It intrigues me how little human nature has changed in 2000 years, if at all. In Jesus’ lifetime, the Jewish population’s feelings about tax was no different to ours today. In a word, resentful.
Tax Collectors in the Bible
Tax collectors in the Bible demanded two main taxes for Rome:
Income Tax and
Poll Tax (Tributum Capitis)
Income tax was divided into two categories. Slaves, and everything else. Income from the sale of slaves was charged at 4% and everything else was charged at 1%.
Poll tax, on the other hand, was a flat rate paid by every adult, regardless of their wealth. Augustus Caesar ensured that the Roman empire took a regular census of its population in order to keep this poll tax accurate. Based on what we read in the Gospels, it is likely that Jesus was born during one of these census periods.
I don’t know exactly how much the poll tax was during Jesus’ lifetime but, it seems it was one denarius per year, roughly one day’s wages. Records show the tax was increased by two denarii, or two days’ wages after the Jewish revolt against Rome around 66-73 A.D. but this was forty years after Jesus’ death and resurrection.
In other parts of the Roman empire, it seems that this tax amounted to roughly 1% of the average person’s total assets.
Jews resented tax collectors in the Bible. They especially resented the poll tax for several reasons. First, it was a tax imposed only on non-Romans. Second, it was a bigger burden on the poor than on the rich.
By way of illustration, in contemporary terms, if every adult was charged $1,000/month as a poll tax, then someone who earned $1,200/month would be forced to pay almost their entire salary in tax and would be left with $200.00 on which to live. This amounts to a tax rate of roughly 83%. Conversely, a person who earned $100,000/month would only have to pay 1% of their earnings in poll tax.
The up-side of this tax policy is that it encouraged entrepreneurship and the Roman economy thrived as a result. However, this came at huge cost to impoverished communities and low-income households. As such, tax collectors in the Bible were held in very low esteem.
Tax Collectors Today
Considering, Israelites in the time of Jesus had to pay 1% of their net worth plus 1% of all their earnings, I wonder how they would have felt in the face of the tax burden most hard-working people face today?
Country
United States of America
Canada
United Kingdom
Income Tax Brackets
10% – 37%
15% – 33%
20% – 45%
Add to that the 10-20% VAT we have to pay on every purchase we make with the money that is left after paying the taxes above, and that amounts to a pretty hefty tax bill.
Makes Caesar and tax collectors in the Bible look like benign grandparents.
Here is some wise counsel I recently received from a fellow-Christian.
When building wealth God’s way, free from the love of money, never forget why you are doing it.
For instance, one of the things that is important to my wife and I is the ability to spend time with our children while they are growing up and to be there for them in the years that they need us the most.
Building wealth takes time, however. There is no way of getting around this. How silly would I be if I spent years of my life focusing on that goal only to find that my children have grown up without me… because I was too busy pursuing wealth so that I could spend time with them.
That would simply be the Love of Money dressed up as a Godly pursuit. I’ve said it before. Everybody faces Love of Money challenges; only the form varies… and this is my personal fight.
As I move from a mindset of Financial Struggle to one of Financial Freedom, it is very easy to lose sight of why I am doing this.
Building Wealth God’s Way
11 Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe His commands, his laws and His decrees that I am giving to you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, the thirsty waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of the hard rock. 16 He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you. 17 You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.’ 18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.
Deuteronomy 8:11-18
Deuteronomy 8 reminds us of the ultimate WHY with respect to building wealth God’s way. Everything we do should be for God first and foremost. I pray that God’s grace will carry me and that I keep fighting the good fight. That means:
being available to my children in the now
making time for God’s work in the now
giving generously in the now
This doesn’t mean that I should abandon my goal of wealth creation. That would make me a bad steward of the talents and resources God has given me. It simply means that I should always remember why I am building wealth. It means living out my values in the now as if I have already achieved the objective – even while I am working towards that objective.
God’s word draws a very clear line between what is important in life versus what is insignificant.
The eternal is important and what we do in the short time we have on earth, the decisions we make and how we spend our time can affect not only our eternity but also the eternity of those lives we touch with God’s love and the gospel.
So what is wealth in the Bible?
19 ‘Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 6:19-20
Wealth in the Bible
As Christians, we need to think of money, which is transient, as the means to a greater end. Financial wealth may be important in this life but in the face of eternity it remains insignificant.
So what should we consider wealth in the Bible context? I believe there are three things
Time for God’s work
Sufficient Resources to meet our needs and
The Ability to Give Generously
1. Time
Time’s value is immeasurable. Time to devote to God’s work, spend with the people we love and to share the good news of the gospel with others.
Wealth in the Bible means having enough time to do the things that are important – both to God and to us.
