Does God want you to be Rich?

[dmp]

They are when the pastors leading these money machines live in multi-million dollar mansions...Have fled to the suburbs, abandoning ministering to the needs of inner-city residents...Have become nothing more than polite social clubs and cults of personality.

That's very true of 'Church'. We are called, however, to be accountable, ultimately, for the doctrine to which we subscribe.

 

[Nienna]

That's very true of 'Church'. We are called, however, to be accountable, ultimately, for the doctrine to which we subscribe.

That's exactly correct. People judge Christians because they don't live up to the perfect standard of Christ. God WILL judge His own.

But, two questions the non-Christian must consider are:
1) Why are you so focused on Christians (mere people) instead of the Christ?
2) When the judgment goes down, would you rather be judged as one of God's own (who are covered by Jesus' accomplishments), or on YOUR own merit?

 

[Bullypulpit]

That's exactly correct. People judge Christians because they don't live up to the perfect standard of Christ. God WILL judge His own.

But, two questions the non-Christian must consider are:
1) Why are you so focused on Christians (mere people) instead of the Christ?
2) When the judgment goes down, would you rather be judged as one of God's own (who are covered by Jesus' accomplishments), or on YOUR own merit?

I'll stand on my own merits. And, I think you sell "MERE people" short. Mere people perform truly remarkable acts of charity and benevolence every day, whether thay are Christian or not. And all for the same reason...We are all human, and human suffering is a universal. Any who act to ease or relieve that suffering are doing holy work, regardless of their religious beliefs, or lack thereof. So, don't sell "mere people" short.

 

[dmp]

I'll stand on my own merits. And, I think you sell "MERE people" short. Mere people perform truly remarkable acts of charity and benevolence every day, whether thay are Christian or not. And all for the same reason...We are all human, and human suffering is a universal. Any who act to ease or relieve that suffering are doing holy work, regardless of their religious beliefs, or lack thereof. So, don't sell "mere people" short.

That's very true - but it's as if you base your rejection of Christ on what you see 'people' doing. Frankly, the excuse to God "Uh..but those people claimed Christ, and they were EVIL, so I didn't claim Christ" may not stand.

Keep in mind, however, the Bible fortells such a scenario. As penned by the late Keith Green:

And when the Son of Man comes, and all the Holy Angels with Him,
Then shall He sit on His Glorious throne,
And He will divide the nations before Him, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

And He shall put the sheep on His right and the goats on His left,
And He shall say to the sheep; come ye, blessed of My Father,
inherit the Kingdom I have prepared for you from the foundation of the world,

For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat,
I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink,
I was naked, and you clothed Me,
I was a stranger, and you invited Me in,
I was sick, and I was in prison, and you came to Me.
Thank you! Enter into your rest.

And they shall answer Him, yes, they shall answer Him,
And they'll say, Lord, when?
When were You hungry Lord, and we gave You something to eat?
Lord, when were You thirsty? I can't remember. And we gave You drink?
Huh, when were You naked Lord, and we clothed You?
And Lord, when were You a stranger and we invited You in?
I mean, we invited lots of people in Lord. I could never forget that face.
And Lord, when were You sick and we visited You?
Or in prison, and we came to You? Lord, tell us?

In as much as you did it to the least of My bretheren, you've done it unto Me.
Oh yes, as much as you've done it to the very least of My bretheren, you've done it, you've done it unto Me. Enter into your rest.

Then He shall turn to those on His left, the goats.
Depart from Me, you cursed ones, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.
For I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat,
I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink,
I was naked, out in the cold, in exposure, and you sent me away,
I was a stranger, and I knocked at your door,
But you didn't open, you told Me to go away,
I was sick, racked in pain upon My bed,
And I begged, and prayed, and pleaded that you'd come, but you didn't,
I was in prison, and I rotted there,
I'd prayed that you'd come.
I heard your programs on the radio, I read your magazines, but you never came.
Depart from Me!!!

Lord, there must be some mistake, when?
Lord, I mean, when were You hungry Lord and we didn't give You something to eat?
And Lord, when were You thirsty, and we didn't give You drink?
I mean, that's not fair, well, would You like something now?
Would one of the Angels like to go out and get the Lord a hamburger and a coke?

Oh, You're not hungry, yeah, I lost my appetite too.

Uh Lord uh, Lord, when were You naked,
I mean Lord, that's not fair either Lord,
We didn't know what size You wear.
Oh Lord, when were You a stranger Lord,
You weren't one of those creepy people who used to come to the door, were you?

Oh Lord, that wasn't our ministry Lord. We just didn't feel led, you know?
Lord, when were You sick? What did You have, anyway?
Well, at least it wasn't fatal; oh, it was?
I'm sorry Lord, I would have sent You a card.
Lord, just one last thing we want to know,
When were You in prison Lord? What were You in for anyway?
I had a friend in Levenworth..

ENOUGH!

In as much as you've not done it unto the least of My bretheren,
You've not done it unto Me.
In as much as you've not done it unto the least of My bretheren,
You've not done it unto Me.



Depart from Me.

And these shall go away into everlasting fire.
But the righteous into eternal life!

And my friends, the only difference between the sheep and the goats, according to this scripture, is what they did, and didn't do!!

 

[Nienna]

I'll stand on my own merits.

You are entitled to your choice.

And, I think you sell "MERE people" short. Mere people perform truly remarkable acts of charity and benevolence every day, whether thay are Christian or not. And all for the same reason...We are all human, and human suffering is a universal. Any who act to ease or relieve that suffering are doing holy work, regardless of their religious beliefs, or lack thereof. So, don't sell "mere people" short.

It's true; non-Christians as well as Christians perform good deeds, and bad deeds, too. But, I was asking why people reject CHRISTIANITY because of some Christians. Christianity is about whether or not each individual accepts the relationship with Christ.

