About 6 people told me that nowhere in the Bible does it mention disapproval of wealth.
Well fools, here you go.
"I tell you the truth, it is 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"
Matthew 19:24.
Face it. Jesus was a poor as dirt. He would be so ashamed of some of the Christian tycoons of today.
2007-02-02 10:11:58 · 51 answers · asked by 2 days after my B day :) 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
*Of course Christians do not know their bible. They claim baptism is not commanded or essiential for salvation, but I post passages proving different many times a day. That is not the only scripture that talks bad about the rich. Just look into any good concordance and you will find many passgaes against being rich.*
2007-02-02 10:21:10 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 3⤋
Too bad you didn't finish reading the scripture. When Jesus' disciples ask then how they would be able to get into heaven (after all, several of them were business owners). Jesus reply to them was "With God all things are possible". So wealth does not keep you out of heaven.
Was Jesus poor?
His clothing was so expensive that the roman soldiers, rather then split it as was the standard, instead gambled for it.
The house he which Jesus was preaching when some men torn open the roof and let down a sick man belongs to Jesus. It was on the shore of the Sea of Galilee in Capernaum, and would have been an expensive resort home.
Estimates are that the gifts given to Jesus as his birth, in today's money, would have been the range of 5 to 10 million dollars.
When the crowd of several thousand was hungry and needed to be feed, the disciples wanted to know if they should take the 500 denari in Jesus' purse to go and buy food. A denari was about a year's wages.
Jesus had enough money that he had to have a treasurer to handle it - which was Judas. And he was able to steal from the purse without anyone noticing. Try doing that if you only have five dollars in the bag...
If Jesus was opposed to having money, why did he tell the parable about three men being given money to invest. The two who did invest it and made more money were each rewarded in proportion to their financial increase. The one who did not invest his money was condemned to hell.
When you actually read the Bible, you will discover that there were many wealthy men who served God. Abraham, David and Solomon were some of the wealthiest people of their time.
Would Jesus be ashamed of some of the Christian tycoons. Yes, if they are misusing the money. No, if they are properly stewarding the money. It is not the money that is an issue - it is the usage of the money.
2007-02-02 10:39:15 · answer #2 · answered by dewcoons 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
There are people in every religion that don't know their own book, not just the christians, though true christianity is not a religion, but a relationship with god. If christianity is a religion, then you could say that your relationship with your father or mother is religion. Do you love your mother? Is that religion?
God gave king Solomon great riches. So riches are not wrong in itself.
Do christians not know their own bible? Well some don't. But it seems you don't either (no offense). You have completely misinterpreted what Jesus said thinking he disappoved of wealth.
Besides, Jesus was rich. He had alot of time, stacks of love, not to mention lots of wisdom. Money isn't the only thing one can be rich with. And it all depends on the value of things. One big nugget of gold can be worth alot of money. But that's only because people value it. Some people would give alot of money to own Jesus garment. So would jesus be considered rich because of his garment?
Besides, Jesus had the Holy Spirit. That made him a spiritual zillionare.
It's hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. It's even harder for an unbeliever to enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus disaproves of unbelief far more than wealth, which he doesn't dissaprove of anyway.
Wealth is not the issue. Sin is. Sin is what keeps people out of heaven. That's why Jesus died for the sins of mankind.
2007-02-02 10:39:51 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Jesus wasn't saying it was wrong to be rich but that it was hard for a rich person to get to heaven if they love their riches. Jesus wasn't poor either because he had a house and he had an accountant, Judas. Judas kept the money so he must have had some money.
The truth is God is very rich because he owns the whole earth and everyone and everything in it. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Job were all very rich and God approved of them because they were not in love with their money. God even said Job was a perfect man despite how rich he was. After Matthew 19:24 Jesus said it's impossible for this rich man to be saved but all things are possible with God.
