Jesus
said, "Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who
wants to borrow from you. "(Matthew 5:42 NASB)
Does this
verse give you heartburn? It does me. I
mean, really, that guy standing on the corner with his cardboard sign that
says, "Viet
Nam Veteran. Homeless. Need money for
gas."
I'm
supposed to give him some of my hard earned money? Is this an isolated
statement, or does Scripture carry this theme throughout?
Hmm,
similar theme in proverbs.
One who is gracious to a poor man lends
to the LORD, and He will repay him for his
good deed. (Proverbs 19:17 NASB)
But I
have plans for my money, things I want to own, places I want to go. Is there anything wrong in that?
"No one can serve two masters;
for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and
despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. (Matthew 6:24 NASB)
I'm not
trying to get wealthy here, I just want to enjoy life. After all, Jesus
promises abundant life, doesn't He?
The thief comes only to steal and
kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. (John 10:10
NASB)
But Jesus
wasn't rich, in fact, he was very poor, as was Paul. So money isn't the goal of abundant
life.
What was
the example of the early church? Let's see..., that would probably be Acts...
For there was not a needy person
among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring
the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostles' feet, and they would
be distributed to each as any had need. (Acts 4:34, 35 NASB)
Wow. That's tough stuff.
Further,
Paul said to Timothy, "An overseer, then, must be above
reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable,
able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable,
free from the love of money. (1 Timothy 3:2-3 NASB)
But I
don't want to be an elder or an overseer, just a good Christian. Paul laid it
bare when he said, "Be imitators of me, just as I
also am of Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1 NASB)
So, where
does this exercise lead me? Don't love
money. Give to the poor. Be imitators of
Paul and Christ. Does all this mean
money is bad? Back to the scriptures...
Here's
that theme again. Don't get caught up in
love of money, wealth, abundance in the material sense.
He who loves money will not be
satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its
income. This too is vanity. (Ecclesiastes 5:10 NASB)
I cannot
find a single scripture that says money is bad.
The scriptures do say, very plainly, that the love of money is bad. The scriptures do say, very plainly, to share
the wealth that The Lord has given you. The scriptures do say, very plainly, "Do not store up for yourselves
treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and
steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust
destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure
is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21 NASB)
I pray
this exercise made sense to you. I just wrote down the main parts of the rabbit
trail I found myself on this morning.
God
bless,
Cliff