 

[archangel]

degenerated into the Christians vs the Lions...geez..I thought it said does God want you to be rich? The answer is simple take Jesus comment on this question...for the Christians to ponder...Render unto Caesars that which is Caesars render unto God that which is Gods...! So to be rich one only needs to have a happy life with his/her family...Monetary needs will be determined by God!

 

[CharlestonChad]

It's true; non-Christians as well as Christians perform good deeds, and bad deeds, too. But, I was asking why people reject CHRISTIANITY because of some Christians. Christianity is about whether or not each individual accepts the relationship with Christ.

Because those people are lead by the beliefs of your religion, and they act upon those beliefs.

Why do people reject Islam because of some bad Muslims? Same reason as I've given.

 

[5stringJeff]

To answer the original post: if one reads the Bible holistically (i.e. as a whole), God wants us to be faithful stewards of that which has been entrusted to us. This includes the earth as a whole (see Genesis 2), along with the personal possessions we have. However, even what we have is not our own; it belongs to God. Nowhere in Scripture does God ever relinquish ownership of anything. The money and possessions we have, we are given by God. Therefore, it is not correct to say that 'God wants all His followers to be rich,' or 'God demands a life of poverty.' God does demand, however, that we be good stewards of His possessions. See The Parable of the Talents for a relevant passage.

 

[Nienna]

Because those people are lead by the beliefs of your religion, and they act upon those beliefs.

Why do people reject Islam because of some bad Muslims? Same reason as I've given.

I guess that must be it... People assume those Christians are acting on their beliefs. Sometimes, people act against their beliefs, but if you aren't familiar with the beliefs, how could you tell?

 

[Avatar4321]

You answered your own question.

I am aware that he did answer his own question, but i still think he has a point.

Christ has commanded us to be perfect. Obviously we cant do that without the Atonement of Christ. But if the scriptures are true then Christ can truly change human nature. We still wont be perfect, but our desire will be to righteousness always. We will always be seeking to better ourselves, with the help of the Lord of course.

I think an easier answer to his question is most of the people he has issues with are hypocrites. They preach but they do it for the lucre of the world. In the end they have their reward. Hopefully, they will repent of that as well and come to the Lord.

 

[Avatar4321]

Yes. The “Sermon on the Mount” seems to be rather communistic to me. It speaks of giving and giving. Yet there is a Bible passage that says, "If anyone will not work, neither let him eat." This seems to be somewhat harsh and capitalistic. Taken as a whole, I think that the New Testament advocates more communistic behavior than it does capitalistic behavior.

Communism and the Gospel of Jesus Christ are completely incompatible. The Gospel focuses on being generous with your money. Communism focuses on being generous with other peoples money. Usually all that benefits is the one making the rule there.

 

[CharlestonChad]

Communism and the Gospel of Jesus Christ are completely incompatible. The Gospel focuses on being generous with your money. Communism focuses on being generous with other peoples money. Usually all that benefits is the one making the rule there.

Does communion not do the same?

 

[Avatar4321]

I wanted to answer the original post. I havent yet.

I think God wants different things for different people. This life is a time to prepare to meet God. And in this life we are expected to have trials calculated to help us become like He is. The Lord has given us help in these trials with the Atonement of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Some of us are tried by being poor. Some are tried by given the riches of the world. Regardless of our status in life, we are here to show that we are willing to serve God more than anything else. Both the rich and the poor can make money their god.

I think the Lord does want to bless us. We are promised in the scriptures that if we are true and faithful we will become joint heirs with Christ and inherit everything the Father has. So the Lord wants to give us everything He has. And He could give it all to us this second. But we arent prepared. It would be like a multibillionaire giving his 15 year old son all his money. The boy wouldnt be mature or responsible or have the experience to be a wise steward over it.

So everyone has their own stewardship and sphere of influence. Some large some small. It really doesnt matter what the size is its whether we use it wisely. If the Lord has blessed you with the gifts and the know-how so you become wealthy, then good for you. Remember the source of that wealth and Him who gave it to you and share your bounty with others. If the Lord has blessed you with non-monetary things, dont covet your neighbors wealth and be grateful when he uses his gifts to bless you and he should be grateful for the same.

So yes God wants us to prosper but prosper in serving him. We may never be blessed with wealth and the Lord is wise for doing so because many cannot handle it.

 

[dmp]

Does communion not do the same?

No.

 

[CharlestonChad]

No.

Why not?

The central power (chuch) tells it's members how much to give. The central power makes a profit and tells the members god loves them, regardless of how much they give(equality for all). The central power expands and builds better facilities that all members will equally enjoy, even if only several members made the majority of contributions (redistribution of wealth).

 

[Avatar4321]

Does communion not do the same?

What on earth does the body and blood of Christ have to do with anything we are talking about?

 

[Abbey Normal]

Thanks for clearing that up for me, Chad.

Why don't you take a crack at answering my question anyway, though? "Concepts not pertaining to reality" have a way of BECOMING reality - as hundreds of millions of victims of this particular pipe dream have learned to their excruciating cost. I'd really be interested in hearing your explanation.

If only we could ask the nearly 2 million people buried in the killing fields of Cambodia what they think of the "idea" of Communism.

 

[dmp]

Why not?

The central power (chuch) tells it's members how much to give. The central power makes a profit and tells the members god loves them, regardless of how much they give(equality for all). The central power expands and builds better facilities that all members will equally enjoy, even if only several members made the majority of contributions (redistribution of wealth).

You don't understand 'The Central Power'.

 

[OCA]

Does communion not do the same?

Do you even know what the hell communion is?

 

[OCA]

What on earth does the body and blood of Christ have to do with anything we are talking about?

That is exactly what I was thinking, this clown has no clue what he is talking about.