by jimwalton » Sun Dec 21, 2014 2:03 pm
The Bible has no problems with wealth and material possessions. There were times when it specifically says that God blessed people with them (Abraham, Solomon, and Daniel, to name a few). The issues of the Bible towards wealth is generally with...
1. How did you get it? Did you get it morally (hard work, meaningful labor, etc.), or immorally (oppressing people, theft, paying unfair wages to become rich, cheating people, etc.)?
2. What do you do with it? In spite of what you have, are you generous? Do you give to the poor and help feed the hungry? Do you pay fair wages? Do you treat it like stewardship instead of a personal possession?
3. What is your attitude towards it? Miserliness and greed are wrong, as well as hoarding. We should live with open hands.
It's not a sin to own a TV, a car, a house, or anything else. What's a sin is cheating people, hoarding, greed, etc. There's nothing inherently sinful about possessions, nor about recreation and entertainment. What matter is how we got it, what our attitudes towards it is, and what we do with it.
The Bible has no problems with wealth and material possessions. There were times when it specifically says that God blessed people with them (Abraham, Solomon, and Daniel, to name a few). The issues of the Bible towards wealth is generally with...
1. How did you get it? Did you get it morally (hard work, meaningful labor, etc.), or immorally (oppressing people, theft, paying unfair wages to become rich, cheating people, etc.)?
2. What do you do with it? In spite of what you have, are you generous? Do you give to the poor and help feed the hungry? Do you pay fair wages? Do you treat it like stewardship instead of a personal possession?
3. What is your attitude towards it? Miserliness and greed are wrong, as well as hoarding. We should live with open hands.
It's not a sin to own a TV, a car, a house, or anything else. What's a sin is cheating people, hoarding, greed, etc. There's nothing inherently sinful about possessions, nor about recreation and entertainment. What matter is how we got it, what our attitudes towards it is, and what we do with it.