The gap between the rich and the poor continues to grow, as many sit and read about poverty while sipping on an overpriced coffee at Starbucks. We justify our purchases and convince ourselves that someday there will be a better time to give. We are Christians living in the richest nation in the history of the world. Yet our lifestyle reflects our quest to own more and attain more, as our culture fuels our passion for money and material things. We are drawn to the Bible verses on blessings and feel the warmth of God when we reflect on the gifts we have received. Yet we try to read the difficult verses that address our greed in one breath. We seek comfort but avoid conviction. We turn our heads from the homeless. We change the channel on infomercials about world hunger. And the voice of God that says, “Sell everything you have and give to the poor� is drowned out by the voice of the American culture that says, “Buy it. Get it. Spend it.�

We call it the “American Dream.� But the parable of the rich fool in Luke 12 begs the question, “Should we live for it?� In the beginning of the parable a rich man becomes richer because he produces a good crop. He decides to build bigger barns to store all of his grain and goods. And to this God says, “You fool!� The parable is disturbing because we can identify with the rich man. The parable is disturbing because his actions make sense. The “rich man� became a “rich fool� because of how he handled his wealth. How do you handle yours?
After the parable in Luke 12, Jesus turns to his disciples and explains, “Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.� This is the reality we must believe and this is the reality we must live for. Neil Atkinson, in The Shrewd Christian, writes, “We can have life. We can have money. Some of us will have one or the other. Some of us will have both. I will guarantee one thing: If you have money but not life, you have nothing. Life is not the result of money.�

Today the majority of Churches avoid the subject of money, but when Pastors decide to talk about money they begin with, “I don’t really like talking about this but…’or ‘This isn’t my favorite subject to preach on but…� We can avoid the subject and remain comfortable, or we can see what God says about the wealth He has given us. There are over 2,350 verses in the Bible about money- more than all of the verses about love and faith combined. Over half the parables Jesus told were about money and he did not avoid the subject. He took it head on and stated clearly, “You cannot serve both God and Money.� By exploring what God says about money and what Jesus teaches about our riches we will be able to unpack the question, “Should Christians pursue worldly wealth?�
Some Christians camp out on the side that believes we are to live like Mother Theresa on the streets of Calcutta with our bare necessities. Some believe that we should not pursue worldly wealth or material things. I see wealth as a very powerful tool that can be used for God’s kingdom, but everything that has the capacity to do good, also has the capacity to do evil. I believe that wealth is something to be pursued, attained, and distributed. I will present biblically based principles that will help develop a healthy pursuit of worldly wealth.

Before I present the principles it may be helpful to define some of the terms that I will use. Money is what it is, but wealth, as defined by dictionary.com is “an abundance of valuable material possessions or resources.� Wealth is synonymous with riches. Here are the first three principles, followed up by part 2 in next issue with the final four.

Principle #1: Money is not the issue.

Money is morally neutral and can be used for good or it can be used for evil. The issue that 1 Timothy 6:10 presents is that, “The love of money is a root of all sorts of evil.� The Bible does not condemn money itself or people with wealth, but confronts the misuse of or wrong attitude toward money. Scripture warns that riches have the ability to destroy our relationships with others and our relationship with God. This makes money important to God, because it is the “chief competition of Jesus.�
“The love of money� can be summed up in one word, greed. Dictionary.com defines greed as “an excessive desire to acquire or possess more than what one needs or deserves, especially with respect to material wealth.� The average American spends ten times more money on leisure and fast food than on charities, as 98% of their income goes to themselves. Money is not the issue, we are.

Principle #2: Christians are managers, not owners.

Psalm 24:1 says, “The Earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.� If we begin to live understanding the truth of the Psalm we will begin to loosen our grip on the things we think are ours. The parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30 reminds us that we will be held accountable to how we handle the riches God has given us, no matter the amount we are given. Moreover, Jesus presents our possession of worldly wealth as a test in Luke16:11 saying in a parable, “So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?�

Principle #3: Develop a sense of gratitude.

People who have experienced the love and forgiveness of God cannot help but give to others and God in return. This sense of gratitude drives them to give back. Developing a sense of gratitude will lead to a spirit of generosity, which will result in the act of giving.

Someone once said, “Giving is not God’s way of raising money; it is God’s way of raising people into the likeness of His Son.� Our giving shapes our character and pulls us away from our natural tendency to focus on ourselves. Acts 20:35 says, “It is more blessed to give than to receive,� pointing out the benefit of giving.
The question, “How much should we give?� misses the point. The question we should ask ourselves is, “How then shall we give?� In his article Giving- Why? How much? John Cionca writes that we should give quietly , habitually , proportionately , realistically , intentionally , willingly , and sacrificially . Cionca goes on to explain that giving is both a command and a privilege. Giving is not an option. It is something we are required to do.

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