The problem of being rich

[TheLearner]

Luke 18:25 (ESV)

For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

James 1:13 Whenever you feel tempted to do something bad, you should not say, “God is tempting me.” Evil cannot tempt God, and God himself does not tempt anyone.

Matthew 19:16 [ A Rich Man Refuses to Follow Jesus ] A man came to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to have eternal life?”

Luke 16:20 There was also a very poor man named Lazarus. Lazarus’ body was covered with sores. He was often put by the rich man’s gate.


1 Corinthians 4:8
You think you have everything you need. You think you are rich. You think you have become kings without us. I wish you really were kings. Then we could rule together with you.

2 Corinthians 6:10 We have much sadness, but we are always rejoicing. We are poor, but we are making many people rich in faith. We have nothing, but really we have everything.

1 Timothy 6:9 People who want to be rich bring temptations to themselves. They are caught in a trap. They begin to want many foolish things that will hurt them. These things ruin and destroy people.

1 Timothy 6:17 Give this command to those who are rich with the things of this world. Tell them not to be proud. Tell them to hope in God, not their money. Money cannot be trusted, but God takes care of us richly. He gives us everything to enjoy.
Tell those who are rich to do good—to be rich in good works. And tell them they should be happy to give and ready to share.


James 5:1 [ A Warning to Rich and Selfish People ] You rich people, listen! Cry and be very sad because much trouble will come to you.

1 John 3:17 Suppose a believer who is rich enough to have all the necessities of life sees a fellow believer who is poor and does not have even basic needs. What if the rich believer does not help the poor one? Then it is clear that God’s love is not in that person’s heart.

 

[seoulsearch]

I always find threads with warnings to the rich to be interesting, because "the rich" are always painted as being "those other people", and not us.

Many of the most famous men in Scripture (Abraham, Isaac, David, Solomon, Joseph of Arimathea, etc.) were not poor, and the Bible says that it was God Himself who gave them their riches, so apparently He knew that they would be able to handle them.

I often wonder, "Who, exactly, are the rich?"

This 2018 article from The Washington Post states that:

" ... Even the developed world's poor and middle classes are, by global standards, extraordinarily rich. After adjusting for cost-of-living differences, a typical American still earns an income that is 10 times the income received by a typical person in the world."


(https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-matter/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.4f932ffbd6e1)


I often see articles written as warnings of "Woe to the Rich!"

But what if God is pointing His finger at us and telling us that we are the very rich people that we think need to be warned?

 

[Lanolin]

I think if you are a busness owner or manager and not an employee, you could count yourself as rich, because you get the profit from the business.

For those of us that are not, we are always poor in comparison. And we dont get any profit. And sometimes its hard to make ends meet, but if one just lives within their means and budgets we can get by.

Its good to be middle-class, but the economic systems of many countries are more geared toward rich getting richer and poor getting poorer, sadly. The downside of being middle-class is being lukewarm and complacent.

 

[tourist]

Are you rich or poor? Either position can become problematic but I would prefer to having the problem of being rich than trying to scrape by being poor. You neglected to offer your own thoughts so it is hard to respond in a meaningful way.

 

[Angela53510]

We are not "rich" in the sense of being multimillionaires, but we are content!

"Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content." 1 Tim 6:6-8 ESV

 

[Locoponydirtman]

I think if you are a busness owner or manager and not an employee, you could count yourself as rich, because you get the profit from the business.

For those of us that are not, we are always poor in comparison. And we dont get any profit. And sometimes its hard to make ends meet, but if one just lives within their means and budgets we can get by.

Its good to be middle-class, but the economic systems of many countries are more geared toward rich getting richer and poor getting poorer, sadly. The downside of being middle-class is being lukewarm and complacent.

Lol, being a business owner means nothing as far as being rich. Many business owners are in debt and can hardly make bills each month. Especially small business owners.

 

[Locoponydirtman]

I think Proverbs 30 says something to the likes of Lord don't let me be poor or I might steal and don't make me rich that I forget who God is.

 

[TheLearner]

I always find threads with warnings to the rich to be interesting, because "the rich" are always painted as being "those other people", and not us.

