Wealth

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May 9, 2012
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As Christians, we are taught to always give give give so that others can just live. We are taught that money is not the path to true happiness. It is instilled into our minds when we are young. Why do I raise this thread? I have a few relatives that have been extremely blessed by God with what they have. However, I find myself sometimes jealous of what they have achieved in life. I am a college graduate who has just made a big move away from where I grew up. I grew up in a frugal family that did not have very much. So I want to raise some questions with you? If you were raised frugal, have you ever felt jealous of the things your wealthier relatives have gained in life? If you grew up in a wealthy position, what is it like growing up as a Christian knowing that there are others less privileged?
 
There will always be people with more than you,
and there will always be people with less than you.

So the heart of the issue can't possibly be about what you have, or what you don't have.

It's not about what you "have".... it's about what you "are".
 
Matthew 19:23-24New International Version (NIV)[SUP]23 [/SUP]Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. [SUP]24 [/SUP]Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
 
Wow. Two responses that have nothing to do with the question asked, but rather repeating the very rhetoric she's talking about growing up hearing.
 
I used to wish I lived in The Hills, on the other hand I will always be haunted by the first bag lady I had ever saw when my art instructor chose four of use to tour an art school in Cincinnati, we stopped for lunch at Wendy's and in front of us there was a lady counting out pennies for a bowl of chili and I was frozen in a dilemma of giving her my lunch money or eat lunch. I didn't do anything. I don't remember my lunch or if I could even enjoy it, or the much of the trip for that matter, as much as I remember her.
 
Wow. Two responses that have nothing to do with the question asked, but rather repeating the very rhetoric she's talking about growing up hearing.

Wow.
A response with no intention other than to ridicule other people's well-intended responses.
You alright today?
Seriously... you don't normally just pop in and take shots at me.
You alright today bro?
 
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If you were raised frugal, have you ever felt jealous of the things your wealthier relatives have gained in life?

Nope! because I knew my day in the sun would come and it did.
 
My sons became much wealthier than we ever were/are. Love to see their mansions with many rooms, etc. How could I be jealous? Maybe they will take care of me when I need it someday. :)
 
I was raised frugally. We always had enough and I never wanted for anything, but we weren't rich or lived in the high class areas. We lived below our means, and now my dad is comfortable in his retirement too. When I was young I was jealous of others, but eventually I realized that jealousy wasn't from God....it only hurt me to be jealous and did nothing to or for the other person. Besides who wants to be around someone miserable all the time anyways? My husband and I began our life together dirt poor....I mean so poor there were nights I went without food so my children could eat. We learned from our financial mistakes, started over many times and now, after 23 years of marriage are finally to the point where we realized we don't need a mortgage to own a house, only patience. We paid off our debt slowly, but definitely, we have our currently mortgaged home on the market to sell (probably at a loss but oh well it's only money) and we saved to buy a piece of land. It's amazing the kind of deals one can get when they say, "we're paying cash and we can pay this amount only!". And now we're moving into an rv while we build a new house mortgage free.

Is this the right way to do things for everyone? Probably not, to each his own. It has worked for us. Once I got past the jealousy of others, I started seeing others in a new way. Just because they have more "stuff" than I do, doesn't mean they don't have their own struggles, their own pain, their own suffering. Maybe it's a youth thing, jealousy...I can't say, but for me it was a real growing moment to realize that money doesn't solve our problems....in fact it can cause more problems sometimes. Just because another person has more than I do, doesn't mean they are happier than I am. They may be jealous of someone else. Or they may be in debt up to the sky, and all their "stuff" is a facade. Or they may be abused behind closed doors......anything really.
Anyways that's what I learned from life about money and jealousy. My riches aren't stored here on Earth, but in paradise with God. My life is my choice. Another life is their choice.
 
As Christians, we are taught to always give give give so that others can just live. We are taught that money is not the path to true happiness. It is instilled into our minds when we are young. Why do I raise this thread? I have a few relatives that have been extremely blessed by God with what they have. However, I find myself sometimes jealous of what they have achieved in life. I am a college graduate who has just made a big move away from where I grew up. I grew up in a frugal family that did not have very much. So I want to raise some questions with you? If you were raised frugal, have you ever felt jealous of the things your wealthier relatives have gained in life? If you grew up in a wealthy position, what is it like growing up as a Christian knowing that there are others less privileged?

growing up, i thought we were poor (cuz Mom said it so much! lol).
turned out, Dad was just socking it all away for retirement. :)

my husband and i raised six children on one income, and v-e-r-y little $$.
again, i thought we were 'poor'...and i guess in terms of money, we were.

but after being given a peek into the lives of good friends who had a lot more stuff than we did,
i realized i wouldn't change places with them for anything.
i think many times, the 'problems' we have are the very things God uses for our good,
and the troubles we had i wouldn't have traded for the troubles our friends had.
(pretty sure they felt the same because God is just that cool :) )

honestly, i don't know what it's like to be wealthy, and i thank God for it.
those troubles seem quite difficult to me.
 
