Being Rich tends you to do evil things?

[jaybird88]

You'd do better on the conspiracy board. More people might buy this bologna you're doling out there.

thats not conspiracy, its accepted history now that the damage is done and the fortunes have been made, but years ago it was definitely conspiracy/crazy talk.
i know a few thousand farmers that would disagree with you and your rich people are good for the economy philosophy. and they are all right here in the good ole USA . they could not compete with the corporate farms as the could not get all the welfare, i mean subsidies that the corporate companies get. these people are already rich, and our government gives them money? money that comes from the masses, makes no sense to me.

 

[jaybird88]

i think it's a case to case basis. there are rich people who help the poor, while there are some who oppress the poor

i agree. i will admit i have a bias against them but only because i have seen with my own eyes the hardship that they create. there are most definitely good rich people with good hearts. few but they do exist. george westinghouse and T. Boone Pickens are a few.

 

[seoulsearch]

I'm always curious as to why no one ever seems to mention some key figures from the Bible when talking about the rich vs. poor debate.

* I once heard in a sermon that in today's money, Abraham could have very well been a billionaire. (Gen. 13: 2 -- "Abraham had become very wealthy in livestock and silver and gold.") I often wonder what he did with his wealth. Did he set up charities? Give a certain percentage to the poor? Would Sarah and Abraham have shopped at Walmart to try to save money? Or would they have shopped at the very best stores and only bought the finest things money could buy? And would the good Christian people thoroughly condemn them for that? (From what I've seen... yes.)

Whatever Abraham did, God called him His friend (James 2:23), so he must have been doing something right. And, the Bible says it was GOD who had blessed him in every way, so Abraham's wealth was a direct result of God's choice and blessing.

* Isaac became so wealthy that even the Philistines envied him (Gen. 26:12.)

* Jacob was from a wealthy family and built his own wealth in the process of following God.

* David and Solomon were obviously not lacking in anything, especially since Solomon was building temples and palaces made of gold, silver, and precious jewels.

* In the New Testament, Lydia, a "dealer of purple cloth" (presumed, by some accounts, to be a lucrative business), invited Paul and his companions to stay at her house (Acts 16:14.)

God has a place for everyone in His kingdom and plans, whether rich and poor. Some are made either way by God's own will (the parable of the talents, etc., in which God illustrates that He knows what we can handle and blesses us accordingly, commanding us to be good stewards and to be content no matter what our situation is or what He decides.)

I've also known a lot of people who never set out to be rich, but, for example, lived through the Great Depression and saved everything they possibly could because they'd seen some very rough times. Sometimes, these people would up with a large sum not because they were focused on being rich, but careful, and simply chose to rarely spend money on anything they could do themselves or make do without.

This is just my own experience, but most often, the Christians I've met who speak against "the rich" (meaning, people who are richer than they are), are simply not content with what they have and, as a way to comfort themselves, condemn or speak against those who have more.

The ironic thing is, for as much as so many holler about the "evils of having money," if they had a chance to receive more money themselves, they certainly wouldn't think twice about accepting it, which further illustrates that it's not about the money, but rather, the condition of the heart.

Money simply brings out a person's true colors that were there all along.

 

[atwhatcost]

thats not conspiracy, its accepted history now that the damage is done and the fortunes have been made, but years ago it was definitely conspiracy/crazy talk.
i know a few thousand farmers that would disagree with you and your rich people are good for the economy philosophy. and they are all right here in the good ole USA . they could not compete with the corporate farms as the could not get all the welfare, i mean subsidies that the corporate companies get. these people are already rich, and our government gives them money? money that comes from the masses, makes no sense to me.

Two minutes ago no one knew because only the winners write the books. You can't even get you lies straight. Are you trying to sell me a car?

 

[jsr1221]

I'm always curious as to why no one ever seems to mention some key figures from the Bible when talking about the rich vs. poor debate.

* I once heard in a sermon that in today's money, Abraham could have very well been a billionaire. (Gen. 13: 2 -- "Abraham had become very wealthy in livestock and silver and gold.") I often wonder what he did with his wealth. Did he set up charities? Give a certain percentage to the poor? Would Sarah and Abraham have shopped at Walmart to try to save money? Or would they have shopped at the very best stores and only bought the finest things money could buy? And would the good Christian people thoroughly condemn them for that? (From what I've seen... yes.)

Whatever Abraham did, God called him His friend (James 2:23), so he must have been doing something right. And, the Bible says it was GOD who had blessed him in every way, so Abraham's wealth was a direct result of God's choice and blessing.

* Isaac became so wealthy that even the Philistines envied him (Gen. 26:12.)