Many of the most famous men in Scripture (Abraham, Isaac, David, Solomon, Joseph of Arimathea, etc.) were not poor, and the Bible says that it was God Himself who gave them their riches, so apparently He knew that they would be able to handle them.

I often wonder, "Who, exactly, are the rich?"

This 2018 article from The Washington Post states that:

" ... Even the developed world's poor and middle classes are, by global standards, extraordinarily rich. After adjusting for cost-of-living differences, a typical American still earns an income that is 10 times the income received by a typical person in the world."


(https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-matter/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.4f932ffbd6e1)


I often see articles written as warnings of "Woe to the Rich!"

But what if God is pointing His finger at us and telling us that we are the very rich people that we think need to be warned?

This thread relates to God wants you rich theology. I posted scripture warning texts. I did not set up a us vs them because compared to most of the world even our homeless in the Us are rich.

Where does it say God made each of those named rich?

Let's look at Solomon.

1 Kings 11 Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Solomon and His Many Wives

11 King Solomon loved many foreign women, including the daughter of Pharaoh and women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon, and the Hittites. 2 In the past the Lord had said to the Israelites, “You must not marry people from other nations. If you do, they will cause you to follow their gods.” But Solomon fell in love with these women. 3 He had 700 wives who were the daughters of leaders from other nations. He also had 300 slave women who were like wives to him. His wives caused him to turn away from God. 4 When Solomon was old, his wives caused him to follow other gods, so he did not follow the Lord completely as his father David did. 5 Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of Sidon, and Milcom, the horrible god of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did what the Lord said was wrong. He did not follow the Lord completely as his father David did.

7 On the mountain next to Jerusalem, Solomon built a place for worshiping Chemosh, that horrible idol of the Moabites. On the same mountain, Solomon built a place for worshiping Molech, that horrible idol of the Ammonites. 8 Solomon did the same thing for all of his other foreign wives who burned incense and gave sacrifices to their gods.

9 So Solomon did not remain faithful to the Lord, the God of Israel, even though God had appeared to him twice. The Lord became angry with him. 10 He had told Solomon that he must not follow other gods, but Solomon did not obey the Lord’s command. 11 So the Lord said to Solomon, “You have chosen to break your agreement with me. You have not obeyed my commands. So I promise that I will tear your kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants. 12 But I loved your father David, so I will not take your kingdom away from you while you are alive. I will wait until your son becomes king. Then I will take it from him. 13 Still, I will not tear away all the kingdom from your son. I will leave him one tribe to rule. I will do this for my servant David and for Jerusalem, the city I chose.”

 

[seoulsearch]

This thread relates to God wants you rich theology. I posted scripture warning texts. I did not set up a us vs them because compared to most of the world even our homeless in the Us are rich.

Where does it say God made each of those named rich?

Let's look at Solomon.

1 Kings 11 Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Solomon and His Many Wives

11 King Solomon loved many foreign women, including the daughter of Pharaoh and women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon, and the Hittites. 2 In the past the Lord had said to the Israelites, “You must not marry people from other nations. If you do, they will cause you to follow their gods.” But Solomon fell in love with these women. 3 He had 700 wives who were the daughters of leaders from other nations. He also had 300 slave women who were like wives to him. His wives caused him to turn away from God. 4 When Solomon was old, his wives caused him to follow other gods, so he did not follow the Lord completely as his father David did. 5 Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of Sidon, and Milcom, the horrible god of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did what the Lord said was wrong. He did not follow the Lord completely as his father David did.

7 On the mountain next to Jerusalem, Solomon built a place for worshiping Chemosh, that horrible idol of the Moabites. On the same mountain, Solomon built a place for worshiping Molech, that horrible idol of the Ammonites. 8 Solomon did the same thing for all of his other foreign wives who burned incense and gave sacrifices to their gods.

9 So Solomon did not remain faithful to the Lord, the God of Israel, even though God had appeared to him twice. The Lord became angry with him. 10 He had told Solomon that he must not follow other gods, but Solomon did not obey the Lord’s command. 11 So the Lord said to Solomon, “You have chosen to break your agreement with me. You have not obeyed my commands. So I promise that I will tear your kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants. 12 But I loved your father David, so I will not take your kingdom away from you while you are alive. I will wait until your son becomes king. Then I will take it from him. 13 Still, I will not tear away all the kingdom from your son. I will leave him one tribe to rule. I will do this for my servant David and for Jerusalem, the city I chose.”