My sons became much wealthier than we ever were/are. Love to see their mansions with many rooms, etc. How could I be jealous? Maybe they will take care of me when I need it someday. :)

Joi, a few years ago we were helping our poverty stricken college student son with an expensive car repair.

he spoke of repaying us, and i told him it was all good; we were so happy to do it.

he replied, Mom, i'm gonna put you in the nicest nursing home!

i still chuckle over it. :)
 
As Christians, we are taught to always give give give so that others can just live. We are taught that money is not the path to true happiness. It is instilled into our minds when we are young. Why do I raise this thread? I have a few relatives that have been extremely blessed by God with what they have. However, I find myself sometimes jealous of what they have achieved in life. I am a college graduate who has just made a big move away from where I grew up. I grew up in a frugal family that did not have very much. So I want to raise some questions with you? If you were raised frugal, have you ever felt jealous of the things your wealthier relatives have gained in life? If you grew up in a wealthy position, what is it like growing up as a Christian knowing that there are others less privileged?

I grew up very poor until I was about 10 when my parents won the lottery. The money changed our life but not as you think. We lived in a mansion with lots of money., but it was a house of hell..we pretended to know God but we had no relationship with God what so ever. That manson was filled with fear..pain and destruction. . Its a place if torment and despair. We found God in a safe house surrounded by lifes rejected people.

Things arent always what they seem from the outside.
 
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I grew up very poor until I was about 10 when my parents won the lottery. The money changed our life but not as you think. We lived in a mansion with lots of money., but it was a house of hell..we pretended to know God but we had no relationship with God what so ever. That manson was filled with fear..pain and destruction. . Its a place if torment and despair. We found God in a safe house surrounded by lifes rejected people.

Things arent always what they seem from the outside.

when i read chica's OP i thought, wait, don't lottery winners usually end up sad?

so sorry, Angel.
one does tend to find Jesus with the scared and downtrodden...the societal 'rejects'.

He does some of His best work there. ♥
 
when i read chica's OP i thought, wait, don't lottery winners usually end up sad?

so sorry, Angel.
one does tend to find Jesus with the scared and downtrodden...the societal 'rejects'.

He does some of His best work there. ♥

yes He does indeed. He took our darkness and gave us His light. blessed be the name of our Lord.
 
Very interesting post! Thank you, Chica!

I have never had much money. Many years ago, I was a secretary at our very affluent church, and I admit, I was quite envious in those years. But I was a young Christian, and I prayed and worked through that envy. And it had still haunted me every once in a while, that is up until about 4 years ago.

Four years ago, I lost my job as a university professor. I loved that job, and I was very good at it. However, in today's economy, universities aren't hiring many full-time professors, just a lot of part-timers, so I wasn't able to find another position. My hubby and I found a different vocation, much below our previous lot, but for some reason, it didn't matter because God has provided for all our needs. Hubby and I joke that whenever there is a little extra money hanging around, it must be time for a car repair, then BOOM something breaks on the car! We've learned to just laugh at it.

But the real funny part is that the job we took is as caretakers on a country estate. We work for a multi-multi-millionaire. She is mega rich. But we feel sorry for her because she doesn't know the Lord, and she feels like she doesn't need anything, including God. And the way she lives her life! We often see how she is wasting her money on her own selfish desires, yet, she gives none of it away. She is an heiress, and we think it must be hard to be born into that kind of money. How does one find purpose in life? How does one find the need for Christ in that life?

My hubby has lived his life and we run our small online business with this in mind: we're out to make a living, not a killing. It's a good place to be.
 
I think we have to establish in us what true wealth is. And we have to establish in us what true poverty is. And we have to let go of the world in order to come to hold the world lightly in our hands. And in that way it won't matter if we have much or whether we have little because we will have communion with God through all things. All desires for worldly things are a misdirected desire for God. It is not "how do I get that which my brother has" more "how do I find God in this moment". We are thirsty for Him no matter what our thirst appears to be for and only He can satisfy...
 
I don't feel jealous because I am content with such things as I have as it says in the Bible- Be content with such things as ye have, for He has said He will neither leave nor forsake you. Likewise, the Bible says it is easier for a camel to enter the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Blessed are the poor, for the kingdom shall be theirs'. I'm not saying it's God's will for you to be poor or financially struggling, but I am saying don't get so upset about the prosperity of others, because this life is only temporary. Jesus said He will neither leave nor forsake us, and He will uphold us with His righteous right hand. His love can get us through anything :) Store up treasures for yourself in Heaven where moth and thief do not corrupt :)
 
I don't feel jealous because I am content with such things as I have as it says in the Bible- Be content with such things as ye have, for He has said He will neither leave nor forsake you. Likewise, the Bible says it is easier for a camel to enter the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Blessed are the poor, for the kingdom shall be theirs'. I'm not saying it's God's will for you to be poor or financially struggling, but I am saying don't get so upset about the prosperity of others, because this life is only temporary. Jesus said He will neither leave nor forsake us, and He will uphold us with His righteous right hand. His love can get us through anything :) Store up treasures for yourself in Heaven where moth and thief do not corrupt :)

i had to learn contentment...and it took a while! :o

good for you! ♥