The first is in response to a reply to my original post by someone who said a particular "minister" taught that, "God wants us to have prosperity and abundance". My immediate thought was that God is infinitely less interested in our material prosperity than He is our spiritual condition. My thoughts then deepened to consider the question, "prosperity and abundance as compared to whom?" In other words, compared to our peers in our community, or perhaps with those in third world countries who live in mud huts and have to hunt for their food?
We live in such material abundance, it's embarrassing to complain. It's embarrassing that people who profess to be Christian continue to teach that God wants us to have lots of money and possessions as if it's some sort of sign of spiritual maturity. When I responded to the reply to which I referred earlier, I was immediately reminded of the story of the rich young man in Matthew 19. He considered himself a morally upright man. But Jesus challenged him when He went straight to what the man truly treasured. He told the man to sell everything he had, give it to the poor, then follow Jesus. The man ended up turning away because "he had great wealth." As Jesus was sharing this story with His disciples, he said this in verses 23 and 24, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." This is not because rich people are evil. This is because most people with abundance are not willing to sacrifice all they've acquired if it was asked of them.
I know many affluent Christians. Here's the thing. God isn't against us having wealth. But not all of us can be trusted with it. Tomorrow I'll go into this point further, so for now, I'll just leave it at that.
Come near to God and he will come near to you.
~James 4:8
