

As with almost any important religious question, the first response of most Christians (especially Protestants) is to ask how Scripture treats the topic. But Scripture is not definitive when it comes to faith and income. Deuteronomy commands believers to "remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth", and the rest of the Old Testament is dotted with celebrations of God's bestowal of the good life. On at least one occasion--the so-called parable of the talents (a type of coin)--Jesus holds up savvy business practice (investing rather than saving) as a metaphor for spiritual practice. Yet he spent far more time among the poor than the rich, and a majority of scholars quote two of his most direct comments on wealth: the passage in the Sermon on the Mount in which he warns, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth ... but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven"; and his encounter with the "rich young ruler" who cannot bring himself to part with his money, after which Jesus famously comments, "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."

So, which is it? Does God want us to be wealthy or not? It's hard to cover such a deep topic in the course of one blog post, but I can give you some of my thoughts on the situation. Here goes:

• I think there are a myriad of financial principles laid out within the Bible that, if followed, will result in a person being well-off, if not rich. What are these principles? Things like spending less than you earn, saving for the future, eliminating debt, being satisfied with what you have, and on and on. Sound familiar? They should -- I talk about these all the time here at Free Money Finance. If you apply them to your life, you will do well financially -- there's no debating that.

• There is a link between giving and wealth. I believe that God does bless people who give to help others -- and he keeps doing so as long as the people receiving the blessings act like stewards of their finances and not owners. I see it as God's alternative to welfare with the following cycle: People give in obedience to God's Word. He blesses them with a bit more financially. They give a bit more -- to help others and to do God's work. He blesses them more. They give more. He blesses even more. They give even more. And on and on.

• There's a balance in finances. I don't think the extremes of either the prosperity doctrine (Yes! God wants everyone to be extremely wealthy!) or what I'll call the poverty doctrine (No! God wants to keep everyone poor and humble!) are accurate. If you honestly want to more about this issue, I suggest reading Money, Possessions and Eternity. It is an excellent discussion of all angles of this issue and I can recommend it whole-heartedly.

• There are unexplainable exceptions -- on both sides. There are super-spiritual people who live in poverty and totally immoral people who are wealthy beyond imagination. I chalk this up to a couple main factors (there are more, but here are the vital ones to me): 1) We live in a fallen world, and things aren't perfect here by any stretch of the imagination. This started going south soon after the world's creation. Read the book of Genesis if you don't believe me. 2) We don't fully understand biblical and spiritual principles. For now, we see through a glass darkly (as the Bible puts it) and there are many mysteries to us. One day, they will be revealed, but not on this earth.

I'm sure I'll get several angry "what about this", "what about that", "are you saying..." and the like comments on this post, and that kind of goes with the territory of discussing the Bible and money and I can certainly deal with those responses. But I would like to see honest, truth-seeking people leave their thoughts in the comments below. What's your take on the issue?

Comments

[david]

That is a great response to the Time article!!!

[Mike]

The bible is a very versatile book.

It can be made to say any position that you want. And has. God has been on both sides of many wars.

[Mike (A.I.)]

I don't know if I believe that God wants everyone to be rich, but I believe that God wants you to make the most of what you have, like in the parable of the talents. I agree with your take on this subject. I believe that God wants us all to be wealthy and that this is more than just money. It includes financial freedom, family, good friends, giving back (philanthropy), and helping others.

[William Tanksley]

I think the Bible is pretty clear: God wants us to be wise, and to be financially wealthy we must manage our lives (and money) wisely. But the cause (wisdom) is not the same as the effect (wealth); being wise will not MAKE you wealthy (and being wealthy doesn't prove you're wise :-).

So... I pretty much agree with you, and with how you're approaching the whole issue on the blog. Wise handling of money is one aspect of wisdom, and you're looking at all reasonable sources to learn and teach it.

[Rob]

You said it perfectly...

[kat48]

Of course, God wants everyone to be rich. Rich, wealth,and abundance would not only mean money. God wants us to have treasure and it is not material thing he wants us to have. We consider our families as treasure, our love ones, our jobs, our life ,and I can go on and on. It is only people who interprets his words as they want it to be interpreted.

[rob]

God enables enablers

[Andy H]

Commonality:

Both biblical "ideals" (the "Mother Teresa" of the NT, and the rich man whom God has blessed because he acts as a steward of the OT) are GENEROUS.

Also... it is possible to serve God in different ways & lifestyles, depending on your vocation.

[Ellen]

Being good stewards, would point us toward being wealthy in many ways. My family is a treasure to me. If we use money, not let it use us, we will be wealthier in many ways, which include relationships and financial freedom.

[Scott Howard]

I believe that God has no problem with us being wealthy as long as we abide by what he tells us to do. http://www.dipnoi.org/archives/category/finances/

[Chris McCorrister]

How much money do you think it will take to buy up all the land on this Earth and then make it Pretty? A couple trillion at least (probably way more!!!).

That's how much money He wants his children to have! Read Genesis 1:28 - what did God tell man to do? (Replenish the Earth). Guess what - that's still His goal today. And we can do it to!!