I remember a wealthy gentleman in our church. I did not know him and his wife very well as it was a fairly large church. They were a good few years older than my wife and I and moved in different social circles. Truth be told, he probably wouldn’t even remember me now. However, I remember him as he was deeply involved in our church and able to touch many lives. This was mainly because he had so much time available.
Having earned a good living and invested wisely, this man had retired early to spend time with his family. He remained actively involved in the church and gave huge amounts of his time to serve in any way he could
I recall one year when he, as a parent and guardian, accompanied his daughter and a group of her school peers on a mission trip to Egypt. The school had planned the mission trip and needed parents who could volunteer to accompany the team to assist as guardians on the trip.
What a privilege to be able to spend that time with his teenage daughter, working together in ministry, training a future generation to share God’s love with others. He was able to do this because he had been a good steward with what God had entrusted him. And he had the wisdom to spend that time wisely, building up treasure in heaven, so to speak.
THIS REQUIRES – Passive Income Sources
As long as we live in this world, we need food shelter and clothing. We need to provide for those who depend on us. This can include our children, elderly parents or relatives who are unable to care for themselves.
This costs money… and the only ways to acquire that money are to:
Spend our time & effort to earn it or
Acquire assets that earn it for us
If you don’t want to spend all your time earning money, you need to find ways to generate passive income through assets that earn money for you.
These could include rental income from additional properties, dividends from shares in a company, royalties or revenue from an online business that takes little or none of your time.
Can you build this overnight? Of course not. I’m not suggesting that we all quit our jobs and bet everything on red. It takes time and consistency. As the saying goes, the best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago; the second-best time is today.
2. Sufficient Resources
31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Matthew 6:31-33
God’s word acknowledges our need for food, clothing and shelter. He tells us not to worry about these things but to seek first his kingdom.
Wealth in the Bible means having enough resources to meet our needs; our Daily Bread, so to speak.
As long as we have enough resources to pay for our food, clothing and shelter, we have sufficient resources.
So how much is enough? That is something I can’t tell you. Each of us needs to decide this for ourselves.
THIS REQUIRES – Godliness with Contentment
Basic requirements include Food, clothing and shelter.
Truth be told, many hard-working people have far more than those basic requirements today. New cars, new furniture, new appliances and electronics, even regular dinners out at restaurants. These are all things that have become basic necessities in our lives.
A 2012 survey showed that, among other things, the following items are considered a ‘Basic Necessity’ in the United Kingdom:
Washing Machine
Celebrations
Phone
Hobby
Home decorated
Television
Anyone who can’t afford any one of these is deemed to be below the poverty line. Now I’m not suggesting we should all make do without these things. I am suggesting that Godliness with contentment involves a level of sacrifice. So does wealth-building. So Joe Public believes that a television is a basic necessity? Fine. But why buy a $5,000 TV when a $200 one will do? Just saying.
Godliness with contentment allows us to reach our goals sooner. The less content we are, the longer it will take to acquire sufficient resources which, in turn, frees up our time to do the things that are important to us.
And without Godliness with contentment, we may never achieve those goals.
3. Ability to Give
God’s word urges us to give to his kingdom and to the poor & needy. That means generosity towards God and towards those around us.
Wealth in the Bible means having the ability to give generously both to God’s kingdom and those less fortunate than ourselves.
Giving is one of the great joys in this world. It is important to note that God doesn’t care how much we give, but rather that we give of what we have. No matter how much or how little.
God neither needs nor cares about our money. He cares about our hearts – and nothing reveals a heart’s true state as clearly as its attitude toward money.
Again, God doesn’t need this litmus test to see our heart’s state. He already knows our darkest secrets. The test is for us to see and understand our own state.
The ability to give generously is both a joy and a responsibility.
THIS REQUIRES – A Generous Heart and Disposable Income
With generous hearts and resources to share, we are in a position to give as the Bible commands us.
The ability to give generously means having sufficient income to meet our basic necessities and then some. The more money we have over and above what we require to meet our basic needs, the more we have to share.
Of course, all the money in the world means nothing if we don’t have generous hearts. As we build our wealth let us never forget what we are building it for.
The wealth we create belongs to God. He entrusts us with this wealth and, as good stewards, we should never betray that trust. We should use our wealth to give generously to God’s kingdom and the needy. We should also focus on reinvesting and managing that wealth in such a way that it continues to serve God’s purposes long after we leave this earth to be with him for all eternity.
Have you imagined yourself breezing into Reception with your family and being ushered through to the presidential suite like a VIP? Have you pictured treating your friends to a five-star meal and, when time comes to pay, it all just goes on your director’s account. No charge!
Imagine being treated like royalty in your own establishment and never having to pay for the privilege!
Time for a reality-check.
