I was recently with youth (YAK) doing a live mardle session with them. This was certainly not my comfort zone but what a great group of teenagers with a brilliant team of leaders! Honestly church, we should be so thrilled. One of the group asked: Is it wrong to be rich?
This apparently simple question needs careful attention and there’s a danger that unless explored more deeply first,we could miss the main point.. We assume this question is always talking about other people; you know… those rich people who … [fill in the blank]. However, it is well documented that if you live in the UK (yep that’s you and me) then we are some of the wealthiest people in the world and history. That’s right! Now I’m very aware that we live in a nation with huge issues that relate to poverty, but when compared to the global picture, quite frankly, these are dwarfed. As a result, from a global perspective, we are the ‘rich’ that this question is talking about.
[pause]
[don’t be too quick to skip the uncomfortable feeling]
[pause a little more]
Ok, so now, let’s take a look at a few Bible verses:
‘Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.’ – Ecc 5:10
‘Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”‘ – Heb 13:5
‘For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.’ – Matt 6:21
‘Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”‘ – Matt 19:21
So, my short answer to the question, is it wrong to be rich is, “no … but…”. Clearly we can see men and women (such as Lydia in Act 16) who used their wealth for good. However, the overwhelming and consistent message of scripture relating to money (and being rich is the accumulation of money), is that of caution. It’s not that wealth in and of itself is evil (it’s not). The danger is that riches and wealth are such good chameleons (or to use the Bible word: idols) in that they mimic the relationship we should have with God. Riches offer us security, satisfaction and protection. We convince ourselves that if only we have enough wealth then we will be protected, provided for and will be able to reach our full potential. Riches can easily take the position of a small ‘g’ god in our lives, replacing the everlasting security, satisfaction and protection that only the big ‘G’ God can offer. That’s why King Solomon (one of the wealthiest men who has ever lived) was able to write in Ecclesiastes that ‘whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income’. Why? Because wealth offers much but when accumulated, but it’s fake when it comes to satisfying the deeper soul questions. Notice also how the writer to the Hebrews contrasts a life shaped around the love of money with one that enjoys the sweet satisfaction and protection of knowing that God has said ‘never will I leave you; never will I forsake you‘.
Riches aren’t wrong, as long as they are servants, the problem with wealth is that way too quickly (and much quicker than we would want to admit) it becomes our source of satisfaction, protection and joy, a counterfeit god (as Tim Keller calls it).
So how do we handle money (or the lack of it) well and not allow our desire for it to become warped? I believe that Jesus gives us two helpful keys:
Whoever your treasurer is will shape your life. This is unavoidable! If Christ has become the treasurer of your life then your heart’s affection will be with the things that matter to him! For example, seeing his name made famous through his people (the church). So one of the reasons why I’m so committed to our forthcoming gift day is that we’re giving into a mission trip! This is a very small step to help us as a church realise and then live out of the reality that every part of this planet needs to hear the good news of Jesus. In fact, this is Christ’s mission and we are called to be part of it! Our treasure is Christ and so our hearts are getting aligned with the things that matter to him!
Finally, in Matthew 19:21 Jesus makes a deeply provoking statement, which essentially can be worded like this… choose to live for eternity! How you do that is to ensure that all earthly resources are aligned with that great mission? Give, live with less wealth, go without, if it means that your life is aligning with an eternal perspective! Wow, that’s challenging for all of us!
So, is it wrong to be rich? No, but let’s make sure that whatever wealth we have (and remember we are some of the richest people alive) is at God’s disposal and is being used to further the purposes of God.