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Rich and Successful --> SINS?

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werthn
 
Reply Mon 12 Dec, 2005 12:12 am
"The Last Shall be First and the First shall be last"

this is a phrase that people in my fellowship just say over and over....

they really preach against money and are always stressing that we should give up career and money and serve God.

but the thing is I believe in God, I want to serve Him, but I also want to be rich and successful. I want to be the first and the best in the things I do. I don't want to be last. I want to be First. Before you judge me, let me tell you briefly why i want to be rich and successful.

i grew up in a comfortable home, not so rich, but not so poor either, but because i grew up going to the methodist church, i did a lot of community service and i grew to really like doing community service...helping others and the whole bit and have also continued to do that as well. i remembered one year during this time actually when we were doing a toy drive for the needy kids. i remembered that each year, iwould take ~half what i have in my piggy bank and use it to buy toys for these children. but it wasn't enough, it was just a wish that is part of me that i can one day be rich and sucessful enough that i can buy many many toys for many many children.

well, i also want to be rich and successful because it's well...part of the whole status thing...so yea, for personal reasons as well.

this is briefly why i want to be rich and successful...but for some reason, it seems to me that the Bible preaches against wanting to be rich and successful. i just don't know what to think.

is it ok to think this way?

i would appreciate any thoughtful insights and/or personal stories. thanks a lot!
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Type: Discussion • Score: 1 • Views: 2,802 • Replies: 49
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Questioner
 
  1  
Reply Mon 12 Dec, 2005 08:05 am
Re: Rich and Successful --> SINS?
werthn wrote:
"The Last Shall be First and the First shall be last"


This isn't a condemnation of having money as much as it is a condemnation of adopting the superior attitudes that money can inspire.
0 Replies
 
Slappy Doo Hoo
 
  1  
Reply Mon 12 Dec, 2005 08:11 am
There's nothing wrong with wanting to become rich. For one, you'll be able to donate more money, and be more comfortable with that than one with less money.
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Questioner
 
  1  
Reply Mon 12 Dec, 2005 08:25 am
Not to mention the fact that you'll be rich. Do eternal consequences really come into play when you can buy small countries?
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boomerang
 
  1  
Reply Mon 12 Dec, 2005 08:28 am
The Bible preaches against being rich and successful?

Someone had better alert those charlatans at CBN and TBN!
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Redeemed
 
  1  
Reply Mon 12 Dec, 2005 09:43 am
The Bible doesn't preach against being rich and successful. Rather, it speaks against the love of those things. One of the main themes of the Bible is that our security should be in God alone.

Honestly, I think we all want to be rich and successful (deep down, anyway). The thing is, as a Christian, I have to be sure that my desire for money/success is never stronger than my desire to know God and to follow Him, because if it is stronger, it becomes an idol. I think it's based on personal conviction - a personal evaluation of what God is telling you.
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Noddy24
 
  1  
Reply Mon 12 Dec, 2005 10:46 am
"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." (Matthew 19:24)
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Questioner
 
  1  
Reply Mon 12 Dec, 2005 10:47 am
Noddy24 wrote:
"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." (Matthew 19:24)


Because with great wealth comes more avenues to lust after worldly things, or some such nonsense.
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dagmaraka
 
  1  
Reply Mon 12 Dec, 2005 10:49 am
oh please, send me a small fortune from heaven. just a few millions will do, i swear. i promise not to love it at all! i'll hate it if that helps, with all my might!
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Questioner
 
  1  
Reply Mon 12 Dec, 2005 10:51 am
dagmaraka wrote:
oh please, send me a small fortune from heaven. just a few millions will do, i swear. i promise not to love it at all! i'll hate it if that helps, with all my might!


Aye, I would absolutely loathe being financially secure. However, I can see how that would make me into a murderous sinner.
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Slappy Doo Hoo
 
  1  
Reply Mon 12 Dec, 2005 10:55 am
Isn't the Catholic church a very rich organization?
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Questioner
 
  1  
Reply Mon 12 Dec, 2005 10:57 am
Slappy Doo Hoo wrote:
Isn't the Catholic church a very rich organization?


Shhhhh! They are the 'proper' rich. They don't ever make mistakes or fall into sin.