Do you also picture yourself being dragged from your bed in the presidential suite of your own hotel at 05h30 by a panicked manager because your breakfast staff did not turn up and there is nobody else to help set the buffet?
Do you picture yourself watching your family dine while you serve coffee to strangers in your own hotel because half your staff couldn’t be bothered to show up on time, if at all.
Can you picture having to excuse yourself from your friends at dinner to go and deal with a printer issue, or a broken credit card machine at Reception?
Or doing battle on your mobile phone with your telecomms provider for one and a half hours because the internet has gone down and your staff are unable to process payments? Your team can’t do this because they are stretched to breaking point, doing everything manually while a queue of irate customers lines up at the till to pay for a meal they finished nearly an hour ago.
The Prophets and Profits Align
Why can’t your staff do this, you ask? After all, that’s what you’re paying them for. It’s a fair question but is this the value system you want to communicate to your loyal staff members?
If some waiters let your manager down and said manager sends a shout-out for help in order to get the breakfast buffet set up on time, how would it look if the business owner left the one responsible staff member to their fate and then had a good lie-in in the Presidential suite while stress and panic mounted in the restaurant downstairs?
Not only is this bad business practice; it is not how we should treat our staff members according to God’s word.
12 So in everything, do unto others what you would have them do unto you, for this sums up the law and the prophets.
Matthew 7:12
As business owners, we have to live the values that we expect our staff to abide by. All we can do in the situation is buckle down and get the job done… then deal with the discipline or sackings later on.
This is a principle I learned from running my own businesses. If you want to run your own hotel, do so. But understand that this is your business! When you show up at this establishment you come to work… and your friends and family need to understand this.
If you want to enjoy a stress-free sumptuous five-star meal or have a romantic weekend getaway with your spouse, book somewhere else. You can still claim it as a legitimate business expense as it is an opportunity to check out the competition or research ways to improve your own business.
The same principle applies when buying a holiday home. Many people dream of owning a beach house or a log cabin in the mountains. They picture owning a home that they can rent out to generate an income – with the added benefit of being able to use this whenever they feel like it.
The problem is they think of this as a lifestyle first and a business second. Then, when they get calls from the neighbors at all hours of the night because their guests are rowdy and having parties, they become annoyed. When guests call them constantly on evenings or weekends to report that appliances have broken or the heating is not working, annoyance turns to rage.
And when they realize they can’t use the property on the long weekend or over the summer, as they planned, because that is the only time guests want to book it, they become resentful.
If you don’t enjoy the business aspects of this type of investment, then you are better off investing in a different venture that requires less maintenance. After all, you can happily use the profits from an easier investment to book your summer vacation at the beach , or to have that romantic getaway at a hotel spa come your wedding anniversary.
In life, we encounter disagreements. In business, even more so. And, as business is, well – business – those disagreements are usually over money. As a Christian, I value relationships over money and try to abide by Jesus teaching whether in business or otherwise…
23 ‘Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. 25 Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.’
Matthew 5:23-26
In general, it is my natural tendency to capitulate when faced with a disagreement in business and do unto others as I would have them do unto me. If someone feels I have wronged them or owe them money for some reason, I am naturally more inclined to give them what they feel they are owed, even when I believe I have right on my side. This in an attempt to preserve a healthy relationship; I can always make more money.
The trouble is, our counterparts won’t always play fair in the world of business. And, very often, it is those who are closest to us in business who can abuse our trust the most.
By way of example, if a new client tries to cheat you, by claiming false compensation for a “defective” product or service that you suspect, but can’t prove, was well up to standard, you could chalk it up to experience and let the matter go. You may lose a bit of money but at least you have a clear conscience that, even on the off-chance that the product/service was genuinely defective, you have at least made good and acted with integrity. You can, of course, learn from the mistake and refuse to do business with that person in future if you don’t believe they are trustworthy.
But what if the disagreement is not with a client who you are unlikely to ever see again? What if a disagreement brews with a business partner you have worked with for years? This is a relationship of far higher value. What if you choose to preserve the relationship over money and cave on a disagreement over money, only to find that your business partner then abuses your good faith further and begins to demand more money, a greater share of your profits or a share of future earnings?
In situations like this, you quickly find that, for every inch you give, your counterpart demands another mile. This goes way beyond a simple disagreement in business. Left unchecked, you will reach a point where your adversary is not merely playing hard-ball but is actually stealing the food off your children’s table.
Disagreement in Business
There comes a time in every business when you simply have to push back. This might mean letting a long-standing employee go or ending a business partnership that has become toxic. And in some cases, it will mean that your counterpart may feel aggrieved as they didn’t get all they wanted when you parted ways. In such cases, that is on them.
