CHRISTIANS AND WEALTH - 09.01.2000 - By: B. Hearn

Imagine a hypothetical challenge where you’re asked to make a choice between one of two options using a portion of your discretionary income. The first option is to spend it on yourself; buying anything you like. The second option is to use the money to save a starving child. Now, which would you choose? As a Christian, one would expect the right choice to be obvious: Since Christ calls us to help those in need, we should opt to save the child. Of course one doesn’t have to be a Christian to do the right thing in this situation and decent people would choose to save a starving child over buying a new watch or upgrading their wardrobe – at least in this one case. But here’s where it can get tricky; because I was asked this very question by one of my skeptical coworkers just the other day. After pondering the matter for a few seconds I said: “I would choose to save the child.” To which he responded: “But you are given this very choice every day and you don’t.” He went on to add: “Every time you spend money to treat yourself to a luxury, you’ve made a choice against one of an endless sea of starving children out there.” Finally, he claimed that according to Scripture: “Christians are called to give up all of their wealth” – and of course, rarely will you find a Christian who has done this. I must say that his challenge and comments took me aback; so much so that I felt a desire to give a response for the hope that I have in Christ and to better understand the Truth myself.

There are two presuppositions to consider in order to present an honest and reasonable response. First, Christianity asserts that God’s Law is absolute and immutable. We cannot cherry-pick or change it to suit our personal preferences. Second, the Bible is clear on issues regarding the pursuit and storing of wealth verses helping those in need; although none of the verses listed here suggest that one should give up everything he or she owns.

• “…But blessed is he who is kind to the needy.” (Proverbs 14:21)
• “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth…but store up for yourself treasures in heaven.” (Matthew 6:19-20)
• “…You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matthew 6:24)
• “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:23)
• “…It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:25)
• “All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.” (Galatians 2:10 - asked of Paul and Barnabas by the other Apostles)
• “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.” (1 Timothy 6:17-18)

In addition to the verses from Scripture listed above, there are two noteworthy parables to look at. One is the story of the rich young man who was told by Jesus: “Go, sell everything you have and give it to the poor?” (Mark 10:17-23) Clearly here however, Jesus is not teaching that every Christian must sell everything he or she owns and give the proceeds to the poor. The rich young man in the parable had a spiritual problem that involved his wealth. Jesus knew that the man was unwilling to place his wealth behind serving God and brought this obstacle out into the light by asking him to sacrifice all he owned. The young man “went away sad” which reflected a greater love for his possessions than for eternal life.[1]

The other parable that speaks to the topic at hand is the “Widow’s Offering” (Luke 21:2-4). Here, a widow puts in two very small copper coins and Jesus commends the women while condemning the rich who put their gifts into the temple treasury. The reason Jesus commended the poor widow was because of her sacrifice, not because she was obedient to a philosophy of pauperism. Likewise, he condemned the rich in this parable, not for failing to surrender all of their wealth, but for their lack of generosity. In 2 Corinthians 8:12, Paul writes: “For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.” Here we are shown in Scripture that true generosity is measured by the willingness of the giver, not the size of the gift. Based on this, one might conclude: “Wouldn’t giving away everything you have demonstrate the most sacrifice and willingness?” Perhaps, but there are other issues to consider.

Christians are called to play an important role in the Body of Christ. (Romans 12:4-8) and to interact with others at various levels in society in order to share the Good News. If all Christians were destitute, it would be impossible to effectively help financially those who are in need and to interact with large segments of the population in the upper socioeconomic tier. However, as Christians we recognize that we are enabled by God to acquire and use financial resources according to His will. “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”(2 Corinthians 9:6)

It’s clear that Scripture teaches that we do not have to give up everything we own and become impoverished nomads. It does teach that we are to be generous; and that we put our service to God before our desire for money. So where do you draw the line? At what point does one cross over from being, ‘not generous enough’, to being ‘too generous’ to serve effectively in the body of Christ? I believe it all depends on what God calls you to do. Yes, I’ve heard the joke where the greedy man throws his money into the air, giving to God what stayed up and keeping what fell back to the earth. But seriously, when we are receptive to the Spirit of God and obedient to His calling, we will give generously, even above and beyond our regular charitable contributions and tithes. Our gifts will be given cheerfully and this pleases God, not our impoverishment.

But what about the challenge: “You don’t have to give everything you own away, making you ineffective in the body of Christ; you need only give away every discretionary penny.” In other words, what can be offered in response to the claim that the Christian still falls short when he or she ‘treat’ themselves to any form of luxury, instead of using that resource to help someone in need. At first I was going to offer an explanation contrasting my life as a nontheist versus today as a Christian. But I realized that a purely pragmatic response sidesteps the important truth revealed in the challenge. Before I had Christ in my life, I desired all of the things money could buy and given my sinful nature, I would never have been a generous giver. But the Spirit enables a different attitude in me now: my desire for ‘things’ is replaced with a peace that surpasses all human understanding – a peace that facilitates giving. However, I realize that my giving still doesn’t measure up to the standard Christ taught and lived by. But shouldn't this be expected? It is important to remember that Christians aren’t perfect; they are forgiven. My flaws and failures do not refute a single truth-claim in the Bible, in fact they support them. But my response to the challenge is simply this: I will continue to rely on the Holy Spirit to guide me in all aspects of my life, including decisions on what to do with the resources God has given me.