They also have spies everywhere.
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Redeemed
 
  1  
Reply Mon 12 Dec, 2005 11:16 am
lol. Very Happy

Clarification: Being financially secure isn't a bad thing. What I mean is that (according to the Bible) our trust should in God alone. So even if we are rich, we shouldn't rely on money to bring us contentment and happiness.
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Questioner
 
  1  
Reply Mon 12 Dec, 2005 11:54 am
Redeemed wrote:
lol. Very Happy

Clarification: Being financially secure isn't a bad thing. What I mean is that (according to the Bible) our trust should in God alone. So even if we are rich, we shouldn't rely on money to bring us contentment and happiness.


Right. Well, I wouldn't rely on something like that. . . .but I'd dearly love the opportunity to become accustomed to it.
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neologist
 
  1  
Reply Mon 12 Dec, 2005 12:43 pm
Let's see. . .
God? . . . .Money?

God? . . . .Money?

Can you have both?

HMM!
0 Replies
 
JPB
 
  1  
Reply Mon 12 Dec, 2005 03:32 pm
You can if you're in a liberal Christian faith, neo.

werthn, the more I read your questions the more I think you might be more comfortable with the Methodists or other liberal Christian denomination. No one group has absolute TRUTH, you should feel good about the faith tenets of the group you affiliate with. It sounds like you're getting hooked into a group you don't really relate to very well.
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j aumen 11916
 
  1  
Reply Mon 12 Dec, 2005 03:33 pm
You can have both but you should as a christian pay at least 10% of your earnings to the church. Like it says in Matthew 9:24, it is harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Being rich isn't a sin but you should also give to the church as a christian. Your church might preach that it's a sin but it also depends on your religion. It just isn't a bad thing to be rich. As a christian, my first priority is God, not money.
0 Replies
 
werthn
 
  1  
Reply Mon 12 Dec, 2005 04:00 pm
J_B wrote:
You can if you're in a liberal Christian faith, neo.

werthn, the more I read your questions the more I think you might be more comfortable with the Methodists or other liberal Christian denomination. No one group has absolute TRUTH, you should feel good about the faith tenets of the group you affiliate with. It sounds like you're getting hooked into a group you don't really relate to very well.


Yea, that's what I'm thinking too. Like I shared at another thread, I'm currently part of a Southern Baptist group and I have constantly arguing against the stuff they teach or asking questions. I think the religious leaders are really frustrated with me. And for the longest time, I thought there was something wrong with me. I thought that maybe I was growing farther away from God. And then someone told me that it's because I might be what they call a liberal Christian.

Now I know that there is a huge debate with this? Like some conservative Christians think that Liberal Christians aren't real Christians? Is this true?

Anyways, I still believe that yes, we cannot control what happens to us in the future. But no, that doesn't mean we rely everything on God. I'd rather God go help the really needy ones, people who really need help, like people in famines, victims of natural disasters, etc. And then one day, I can serve God by offering useful service to other people of need. Very Happy
0 Replies
 
neologist
 
  1  
Reply Mon 12 Dec, 2005 04:05 pm
J_B wrote:
You can if you're in a liberal Christian faith, neo.

werthn, the more I read your questions the more I think you might be more comfortable with the Methodists or other liberal Christian denomination. No one group has absolute TRUTH, you should feel good about the faith tenets of the group you affiliate with. It sounds like you're getting hooked into a group you don't really relate to very well.
One should not judge truth by comfort level.

But the point I was trying to make was not really a point at all. It really isn't an either/or proposition where you have to give up all your possessions in order to have faith. But you do have to put your wealth into proper perspective. I mean, doesn't your family come before money?
0 Replies
 
JPB
 
  1  
Reply Mon 12 Dec, 2005 04:06 pm
Spoken like a true liberal Christian, werthn Smile

Groups tend to be self-righteous and think they are following the true path. You can only follow the path that makes sense to you. Are you with this group because you have friends that go there or is it because you couldn't find a Methodist group near your school? There are plenty of liberal religious denomination out there. If the Methodists aren't nearby you could check out some of the others I listed in your other thread.
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