Aww, thanks, Patnubay! My avatar is my dog, Charlotte, and this is the image you get when she jumps on the bed and comes over to stare at you. She puts her face right up against yours, I'm not sure if she's nearsighted or what lol.
And here's the post from LT that I was responding to, unedited:
And yes, for LT (and for others reading this thread, I suspect), "Rich" preachers sets off red flags, and "wealth" for ministers is not approved of. Nothing here is mentioned in LT's post about attitude or spirituality, simply that rich and wealth seem to be "bad," which is what I was asking LT to clarify (or expand on) when I made my post.
(And now for the rambly part)
I think the thing I was most struck by was the, "A wealthy minister is never good. There is no need for them." Honestly, to that, I have to say, "Baloney."
Why do we insist that our ministers be poor, or not reach "above" a certain tax bracket?
I had a wonderful pastor once who laboriously considered whether or not he should buy a new truck, because he was afraid of what the congregation might say. I hadn't realized until then, how judgmental people can be about those who serve the Lord, and the way they handle their finances. If I had enough finances (which I didn't), I would have bought that pastor the nicest brand-new truck and given it to him, anonymously, as a gift. However, I'm sure people still would have scrutinized him for that, sadly.
Monks throughout history have taken vows of poverty, which was very common. I'm sure people today still do it, certain Catholic sects, especially. I do not believe in vows of poverty, I am not a -
fan- of poverty, and I have a problem with people who suggest that you can not (or should not) be both wealthy and a Christian at the same time. Or worse yet, wealthy and a minister! No, we should not lay up treasures for ourselves here, and acquiring worldly wealth should not be our -focus-. If, however, we have sought first the kingdom of God, and he has added these things unto us, then awesome!! Or, if we happen to be independently wealthy (inherited a large sum, for example), are we expected to give that all away to the poor? No!
There is nothing wrong with Christians living in nice houses and having nice things. Once again, man is looking at the outward appearance of those things, but God looks at the heart.
The pastor of the church I grew up in, after over 30 years of living in the parsonage, finally moved into a -beautiful- house, huge, with a gorgeous view. He and his lovely wife have people over for dinner all the time, and entertain there, and they are just as lovely as can be. It is not whether or not people have nice things that should matter, it is their heart before the Lord. And they should not be expected to give all their belongings away or live in poverty. Unless they've taken a vow. Which would mean we wouldn't see them on TV, and they probably don't have world-wide ministries lol.
Wow. This was very rambly of me, I apologize. I will now go back into my hidey-hole for a respectable amount of time, and come back later lol.