A question for my Christian friends--wealth?

Question

I firmly believe that as a Christian, one is supposed to live only on what is necessary, without extra luxuries. I also believe that,
through prayer and guidance, I will be able to find a place where I fit in to God's kingdom as part of His plan here on the earth. Since
Christians are needed in all fields and jobs, I have been led to
consider the career as an Orthodontist. I am quite ambitious and can
do the job, plus the extra money can go to a Christian organization of
my choice if my family and I live only on what is necessary.
So recently these views of mine have been challenged by a few of my
closest Christian relations: My elder friend, my best friend's
parents, and my preacher. Let me explain.

My elder friend is in her forties and has a good family. Her husband
is well-established in the engineering business and receives a large
salary. She is the middle school youth minister at my large church and
is known to be a very righteous and caring person, always seeming to
know the best answer to everything. However, her house and its
furnishing is over 300,000 dollars. It's off the charts.
My best friend is the one I go to if I'm having troubles or if I need
prayer. She is very religious. A few weeks ago she invited me over to
her parents' house for dinner. Her parents are very religious,
bringing up their daughter with good morals and guidance. However,
they just built a custom-designed house that cost them over 350,000
dollars with over 6000 square feet of space. The furnishing was
magnificent and beautiful; however, I felt very out of place.

I go to the largest and best church in town, a non-denominational
Christian church with over 2000 members. Recently I went over to my
preacher's house. You can imagine what I will say next. His house was
in a rich neighborhood and was furnished for what looked like over
200,000 dollars, the house itself costing 200,000 as well. At that
point I didn't know what to do.

I understand that Jesus urges his disciples to live by faith and not
by sight. Considering everything I mentioned above, what is a
Christian to do with his extra finances? Is "the more I make the more
I will be able to donate" a figuring factor when choosing a career?
Earthly comfort is something looked down upon in the Bible, so how do
these people justify their purchases? Is there something I'm missing?
Please help!

Answer 1

Scotty I wouldn't say his thinking is flawed, I'd say it very brave and noble. As long as he is responsible with his family and supply their needs. And of course as long as his family supports him in this ideal.

As Scotty said there are many examples of God servants who were wealthy by their historic standards. Abraham, Job, David, Solomon, etc. the patriarchs had very simple lives though, even being wealthy. Kings were another thing, but God's plan was a theocracy. God did warn the nation of Israel that the King they desired would take their land, wealth and even their daugthers.

I'f you feel that God is calling you to help other through your earnings, that's great. I think you should be careful in how you use it. The Church I attend to, for example, is organized, pays a fixed salary to ministers, and has many misions and humanitary aid programs. So I have no problem in returning God his blessings through this Church.

You should investigate how your church uses oferings and how effectively it reaches who really needs it. Or you could do something with that money yourself to aid people in need.

In the early church times, Christians gave their land and properties for the growth of the congregations and to aid widows and orphans. This fed the rapid growth fo the church body.

If we truly believe we are living at the end of times, then it might be just as important to learn how to live with the bare essentials and use the excess to help others learn about Jesus before its too late.

I really admire your beliefs as I do give money to church but do have my luxuries I guess. You shouldn't feel unconfortable among other wealthy chistians who have decided to use their money differently, they will probably admire your generosity too.

May God Bless You Richly!

Answer 2

As Scotty pointed out, Jesus said it’s the LOVE of money that is the root of all evil. That’s why the rich man had such a hard time parting with it. But, there is nothing wrong with being wealthy. In fact, Jesus knew (and knows) a lot of wealthy folks. It’s what you do with your wealth that is important. Part of our heart message is that God gives us everything we have; food, breath, sight, a house, a car, an apartment, whatever. If God has seen to it that you have an abundance of income, then you also may be learning generosity. I’ve learned that whenever we give back to God, trusting Him, He will bless us in return. A tithe (or 10%) is a beginning, but not a requirement. All that we have should be used for God’s glory. If you have a big house, maybe using it to put up visitors to your church. If you have extra cash, use it to support missions, charities, Compassion International (or similar), not just your tithe to your church. So, be an Orthodontist! God can use you there. The more you make, the more you can give might be a figuring factor, but not necessarily a deciding factor. Remember, nothing about tomorrow is certain. Maybe you’d have a small practice. But in all, God wants you to be a cheerful giver. We should be joyful about giving. Someone once said, almost giddy as we give, because we know that God will take care of us no matter what. Stay in perspective and be happy for the way God has prospered your friends and the intelligence He gives you to take on such an intense profession. It’s not about how much we make, it’s about what we do with what we have, great or small. Just make God first.

Answer 3

Yes it is a very puzzeling thing to ask but there are answers and they are in the bible
wealth is not a bad thing it is the love of money etc and the striving after it that can take our attention away from God an his purposes that is where your wisdom comes in

will the striving after riches and material things cloud out God
and the trouble with money is the more we have the more we want (ps I dont have wealth monetry) but as for the true wealth knowing of Gods purposes for this earth and the inhabitants of it well yes indeed very very rich in that regard.

please dont let my next statement stop you from reading further on I am one of Jehovahs Wittnesses yes I do make mistakes yet Jehovah knows me and of what I am made, but that doesnt mean I can sin and sin and sin and keep getting forgiven oh no there comes a point at which Jehovah calls it a day no more forgiveness so I strive not to get into that sittuation, I pray for his help if I am unsure on some matter and as a rule of thumb if Ive had to pray consulting God then more chance not to follow that route if you see what I mean,