* Jacob was from a wealthy family and built his own wealth in the process of following God.

* David and Solomon were obviously not lacking in anything, especially since Solomon was building temples and palaces made of gold, silver, and precious jewels.

* In the New Testament, Lydia, a "dealer of purple cloth" (presumed, by some accounts, to be a lucrative business), invited Paul and his companions to stay at her house (Acts 16:14.)

God has a place for everyone in His kingdom and plans, whether rich and poor. Some are made either way by God's own will (the parable of the talents, etc., in which God illustrates that He knows what we can handle and blesses us accordingly, commanding us to be good stewards and to be content no matter what our situation is or what He decides.)

I've also known a lot of people who never set out to be rich, but, for example, lived through the Great Depression and saved everything they possibly could because they'd seen some very rough times. Sometimes, these people would up with a large sum not because they were focused on being rich, but careful, and simply chose to rarely spend money on anything they could do themselves or make do without.

This is just my own experience, but most often, the Christians I've met who speak against "the rich" (meaning, people who are richer than they are), are simply not content with what they have and, as a way to comfort themselves, condemn or speak against those who have more.

The ironic thing is, for as much as so many holler about the "evils of having money," if they had a chance to receive more money themselves, they certainly wouldn't think twice about accepting it, which further illustrates that it's not about the money, but rather, the condition of the heart.

Money simply brings out a person's true colors that were there all along.

I have to agree a lot with the last sentence. Everyone wants at least some sort of more money. Just look at our jobs. If our supervisor is to offer us a raise, how many are actually going to say "No thanks. I don't want a higher pay check."?

 

[jaybird88]

Two minutes ago no one knew because only the winners write the books. You can't even get you lies straight. Are you trying to sell me a car?

i was referring to united fruit. and no the atrocities they committed are not in the fistory books but they are taught by academics and the facts are there to look up. u can even find it on wikpedia and i dont see chiquita bananas suing them over it.

but enough with history, u need a car and i have just the one for you. she is a real cream puff, only 120k miles (all highway miles btw) one owner, a little old lady that never drove it over 45 mph. what do i have to do to get you in this car today? make a deal today and i will throw in a chiquita banana fruit basket!

 

[seoulsearch]

I have to agree a lot with the last sentence. Everyone wants at least some sort of more money. Just look at our jobs. If our supervisor is to offer us a raise, how many are actually going to say "No thanks. I don't want a higher pay check."?

To me, this would be the ultimate test. If I were to tell someone who talked about the "evils of being rich", "Ok, I'm going to offer you $10,000 cash... Will you accept it?" (Obviously, I can't make that kind of offer... But if I could... It sure would be interesting.)

If they didn't take the money, I might actually believe that they actually believe what they're preaching. Either that, or they're independently wealthy already.

And, if they did accept, they'd probably say, "Oh sure, I can use this to help the poor and spread God's Word," which would be fine. But I would expect proof that 100% of the funds to go towards what they're claiming they will use it on.

 

[raine28]

sorry everyone, atwhatcost and jaybird88, maybe my topic is not a good one, lets just all hope that people around the world will stop oppressing those who are weak and powerless in the name of the Lord. And let's just "agree to disagree". God bless everyone..

 

[jaybird88]

sorry everyone, atwhatcost and jaybird88, maybe my topic is not a good one, lets just all hope that people around the world will stop oppressing those who are weak and powerless in the name of the Lord. And let's just "agree to disagree". God bless everyone..

dont worry about us, if me and atwhatcost werent butting heads here we would do it on another thread, its what we do. and deep down i love her just dont tell anyone. i think she is a girl she has teddy bears on her pic

 

[raine28]

i won't tell anyone...LOL..anyway, we're brothers and sisters here, we may disagree with a lot of things, but at the end of the day, we should love one another like Jesus loves us...have a great day everyone..

 

[zoii]

Not really. The crimes simply differ. Hubby worked on a government base and someone got the brilliant idea to bring in parolee prisoners living in a halfway house. They were all rich or used-to-be rich men. They all had their stories and most used to live in areas of North Jersey known for upper-middle-class to lower-upper-class cities. The only reason some of the men were no longer rich is because the government takes away everything from the person when they are bused for being high-level drug traffickers. (They WERE middle-class men, not merely poor men who lived the good life for a while.) Others were busted for criminal activity related to their IT jobs. Great hackers or great phishers, but they had the education to go that way, so they weren't poor either. (They weren't allowed to use computers until released out into the world again, yet the bosses on the base were stupid enough to use those guys in the computer room. One got busted and sent back to prison for doing the same thing that got him in prison to begin with.) Many were ex-Wall Street guys who did inside trading.