Perhaps I was taught incorrectly, but I was always instructed that the wealth of such men in the Bible was a direct result of the blessings of the Lord.

When I read your post, I was thinking of Isaac in particular:

1. Gen. 6:12-23 -- "The Lord blessed Isaac, and his wealth continued to grow until he became exceedingly wealthy, that even the Philistines envied him."

2. I was also thinking of the fact that Laban continuously tried to cheat Jacob, such as with the speckled and spotted livestock, but yet God blessed him and made sure the herds had exactly those offspring which Laban had proclaimed as Jacob's wages.

Whatever Laban tried to cheat Jacob out of, God simply gave him more, as Jacob tells Laban in Genesis 31:42 -- "If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed."

3. God also told Solomon that he had not asked for riches, but that God would granted them to him along with the wisdom he asked for: 2 Chronicles 1:11 -- "And I will also give you wealth, possessions and honor, such as no king before you and none after you will have." Clearly, Solomon's riches came at least in part, directly from the Lord.

4. Abraham's servant Eliezer declared: "The Lord has greatly blessed my master, so that he has become rich..." (Gen. 24:35). "He has given him flocks and herds, gold and silver, servants, and maids.

5. God tells David in 2 Samuel 12:8 -- "I gave your master's household to you."

I could not find a specific passage about Joseph of Arimathea, but I do believe that "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

Of course, any gift can be used for the good or for the bad, or can be seen as good or bad in nature.

In Joseph's case, he chose to use his gifts to supply the tomb where Jesus was laid.

Whatever these men may have had, God clearly had a hand in blessing them with it.

 

[Nehemiah6]

For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

The reason why this was said is that GENERALLY the rich make riches their idol or god. Thus in almost every country 1% (or a fraction of 1%) of the populations owns 99% of the wealth. They become covetous instead of using their wealth for beneficial purposes. They also feel no need for God.

There is not a single country in the world (particularly Mexico and Central America) where each and every citizen could not live well above the poverty line, and there would be no illegal migrant caravans. There are multiple billions of narco-dollars in these countries. The same applies world-wide. But those who have the wealth have no interest in making their countries better. And the governments have been corrupted.

Christians should be clear that money by itself is completely NEUTRAL. Which means that it can be invested in either (a) the Kingdom of God or (b) the kingdom of Satan. And Jesus actually told His disciples this indirectly -- "make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness" (Luke 16:9). “And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.”

It sounds almost strange coming from Christ, but what it means is invest your wealth wisely -- in and for the Kingdom of God (everlasting habitations).

 

[tourist]

I think Proverbs 30 says something to the likes of Lord don't let me be poor or I might steal and don't make me rich that I forget who God is.

That is where my thought process is trending too.

 

[TabinRivCA]

'For the love of money is the root of all evil...' 1 Tim 6:10. We need to be good stewards is a theme also repeated in the Bible.

 

[Lanolin]

If you compare yourselves to other countries then you (americans) are extraodinarily rich and abundant, yet its all relative, some of the most poverty stricken people live in New York for example, which is regarded as the richest city. I was reading that people in the bronx couldnt even feed themselves fresh food cos they had no access to any. All they could eat was junk food!

Lol, being a business owner means nothing as far as being rich. Many business owners are in debt and can hardly make bills each month. Especially small business owners.

I dont mean that I mean in terms of being a ruler, like the rich young ruler, who had lots of capital and many possessions.

Being in debt is not being rich! Lol generally its talking about people that own a lot of property. They have assets, that they could then sell, and they generally are the ones employing others who work for them. This is why Jesus told this young man to sell all he has and give to the poor...he wouldnt have told him that if he had nothing to sell. Most business owners have something to sell or they could sell their business. Or property.

Poor people generally dont own much, esp property. I know rich people that own like ten houses or so and make a huge amount of profit just buying and selling, they call it property flippers. And the super rich, they have investment portfolios and make money while they sleep, they just get others to look after it for them.

