Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!ginosko!gem.mps.ohio-state.edu!apple!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: dg-rtp!gross@dg-rtp.dg.com (Gene Gross) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: how rich is rich? Message-ID: Date: 7 Oct 89 23:17:22 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: Data General Corporation, Research Triangle Park, NC Lines: 75 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article ivy%chem@ucsd.edu (Ivy Blumberg) writes: > This brings up a puzzling subject for me. Can anyone give me >some scripture-based ideas on the difference between materialistic >and being blessed by God (i.e. David, Solomon) We just had a speaker >come to our church from Mexico city who made the point that the >Christians there considered it materialistic to own 3 shirts! >What a contrast to Southern California living! I read this and decided to offer my .02 worth, though I haven't prepared any Scriptural verses per se. To me being materialistic is to be focussed on material things to the exclusion of all else. Can a person be rich (American standard) and not be materialistic? I think so. From my reading and understanding of Scripture, being wealthy is not a sin. Nor does it indicate anything about your relationship to God. Certainly there are poor people who are very close to God. Often the parable in Luke concerning the rich man and the beggar is used to say that the rich go to hell. Yet if you go back and read this parable in detail, you'll find that it isn't the material wealth for which Dives ends up in hell, but rather his attitude toward those less fortunate. Then there is the incident with the young rich prince and Jesus. The young man asks Jesus what he must do to be saved. Jesus perceives where this person's heart really is and tells him to go and sell all he has and give the proceeds to the poor. The young man was totally focussed on his materialistic wealth and just could not do it. I can understand how three shirts could be considered materialistic. Being fat is considered a sure sign of wealth in some parts of the world. But for me the point is still, where is your heart? Is it settled upon earthly treasures--clothes, cars, possessions, money, etc.? Or do you see these things as just that things to be used as God sees fit? I'm not going to demand that everyone run out and start giving 10 percent to their church, because to me everything belongs to Christ. This is where I have disagreement with some folks--or they with me. The tithe is no longer enough--Christ paid too high a price for just a mere 10 percent from us. By the same token, we must also care for our own families (those of us who have families) so we can't just give without taken some care to feed and clothe our families. If I were to go to Mexico and a brother questioned the number of shirts that I had, I'd give him his pick of shirts in my closet--trousers as well. If they didn't fit, I'd offer to have them tailored to fit him. To me this follows the principle I see Paul putting forth in Romans 14. Is being rich a sign of God's blessing? Is being poor a sign of God's turning away or displeasure? Maybe to both questions. Certainly all things come from God, but to say that one person is wealthy because God is blessing that person is going a bit too far. Yes, God does bless certain of His children with great material wealth so that they can use it to support the spread of the Gospel and Christian charity work (Love work). Does this mean that the poor have nothing they can do to support the spread of the Gospel and Christian charity work? To the contrary IMHO. Remember the story of the widow, Jesus made note of her and the fact that she was giving her *all* to God. I'm trying to walk a fine line here because I am trying not to offend any brothers and sisters out there. Let me close by saying that to me it isn't whether you are wealthy or not, but what you do with what you've been given. It is written that to whom much is given of same much is required. And it is also written the to whom little is given of same little is required. Now there may be other uses for that passage, but I see an underlying principle that applies here. If God has seen fit to make you wealthy, what are you doing with that wealth? Where is your heart? By the same token, if you are not wealthy, do you spend your time bemoaning the fact and envying those who are? Again, where is your heart? However, no one answers to me--I'm a nobody. I too answer to the same person--Jesus Christ, Lord, Saviour, and Master of us all. Peace, Gene