[pete]

Here are my thoughts on the camel through the eye of the needle teaching:

Who would think of trying to put an animal through the eye of a needle? Some people have tried to make this passage more understandable by claiming that the phrase “eye of the needle” referred to a small gate in the Jerusalem wall. They say that it would be possible for a camel to pass through this gate, but it would be very difficult. The problem with this idea is that there was apparently no such gate. It is not mentioned anywhere in the bible or in other contemporary writings. My favorite explanation is that the word translated as “camel” here was also a slang word for a large strong rope, which was made from camel hair and was thus referred to as a “camel.” So the verse would read “It is easier for a large rope to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” This still means it is very difficult, but it makes the analogy ring true.

[Don Montz]

I agree wholeheartedly. Weather a person is wealthy or poor is up to the person.
Ecclesiates chapter 5 verse 9 says that the profit of the earth is for all and even the king is served by the field. Verses 18 and 19 of that same chapter say that it is good for us to benefit from the profit of our labor. Deautoronomy 8:18 was ment for everyone. God doesn't give us wealth. We have to go and get it by creating it. If God wanted us to be poor and broke, why then would his word tell us how to create wealth? God wants us to have enough to meet our needs and secure our future,and extra to help others. If a person is broke it is because of one of four reasons:1-a poverty mentality. 2-selfishness 3-laziness.-4poor financial skills. There is no excuse for a christain to be broke financially.

[Dr. Artfredo C. Abella Ph.D, Wien, Austria]

Does God Want You To Be Rich? I believe there is one to a zillion answers to this question but realistically or philosophically can we pragmatically answer to the question in the affirmative, I believe so. In the Laws to become rich, Mr. Wattles, famous American author would tell us that indeed God wants us to be rich. Why? Because God Himself is rich and bountiful. He created the universe and all the celestial bodies in the heavens, hence He wants us also to be like Him, rich and bountiful. According to him to become poor is a sin since becoming poor represents lack in life and the absence of abundance contrary to what God wants us to be that is rich and abundant. Even the Bible would tell us to subdue the earth and that is the advocacy that by subduing the earth we become rich, hence God wants us to be rich. Again, there is a saying that the best way to help the poor is by being not one of them, hence this is a principle that we have to become rich as God wants us to be rich. We must hit the mark which is the advocacy of abundance. God wants us to be rich such as those recanted in the the parable of talents. Contrary to these statements were only applicable during the events in the biblical times. The other aspect why God wants us to be rich since being poor you become a burden to society. Usually the poor needs the help of the government, NGOs and other social institutions for basic life support and once this support runs short they resort to begging alms. I would like to incline to believe that poverty is a curse since it represents lack in life. God and the universe is bountiful, the natural flow of nature is bountiful in its basic essence, it may not necessarily be money but abundance and the wonderful things like, the fresh air, the sunlight, the oxygen that we breath, the sight that we have, the flowers that bloom in the garden and the many varied things that God created abundantly for us to explore and use. I subscribe to the wisdom of Solomon when he said: " Show me a hardworking man and he shall seat before kings and royalties." The Bible would also tell us that the house of the wise are full of food, grains and jewelries. Being rich is a relative term, you can be rich in terms of money, health, wealth, and opportunities in life. Whatever it maybe I philosophically believe that God wants us to be rich because this is what the universe is all about that is abundance. Abundance in terms of energy as money itself is just an energy. So being rich is partly having abundance of unlimited energy or so the financially prosperous would advice us always to conserve our energy.

[Kim]

Most everyone that has a post has really covered my feelings towards God's wanting us to have abundance. I just wanted to include 2 things which are people envy (not jealously) what they don't have & God's kingdom is like a business. Let me expain.
I believe that most people would not complain about others that DO have abundance if they had it themselves. For example, maybe your neighbor just bought the very expensive car that you've been dreaming about. Now, rather than being happy that God blessed them, you're saying, "Well, how the heck did they afford that? They don't need that car. They could have used that money for something else, etc..." But if you had that car you'd be saying, "I'm so blessed! I just knew it when I sat in the car!."
Lastly, God's kingdom is like a buisness. We are to give our 10% to God. He in turn blesses us for following his Word. But, some people tend to forget about the part where that 10% also funds God's kingdom to do it's great work. NOW, I'm not saying that God can't do anything without our money (before some of you jump my back), I'm just saying it's a helpful part. For example, when people give their 10%, it can be used to feed the hungry people of their church.
So, in conclusion, I believe God wants us to have abundance in our families, our health, our belongings, our peace, our love, etc. I could go on. God NEVER wanted us to be unhappy, stressed, broke, or unloved.

[Lamar]

I think that you have to be careful not to fall into the category of loving the riches God gives you. The main issue I have with the "prosperity" gospel is that money and riches seem to be the objective. The priorities seem to be backwards. It seems that they say to follow God because He'll make you rich. Or Jesus died for us so that we can all be rich. Or sow this financial offing because He MUST bless you for doing it and He'll curse you if you don't.
Earthly riches MAY came with following God, (He blesses who He wants), but are you only following Him to obtain and retain the worldly desires of your flesh?