2007-02-02 10:52:01 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am not going to quote the Bible at you, lest you try to find another verse to justify your point. God is not against wealth. He is against the love of wealth - in other words, putting money over others, putting wealth as greater importance than God. Read the entire Bible that you say we Christians don't know about, and you will see many instances where God blessed those He was pleased with by providing them with enormous wealth. King Solomon was one such man. Why would Jesus be ashamed of Christian tycoons? If someone is wealthy because God has blessed that person, then what reason would there be to be ashamed of the blessings that God poured out on that person? Could it be jealousy, since Christ lived a life of poverty? No, that's not it, because Christ had (has) no reason to be jealous since He is God and He has no need of wealth, since everything in existence is His anyway, and He made it all. Christ CHOSE poverty. He had His reasons. Read the entire Bible. Study it. Then, come back and attack our beliefs when you are better informed. Sorry to be harsh, but this Christian-bashing is getting old.
2007-02-02 10:39:38 · answer #5 · answered by Chimichanga to go please!! 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Jesus didn't say it was impossible for the rich to enter Heaven & BTW He wasn't talking about a literal needle. One of the city gates into Jerusalem was called the Needle Gate, & in order for a camel to go through it, it had to be unloaded & bend his head down. If Jesus had been poor, He would not have needed a treasurer to keep the money bag (Judas Iscariot)
Now, go read it again & don't call us fools when you're the one who doesn't know the Bible.
2007-02-02 10:24:42 · answer #6 · answered by wanda3s48 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There is nothing wrong with being rich, it should not be seen as evil. so long as the wealth is used for the betterment of yourself your family, your community and humanity at large. Personal wealth which is locked away and not used for good and is earned in a way which is detrimental to society is dangerous to the soul.
Jesus Christ was poor yes, but there was a reason for this, if he had been rich he would not have become the role model for all times. There would have been bias in his very existence and the reason for which he was created - to spread the truth - would have been destroyed.
He was the saviour of the poor, the ill and the diseased, and the oppressed this all would not have been possible if he was granted material wealth. people would not have believed him or his message if he was loaded with material wealth.
2007-02-02 10:31:29 · answer #7 · answered by Electric 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Christians truly don't know their bible.
They are meant to give up their wealth if they want to follow Jesus. This is stated quite clearly a number of times.
The one rich person that gains the favor of Jesus was Zacchaeus the Tax Collector who, before he gained favor, gave up half of all he owned and then, out of the rest, gave back four times the amount to anyone he had cheated. And this was part of being born again, not some bequest when he died.
No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. Matthew 6:24
2007-02-02 10:28:14 · answer #8 · answered by Dave P 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Is the account, at Luke 16:19-31, literal or merely an illustration of something else? The Jerusalem Bible, in a footnote, acknowledges that it is a "parable in story form without reference to any historical personage." If taken literally, it would mean that those enjoying divine favor could all fit at the bosom of the one man, Abraham; that the water on one's fingertip would bit be evaporated by the fire of Hades; that a mere drop of water would bring relief to one suffering there. Does that sound reasonable to you? If it were literal, it would conflict with other parts of the Bible. It the bible were thus contradictory, would a lover of truth use it as a basis for his faith? But the Bible does not contradict itself.
2007-02-02 10:31:39 · answer #9 · answered by Here I Am 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is true that Jesus was poor. Also true that through a rich mans love of money, it is harder for him to be willing to surrender his life to God. Also true that the rich can be saved as Jesus continued and said that with God all things are possible. It does not talk about how it is sin to have wealth. Look at David, Solomon, Job, Abraham etc... It's not sin to have wealth, but rather a rich mans pride makes it more difficult for him to realize he has to depend on somone to get him to heaven. He must depend on God, and him only because there is no other way into heaven. Eph 2:8,9 "For by grace are we saved through faith and that not of ourselves it is a gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast." Hope this helps...
2007-02-02 10:21:37 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
You took that totally out of context. He said it's hard for a rich man to get into Heaven because usually they do not seek God the same way someone poor and broken in Spirit does. He certainly did not say he wanted us to be paupers. He did tell us to lay up our treasure in Heaven. Depends on how you use the money that you are given. Most rich people are taken over by the green eyed monster. He warns us to not be like those who are selfish and greedy and do not seek God.
2007-02-02 10:17:50 · answer #11 · answered by Stacey B 2 · 4⤊ 0⤋