Are Christians poor?

Question

If not shouldnt they be?

First, a true follower of Jesus would have to be extremely poor--as poor as the proverbial churchmouse. The Bible makes this quite clear:

* (a) "...none of you can be my disciple unless he gives up everything he has" (Luke 14:33);
* (b) "If you want to be perfect, go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor and you will have riches in heaven" (Matt. 19:21);
* (c) "Sell your possessions and give alms" (Luke 12:33);
* (d) "But give what is in your cups and plates to the poor, and everything will be clean for you" (Luke 11:41);
* (e) "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt,.... But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.... for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matt. 6:19-21);
* (f) "How hardly shall they that have riches enter to the kingdom of God" (Mark 10:23);

* (g) "Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, 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" (Matt. 19:23-24);
* (h) A certain ruler told Jesus that he had obeyed all the commandments from his youth up. But, Jesus said, "Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me" (Luke 18:22, Mark 10:21),
* and (i) Paul said, "For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ" (Phil. 3:8 RSV)

Imagine Billy Graham, Oral Roberts, Jerry Falwell, Jimmy Swaggart, Rex Humbard, Robert Schuller, Herbert W. Armstrong and thousands of other wealthy religious leaders heeding such pronoucements!

Answer 1

Jesus specifies that wealth will not get you into heaven, yet Christians insist "you don't have to be poor to be a christian." What a wonderfully convenient religion.

Answer 2

Gee, Cheese! You have something in common with many Christians, in that you have been deceived into thinking poverty is holy. Jesus was wealthy by anyone's standards. His ministry was funded in part by the wife of King Herod's chief steward, who had access to almost unlimited resources. His ministry's treasury was so full that a professional thief, Judas Iscariot, could act as His treasurer without draining the till. Upon His crucifixion, Roman soldiers gambled for a portion of His robe, constructed in such a manner as to be incredibly valuable. You may know Jesus as a carpenter, but in His day He and His adopted father, Joseph, were custom builders. As the oldest son, He was entitled to all the assets, which were no doubt considerable.

Having said that, I doubt Jesus would be too impressed with a modern televangelist, panhandling like crazy and living in the lap of luxury. However, there is nothing in the Bible that says the accumulation of assets is evil. God's blessing over Abraham included massive material wealth.

Jesus illustrated, time and time again, as you have pointed out, that an adiction to things is an impediment to a relationship with God. Things=not bad. Addiction to things=bad.

I consider it very important as a Christian to display generosity, and to be a cheerful giver. That doesn't happen when you can't pay your bills, and I have never gotten the impression that Jesus is hankering for me to be destitute.

Sorry for the essay. Great question with lots of research to back it up!

Answer 3

It does not mean that you have to be poor to be a christian. It means to always be willing to help the people who are less fortunate than you and anyone in need. You are not suppose to put your possessions before God. He comes first always. It means if it comes down to giving up your posses ions and living for for him you should be willing. God says that he will provide all your needs if you only ask. Not your wants. I pay my ties every week even if I don't have enough for a bill. The ties are first. God has never forgot about the bill though. The money always seems to show up. If you believe he will provide for your needs.

Answer 4

It only says it will be hard for a rich man to do not impossible and I believe rich is also in spirit and mind of wisdom and intellect. The ability to quote scripture to prove a point is like using statistics you can phrase them the way you want to get the meaning you want if you dont use the entire text.


Good Luck and God Bless!!

Answer 5

We do not have to be poor to be true Believers in Jesus Christ.
We must love God above all things, can you walk away from all you own right now to serve God, to be obedient at whatever thing He asks of you? If you were called today, to leave everything you owned for Him, could you do it? If you had 1 pair of shoe, and you saw someone barefoot and homeless could you give them your shoes, take them to your home and feed them? What good is it if all were poor and could not help anyone at all?

It is written give and it shall be given. How can you give if you have nothing to give? You can not out give God, the more you give to others, food, money, clothes, anything that you give to bless someone else in need, the Father will give back even greater. Should Christians be poor? No, they should not be greedy, and should hold nothing above The Father and doing His will.

Answer 6

undesirable human beings are all alike. it is the interest of a political candidate which looks otherwise in numerous angles. The reservation coverage, from countless the viewpoints became excellent, (pardon, i'm no longer one among beneficiaries). besides the undeniable fact that it became formulated and applied wrongly. Now we may be able to work out that a dalit relatives even once you've reservation reward by 3 or 4 generations is lower back a dalit. now the different dalit relatives it is deprived of the benifits for that a lot era would might want to compete with the first form of dalit. it is no longer justified. the significant rationalization for reservation contained in the recommendations of structure makers became an ethical develop and to coach the society hostile to solid branch. My aspect is that if someone isn't undesirable, he might want to be considered non-dalit. besides the undeniable fact that the opposite gained't be authentic (each undesirable gained't be considered as dalit). Even the son of a crorepati may be undesirable by financial ruin, or maybe if it is his fault, genuinely it isn't the fault of grandson who will inherit the poverty. And to formulate and implement a reservation coverage for undesirable human beings is merely next to no longer achievable. what's significant, is a good coverage for undesirable those which will be sure loose preparation as a lot as a particular aspect, a perfect Public Distribution device, declaring the households having no technique of earnings, encouraging small scale entrepreneurship etc. the authorities might want to take effective steps to terminate the twin preparation device which makes it much harder for the undesirable scholars to compete. And if a coverage has been proved futile in very last 60 years, it is going to proceed to be so in destiny six hundred years. determination is significant for reforms to ensue. And as a very last aspect :- The reservation of any variety will earnings the worried human beings in basic terms in authorities jobs. and that is making a small %age of individuals. even extra human beings are engaged in agriculture and small organizations and retail shops etc. and also you won't be able to rigidity that a %age of entire shops might want to belong to Tribes and yet another to Casts and Poors. Out of one thousand human beings, you resources pastime to 4 STs, 12 SCs, 12 OBCs and 22 Brahmins. yet what's going to ensue to relax 950 in case you do not have a unmarried pastime for them in any classification.

Answer 7

As far as finances go yes I am.And I feel every verse everyday as far as"being poor"goes.I try but so far no good and I know that I'm responsible enough to handle finances.However I'm not ashamed to claim the Love of Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior.He keeps me strong as you can see.!

Answer 8

well i'm not poor and i'm a christian , but i work like everyone elts , and no matter what god has always takin care of me , but no i'm not rich , but if i wanted to work 2 jobs to be rich i could , but id rather do it my way . i think christains just have to be like everyone elts , work for a living .

Answer 9

It doesn't matter whather your rich or poor, you can be a Christian, Catholic, Jew, and so on and so on. All that matters is, that your a good person and help other in anyway you can.

Answer 10

Yes. They are unable to throw off a superstition that they were conditioned to.