Is Wealth ... Bad? Doesn't the Bible Teach That?
Let's talk about the rich young ruler for a minute.
For those not raised in the church, or maybe it's been a while, the rich young ruler is a story told in The Bible, in the book of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
And its a doozy for those of us trying to build wealth through real estate or business.
This guy goes to Jesus and says, "Hey, I'm a really good person and I follow all the rules, so... am I good enough for Heaven?"
And Jesus's answer is pretty wild...
Jesus tells him if he wants to be perfect, to sell everything he has and come follow Him.
I wish I could tell you the man agrees and follows Jesus and becomes one of the disciples...
but he walks away sad.... and the Bible says exactly why that is:
"because he had great wealth."
(it also says, "Jesus looked at him and loved him!" How awesome is that!? Jesus wasn't criticizing the man or condemning the man... he was trying to set him free!)
But as the man walked away, Jesus looks around at the disciples and says something that should stop all of us in our tracks:
"How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” (Mark 10:23).
So there you have it.
Jesus said rich people can't be in God's kingdom.
Case closed.
Sell it all.
Be poor. Or you're a bad person.
I'm kidding, of course.
Because the passage didn't end there. The men around Jesus look at each other and mutter, "then... who can be saved!?"
And Jesus says, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God."
Ok, phew. I can maybe still get in.
But then... what's the lesson here?
Well, let's dig into the passage a bit.
Three things are happening here that I see:
First, Jesus was not laying down a command for everyone. much of the Bible is descriptive, not prescriptive. In other words, it describes something that happned; it doesn't prescribe it as a standing rule. We know this because there are numerous other places where wealth is not condemned, like in the story of Zacchaeus, or Joseph of Arimathea (the rich man who let Jesus borrow his tomb for three days), or even the fact that Jesus's ministry was funded by wealthy women.
Second, the command was aimed at the grip on money, not the amount. Jesus knew who this man's "god" truly was. And out of love, He offered him something better than the money; a truly better life. And the man said no. As Bob Dylan sang, you "Gotta Serve Somebody." This man was serving money. Who are YOU serving?
And third, in the ancient world, wealth was considered a blessing from God. (Ok, not just the ancient world... a LOT of folks still fully believe this.) If you had money, God liked you more. So this entire scene that plays out in Scripture was not just for the rich young ruler, but it was for the disciples and also for you and me. Jesus was doing what Jesus always does, challenging the assumptions of everyone around. This was, as Erwin McManus' book title goes, the "Genius of Jesus."
(Erwin was guest #2 on The BetterLife Podcast. Such a great convo. Go listen sometime.)
Money... the Root of All Evil?
Later on in Scripture, in 1 Timothy 6:10, Paul writes, "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."
Again, notice what's not there: it's not an indictment against wealth. It's an indictment against greed.
The "love of money."
The endless pursuit of more.
Furthermore, it's a root of all kinds of evil. It's a leading indicator of greater sins. Just think about it... how many of the atrocious sins we see in the world today are based on someone's desire to improve their financial position?
People love to misquote 1 Timothy out of context, saying, "Money is the root of all evil." But funny enough, in that same passage, Timothy is told to instruct the rich "not to be arrogant or put their hope in wealth" but to be "generous and willing to share." (6:17-18.)
Once again, the Bible isn't saying a person should not build any kind of wealth. it's telling them how to be rich without wealth becoming their god.
So... is Wealth Bad?
No... But I do think the Bible makes a pretty compelling case that wealth is dangerous.
And I think those are two very different things.
A chainsaw is dangerous.
Fire is dangerous.
Power is dangerous.
Sex is dangerous.
Influence is dangerous.
All of those concepts can be used to create something awesome, or destroy your life if you stop respecting what they can do.
I think money belongs in that category.
Money can feed people.
It can build homes.
It can fund churches and ministries.
It can make jobs.
It can give your family freedom.
It can allow you to be incredibly generous.
But... it can also convince you that you don't need anybody.
Including Jesus.
And maybe that's why Jesus talked about money so much. Not because having it automatically makes you bad... but because money is uniquely good at becoming the thing we trust instead of God.
So maybe the question isn't: "How much money is too much money?" I've never seen that line anywhere in the Bible. Maybe the better questions are:
If God asked me to give some of this away, could I?
Does my generosity increase as my wealth increases?
Am I building wealth because I'm called to something, or because I desperately need to prove something?
Do I own my money... or does my money own me?
And perhaps the most uncomfortable one:
If Jesus asked me what He asked the rich young ruler... would I walk away sad too?
I don't think God needs all of us to become poor.
But I do think He wants all of us to become free.
Free from needing money to tell us we're important.
Free from needing another zero to tell us we're safe.
Free from comparing our pile to someone else's pile.
Free to build.
Free to give.
Free to enjoy.
Free to walk away from it if God ever asks us to.
So no, I don't believe wealth is bad.
I believe wealth is a tool, a responsibility, and, perhaps most of all, a test. The goal isn't to have nothing.
The goal is to be able to hold everything God has entrusted to you with an open hand and without arrogance.
James 4:13-16 says,
"Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil."
It's not about going to a city, making a business, and making a profit.
The problem is the attitude, the arrogance, the tight grip we have on money. Because the rich young ruler's problem wasn't simply that he had great wealth.
It was that when Jesus asked him to choose between his wealth and his God... he couldn't let go.
Can you let go?
Then live in such a way that maybe He won't have to.
Love you!
Now - shoot me back a reply to this email and tell me what you think. Where am I off base? Where do you agree? What are you going to do about it?
Talk to you next week,
Brandon
Hey - if you have to buy an investment property or refinance a deal in the next few months, I'd love to throw my hat in the ring to help you get the loan done. I started BetterLife Real Estate Funding because I realize how much of a pain investment property loans can be. Learn more or request a quote at BetterLifeREF.com.