Of all the men they brought in, only one guy didn't deserve prison time. He bought a big chunk of land and started building his house on there. Why is that illegal? Well, there was this large puddle on his land. Dry half the year and wetland the other half. Not enough to have fish live in it, but the EPA said he wasn't allowed to fill in that puddle because it was "protected wetlands." (IT WAS A LARGE PUDDLE!!!) 60 Minutes did a story on him, but he was still fighting his sentence to the point of almost finishing his time in prison.

Rich people go to prison. It's just not usually sensational stories, so we don't hear those stories often.

I'm very disturbed how many people here seem to give all sorts of philosophies about the rich or the poor that has noting to do with Christianity and very much what is being taught in the world.

@ Utah and @ atwhatcosts. My point isn't about their personal stories or - I'm guessing Utah was thinking about behind the scenes moral crimes that politicians may commit. My point was just a statistic. There is a direct correlation between education, wealth and criminal convictions. Its the same in every country and theres a fair bit online available on the subject. But like Utah alludes to - you might be wealthy n have no criminal conviction and have committed no actual crime - but you still might be morally bankrupt..... at least I think that's what Utah was getting at.

 

[oldthennew]

PROVERBS 13:7.

There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.

 

[bondservant]

Solomon said all is vanity, and that guy had a couple bucks.

 

[Jason0047]

To me, this would be the ultimate test. If I were to tell someone who talked about the "evils of being rich", "Ok, I'm going to offer you $10,000 cash... Will you accept it?" (Obviously, I can't make that kind of offer... But if I could... It sure would be interesting.)

If they didn't take the money, I might actually believe that they actually believe what they're preaching. Either that, or they're independently wealthy already.

And, if they did accept, they'd probably say, "Oh sure, I can use this to help the poor and spread God's Word," which would be fine. But I would expect proof that 100% of the funds to go towards what they're claiming they will use it on.

Unless I had debt which was that amount, I would refuse it. I believe in working for my money. The point is about accumulation and hoarding something whereby you could help those who are suffering or poor. The moment one hoards is the moment one becomes selfish and takes away from someone else (Who could need that money). For if the poor people were right outside your door, it would be a little more difficult to like not help them (Unless one is like the Richman who ignored the cries of Lazarus).. That's kind of the point. It's about love.

For when zacchaeus had said that he would sell half his goods to the poor and that he would make right those he wronged financially, Jesus said salvation has come to this house.

 

[Jason0047]

As for Solomon: We have to understand that he was a king. All the money he had was a part of the Kingdom. Also, Solomon did not seek after that money, either. In addition, we are now under a New Covenant with New Commands given to us. So things are different. The Scriptures say that the Law has changed (Hebrews 7:12).

 

[MikkoAinasoja]

A lot of poor people aspire to become rich. In the process of becoming rich and gaining wealth, are you more prone to do evil things? If yes, does it mean you should try to avoid to be a very rich man? what are your opinions?

Rich man heart go easily in his possession, and away from God's will, so it can be like the weed, which choke the growth of the seed.

But in a time of our dear brother apostles, we may say that the early church may have a lot of money, because the people's sell they possession and give they money to the church.

But this money, it was not like an any man's own, but it was like use for God's work.

 

[CRC]

It is not what is in a person's bank account but rather what is in his herart that causes the problem.

 

[p_rehbein]

I'm guessing the OP is speaking of "material wealth?"

In that case, apparently I'm about as likely to do something evil as an empty Coke bottle.............

 

[Jason0047]

It is not what is in a person's bank account but rather what is in his herart that causes the problem.

So you are saying I could have 1 billion dollars in my bank account and not do anything to help the poor and or to spread the gospel and it would be okay? Would it still be okay even if I did those things with just a fraction of that money while I lived life like a king?

Hmmm..... doesn't really sound like it lines up too well with.... "He that shall save his life shall lose and he that shall lose his life for my sake shall save it."

What one has in their account and what they are doing with that money speaks to what is in their heart.

 

[Jason0047]

I'm guessing the OP is speaking of "material wealth?"

In that case, apparently I'm about as likely to do something evil as an empty Coke bottle.............

Think of it in more of terms of hoarding while another needs those things that you are hoarding. For example: If you killed all the buffalo in a certain area that was the only source of food around for hundreds of miles and you stored all that food in a certain place while other people went starving outside your door, then surely one is not showing forth the love of God. Granted, we tend to think that other people are going to help poor people and there are shelters and stuff or they might buy booze with the money you give them. But see it is not about that. For what if this person was honestly starving and did not know where the shelter was at? Maybe this person needed food badly and they were going to die if you didn't give them food? What then?