Something the poor can barely imagine, as many struggle just to keep a roof over their head. If you rich enough to own two or more properties, I would call that rich. I mean most people just live in one house at a time lol, what would you be doing living in two houses, unless you cut yourself in two...

 

[Lanolin]

Jesus prepares a place for us in his Fathers house...thats where our treasure is.

None of the earthly riches can compare. Even solomons glory can not compare to the riches we have in Christ.

Thats why we shouldnt be attached to riches on earth, and if we are blessed to be generous with what we have, to reflect our Fathers genorosity. Some of the stingiest people I know are wealthy, and the poorest, the most generous.

 

[posthuman]

James 1:13 Whenever you feel tempted to do something bad, you should not say, “God is tempting me.” Evil cannot tempt God, and God himself does not tempt anyone.

James 5:1 [ A Warning to Rich and Selfish People ] You rich people, listen! Cry and be very sad because much trouble will come to you.

the rich should take pride in their humiliation -- since they will pass away like a wild flower.
(James 1:10) ​

this tells me that there are rich believers.
also that they have something to be thankful for in God giving them riches, if they would see them as they should.

 

[oyster67]

Are you rich or poor? Either position can become problematic but I would prefer to having the problem of being rich than trying to scrape by being poor. You neglected to offer your own thoughts so it is hard to respond in a meaningful way.

I want everybody to know that I am really really super rich! I am a child of The King in a very true and real sense. When I grow up, I will receive much. As for now, my Father does not want to spoil me.

 

[tourist]

I want everybody to know that I am really really super rich! I am a child of The King in a very true and real sense. When I grow up, I will receive much. As for now, my Father does not want to spoil me.

Your are obviously invested in an interest bearing account that will one day provide great dividends.

 

[MattforJesus]

Out of faith, hope, and charity, love in action, charity is the greatest.

Paul said without charity he is nothing, and the love of money is the root of all evil, for it neglects the poor and needy, and love is the fulfilling of the law, which if people love money they have erred from the faith.

James said without charity their faith is dead.

John said without charity the love of God does not dwell in them.

Love is the fulfilling of the law, which includes helping the poor and needy with their needs if possible.

The rich man asked Jesus what He must do to inherit eternal life, and Jesus said keep the 6 commandments that have to do with not offending people for that is love.

The rich man said he kept all those commandments from youth.

Then Jesus said he lacked one thing, and that is for him to sell all he has and give to the poor, which he lacked loving people in that area when he had the means to help them.

The early Church sold all they had that was not a necessity, and distributed the money to those that had need.

It is because it is all about love, and people that heap money to themselves, above their needs to enjoy their wants, do not love people like they should.

For love is the fulfilling of the law, and the rich fall short of that love.

And without love you are nothing, erred from the faith, your faith is dead, and the love of God does not dwell in you.

It does not matter how much money you make, as long as it is done by legal, moral ways, for that is not violating love if you only go by your needs, and help the poor and needy.

For it does not matter if you make 5 million dollars a year, or 50 thousand dollars a year, your lifestyle would be no different for you can only go by your needs, and to help the poor and needy.

Making more money only means more money for the poor and needy.

God only blesses us with our needs, not our wants, because it is all about loving people.

God said the last generation will devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men, and that is because technology caused money to flow like a raging river, and then they are scrambling to get as much of it as they can.

For the world is motivated by self exaltation, and money is one of the ways they exalt themselves above other people, and to also enjoy sin with the money.

God said that many will be lukewarm at this time, and say they are rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing, but do not realize that they are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.

Which we see many people that claim Christ that love money as they enjoy the world as the world enjoys it, and television evangelists that care about money being millionaires, as they try to convince the people they deserve it, and God is blessing them with it.

But the Bible says that the preacher in not to be in the ministry for the money.

 

[oyster67]

I think Proverbs 30 says something to the likes of Lord don't let me be poor or I might steal and don't make me rich that I forget who God is.

Funny thing is, The rich seem to steal more than the poor! (and they steal it FROM the poor.)

 

[TheLearner]

rth