You realy need to find out what god has planed for the future, mind you alot of religions will say oh not in our time, yet Jesus said at a time when they think it is not, that is when disaster will strike,

so best find out how to live through the disaster wouldnt you say, you seem a very sensible and sensitive person so best advice is find a local wittness to answer all of your questions

christian brotherly love andy

Answer 4

Well I am really no expert by any means at all but really I don't think there is a solid math formula for how much you should use for yourself and how much you should give away. Many people think the 10% tithe is the magic number, and all you have to give away. But guess what, the pharisees did this, but look what that got them - nowhere. Tithing comes from the heart. Again there really is no set formula. One should give as he feels inclined, and should give out of joy. But on a more practical standpoint... I do not really think one should be living so extravagantly unless the person in question is making enough money to cover costs like what you mentioned in like a couple of years or something. Lots of people, Christians included, make as much as millions a year or even more. People like these are bound to have extraordinarily expensive homes and cars etc, just because they can. But I believe that the truly good Christian, while he has possessions like these, should not wallow in them and show them off. Nor should he get so obsessed as to start shopping just to shop, if you know what I mean. Like buying a new home every month or something like that. I mean look at some people in the Bible... such as Job... after his period of trial... God rewarded him with immense wealth, God also rewarded Solomon with great wealth. Wealth and possessions are not inherently evil or wrong. The reasons why Jesus told the rich young ruler to give away all his possessions and to follow him, was because the man had become too dependent on his wealth. Our ultimate trust should be in God, not finances. This is the main thing. And yes, also, we should not be focusing so much on pampering ourselves that we forget to give away money to the poor/needy/suffering/etc.

Answer 5

Clement of Alexandria consiered this question in the 1st century and he argued that we are supposed to constantly be giving to others, which means we should be making more than we need for ourselves alone.

John Wesley added that there is an interim period in which Christians can have too much and during that time we are to be good stewards of the wealth so that we can make the most of it, should we need it for ourselves or give it away. He said a Christian should make all they can, save all they can, and give all they can.

If during these saving years I save a little too much for my kids' college or braces or whatever I consider it part of the Christian discipline to return the money to those in need. Money is like water that way, God has it flow into our lives and out and we can help direct it, sometimes we ar in need, sometimes others. And sometimes we aren't clear about our needs.

A separate question is what is a reasonable standard of living. I myself do not ascribe to asceticism. I think a middle class livelihood is fair enough, and that voluntary simplicity is a good thing. But a few luxuries I think are fine. That is what Jesus did when he turned water into wine, after all - at the request of Mary he gave them the ability to serve the best wine last, which would have been an extraordinary display of wealth in 1st century Galilee.

Regardless of where you fall, I would definitely encourage you to refrain from paying such detailed atatnetion to the lifestyles of the rich and famous among the church. Many Christians are caugt up in the affluenza epidemic, no doubt, and so we can voluntarily choose simplicity. But then we are tempted to be prideful about that, too!

Answer 6

Good query! This is an drawback that has a tendency to divide the Christian group. There are a quantity of verses within the gospels that make it crystal transparent that Jesus didn't handle fabric wealth or wealthy humans. These might normally have got to be disregarded to have a opposite function.

Answer 7

I can tell you what you're missing. You're looking at other people instead of looking at Jesus. The convictions, talents and personality He gave you are unique to you, and He gave them to you for His glory. Do not look to other people and what they do as a measure of spirituality or religious devotion. Look to Jesus, and ask Him to help you please Him in everything you do.

Judging others will only cause you pain and stress, and it's not your job anyway. That is God's job. We are not to be stupid, however, and a sad fact of life is that some Christians are greedy, money hungry hypocrites. When you encounter people like this, your responsibility is to mind your own business. Other people are not yours to fix.

Also, when you attend a large church, you can expect the pastor to live lavishly. This is another sad fact of life. You can choose another church if you wish, you know.

Keep your heart and mind on God. I think it's wonderful that you want to be an orthodontist and use your extra money to help others. Don't let yourself be overcome and burdened by paying attention to the failures you see in others. I'm sure you have plenty of your own failures, and remember that God loves each of us the same.

Answer 8

I think you're wrong when you state that Christians are supposed to live only on what is necessary. Scripture is full of examples of people whom God has blessed with abundant earthly riches. The one that comes to mind immediately is Job. He was wealthy before his trials, and after his trials, he became even wealthier. Abraham was quite wealthy. The centurion who sent for Peter was wealthy.

I don't think it says anywhere in the bible that you can't be wealthy. It says "the love of money is the root of all evil." That doesn't mean you can't have a lot of it.

God wants your heart. If He is first in your heart, everything else falls into place.

So, my friend, in my humble opinion, your opening statement that Christians need to live only on what is necessary without extra luxuries, is flawed.

Answer 9

Me and my boyfriend were talking about this. I think that we as Christians are some times a bit too much when it comes to our purchases and things of that nature. The bible says that God will supply all your NEEDS according to his riches in Glory. So sometimes I think that when our needs are met then we go and get what we want and over indulge into things that can become idols and we don't even know it. How can we minister to someone when we are driving bentley and they are in a 89 maxima....it is intimidating. I think everything needs to be prayed about, especially every decision that we as Christians make. We can become "superstars" instead of disciples in many people's eyes. So we have to watch what garments we wear because clothes and fashion came in with sin. So we all have to be mindful. We shouldn't just want quantity of things of quality in our walk with Christ so that we are pleasing and exceptable in his sight.

Answer 10

I think that if God blesses you with the ability to be an orthodontist, then God will also bless you with some of the better things in life. You sound as though you will donate as much as you can to those in need.