This one could have been a subtext of the article on divisiveness, and even combined with the next one, but it seemed a separate enough issue to deal with a little on its own.
Jesus taught several times in general public teaching to “sell all your possessions and give to the poor.” He didn’t just say it to the Rich Young Ruler, of which we all quickly point to as, “that’s just for the Rich Young Ruler, not for everybody! He had a problem with his possessions, I don’t!” Unfortunately, the Gospels record that this was also a general teaching to all.
I’m not trying to make anyone feel guilty here, only to be honest about the teachings of Jesus, teachings He said at the end of Matthew to teach all who believe to observe. And when you read the first few chapters in Acts, that is exactly what the apostles did teach. You had a Church of at least five thousand people, all of whom gave liberally. No one counted any possession as their own.
What I’m trying to establish is that a basic idea and doctrine of Christianity was giving all, your life first, and by extension your possessions. If you have died with Christ, how does a dead man have personal possessions? Jesus taught principles of extreme giving, primarily to the poor, and the apostles took that teaching and applied it to a community the like of which had never been seen on earth before, where such giving was outrageous and so common that a married couple felt the need to lie and died because of that lie.
And given the One we should be following – the One who humbled Himself from Heaven to live in an earthly vessel, a poor earthly vessel that was born in a dung heap and lived in Nazareth (“can any good thing come from Nazareth?”), then took that position and gave His physical life, experienced complete separation from His Father as He bore the sin of the world, all so others could have eternal life - giving up our rights to our possessions to meet the needs of others seems to be a rather appropriate beginning.
So to enter into the Kingdom with a motivation for personal profit, especially money, was a sign of something sinister, not something of God in any way.
In instructing Timothy in his first letter, Paul details divisive people with bad doctrine in chapter 6. One of the main signs was men “of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself.” Then Paul goes on to talk about “godliness with contentment is great gain.” Content with what? “Food and clothing.” He doesn’t include shelter!
Paul then says, “those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” As you can see, the “desire to be rich” is the foundation by which men fall into great sin, sin that destroys them.
Also in 1 Timothy, Paul instructs him to use specific criteria for appointing elders, among which is: “not a lover of money.”
This is in line with the teachings of Jesus, who in the Sermon on the Mount, taught contentment with food and clothing (again, no shelter) and trust that God would provide these things if our focus was on the Kingdom and His righteousness. Also remember the parable of the soils, in which one of the soils produced a plant, produced life, but was choked by thorns, representative of “the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.” And we remember what Jesus did to the fig tree without fruit, right?
Jude also deals with it as a mark of those who have turned the grace of God into a liscence to sin, saying, “they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error.” Balaam wasn’t just rebuked by God through a donkey, he was also responsible for leading Israel into idolatry. And although that was just a short comment in the Old Testament on Balaam, the rest of the Bible speaks very ill of him.
How do we see this play out today? Well, that is easy. First of all, we have Christians who literally swindle people out of money, through all kinds of means, and these people should be sharply rebuked.
It is also common for ministers and leaders/pastors to actually get rich off of the Church, and treat ministry as the same as they would a worldly career path. They have all the worldly signs of American material success (big house, nice cars, excellent retirment plan, etc.). This is patently against the ideas of the scripture. They should be rebuked, as well. But it is so intrinsic within some organizations and systems that many would bristle that I would even question it, much less say it is completely wrong.
While Paul does assert the right to be financially supported for preaching the gospel, he decided not to take the support or exercise that right. He did this for two reasons. First, he wanted the eternal reward such would give him, and second, he didn’t want to “abuse my authority in the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:18). He also mentions again to the Corinthians his desire to preach the gospel “free of charge”, saying, “Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.”
This is a theme throughout Paul’s letters, that he will not take money in support, considering the one time he did as “robbing” the Church.
Again, this is not to say that supporting ministers is wrong, or unbiblical, but it should be based on need, not position alone. And I do not intend to question the heart of every minister who receives a salary, but it does happen that some get caught up in lusts and greed for materialism and financial security through the Kingdom of God. And that is not the nature of the Kingdom of God. If we believe the Bible, that is.
(As a side note, I am personally challenged and encouraged by Rick Warren, who made a ton of money off of the Church through his writings but gives 90% of his earnings to different charities. That is cool.)
A close cousin of this problematic doctrine is the popular prosperity message. Where the prosperity message is taught to empower people to give liberally because God is faithful to provide for our needs, not our luxurious desires, we have no problem. But some teaching from the prosperity message equates worldly wealth with great faith, and that is a major problem.
No poor person was ever rebuked in scripture for being poor. Rather, the poor are continually commended for their faith. It is the wealthy that are given “woes”.
Don’t misunderstand me, it is not a sin to do noble work with integrity and make a lot of money. Paul made money making tents. But he refused to get into the habit of taking money from the Church. Even the money he made making tents was poured into ministry to others, saving souls and starting churches, not for his own benefit. That was the example he wished to set to the Corinthians, the Thessalonians, and every church he planted. That is the most cohesive biblical example we have.
And while it is not a sin to make a lot of money, remember you are called to contentment with food and clothing alone, not luxury and wealth. Paul tells Timothy to admonish the rich that they are to be generous and rich in good deeds, not arrogant or to put hope in wealth, which is uncertain.
In conclusion, the Kingdom of God is an opportunity to serve, not receive personal gain. To be great in the Kingdom of God, you must be a “slave of all”, giving of yourself and preferring others over yourself. Do that and you’ll have reward in Heaven. To be caught up in the cares of this life and deceitfulness of wealth causes you to be spiritually unfruitful and unprofitable, which doesn’t usually end well for those people in scripture.
Peace.