I try my level best to walk a mile in the other person’s shoes, so to speak and, if I am convinced that they genuinely believe I have wronged them or owe them a debt, I am more often than not prepared to pay them what they feel they are owed in order to preserve the relationship even if I disagree with their view of things.
But when I feel that someone is simply taking advantage of my generosity or sense of integrity, the gloves come off.
If we let people bully or take advantage of us in business, it won’t be long before we are out of business.
By that, I don’t mean the scripture is wrong; it’s not. With regards to disagreement in business, what I am saying is that Matthew 5:23-26 is not telling us that we should be doormats for the rest of the world to walk all over.
Several of the financial-guru-type authors I have read over the years listed the primary differences between the wealthy and the middle-class / poor.
One difference that tops those lists is that the wealthy are, by and large, comfortable talking about money.
The poor and middle-class are generally not. That’s certainly how things were in my household, growing up.
Where does Christian thinking lie on this spectrum? I think it is fair to say, more towards the poor and middle-class end of that scale. We don’t like to talk about money. As a subject, it generally ranges from uncomfortable, to taboo in most Christian circles.
When it is addressed directly, it is usually in the context of giving our tithes and offerings to the local church. While this is a step in the right direction, it barely scratches the surface.
Admit it or not, our relationship with money is far deeper and more complex than that.
Talk About Money
How is it that a subject so deeply ingrained in our human psyche is so seldom addressed in a Christian context?
The experts say that children already understand the connection between money and things by age four. When they lose their first tooth at around age six, they receive a shiny new coin in their slipper the next morning. Let’s face it, the reason that coin has such value in their eyes is because the value of money was already entrenched in their psyche years earlier.
Our relationship with money starts in early childhood and lasts for the rest of our lives. That relationship can be anything from healthy to downright toxic. It can be a blessing or a curse and the only factor that determines which, is our attitude towards money.
Why wouldn’t we talk about money as Christians?
I acknowledge there is way more to our Christian walk than money. However, most aspects of our spiritual condition and our relationship with God are properly addressed and widely taught by pastors and teachers in churches throughout the world. I have simply elected to address one important aspect that is, by and large, not.
Well, of course, they can. However, wealth is a touchy subject among Christians. Because of basic misunderstandings and assumptions, many Christians can’t be wealthy.
In fact the only things holding Christians back from true wealth are self-imposed limitations.
Here are my top three.
Christians Can’t be Wealthy When…
1. They Mistake Wealth for Riches
Throughout the First World, Christians and non-Christians alike find themselves in a state of constant financial struggle. Not poor – but forced to work long hours in jobs they hate just to make rent and pay their monthly bills.
Many Christians long to escape from this cycle but feel unable to. What if someone told you that you could find true wealth without becoming rich? You can!
It is our First-World mentality, not the Bible, that tells us the only way to true wealth is by becoming rich. For Christians this is a stumbling block because we understand that there lies the love of money and the road to ruin.
Riches are the measure of a bank balance. Wealth is the measure of freedom and choice.
Rich Abba, Holy Abba
Too many Christians believe the world’s lie that freedom and choice requires infinite riches. This is one reason why many Christians can’t be wealthy.
When we begin to understand wealth outside the context of riches, the stumbling block is removed. The truth is that many Christians could achieve true wealth with little or no more money than they have now.
Think of it this way; what would you do for God and his kingdom – how would you spend your time – if you could maintain your current income but were able to choose your hours and work from anywhere in the world?
You would be no richer than you are now but possibly infinitely wealthier.
2. They Bow to Materialism
Here is an unpalatable truth. Materialism is simply the Love of Money in a different guise.
Like a master-illusionist, Satan focuses all our attention on Acquisition of Riches Love of Money, while quietly hiding the Materialism Love of Money that takes root our hearts…. and we, his victims, continue to believe we are immune because we still feel poor!
Materialism is not only the Love of Money; it is the very thing that keeps us in a place of financial struggle.
Understanding Godliness with Contentment, can free us from materialism and the love of money. As our spending patterns change, we are able to create true wealth with opportunities for freedom and choice.
Not by becoming richer but rather by becoming better stewards of God’s blessing in our lives.
3. They Focus on Bread Instead of Seed
Many Christians think of any investment as the pursuit of riches and, by extension, the love of money. This, coupled with a natural human fear of anything we don’t understand, prevents many Christians from ever investing their earnings in assets that grow in value.
Instead, they spend it on their “Daily Bread” (i.e. the things they need to support themselves and their family month by month). When Christians view everything they earn as bread rather than seed, they automatically see it as something to be consumed rather than planted.
This is a reason why many Christians can’t be wealthy.
This is not a question of pursuing riches but, rather, one of stewardship. As Christians we should first acknowledge that all we have belongs to God. When we consume all the resources God places in our trust as bread, this is not good stewardship.
Some of those resources are bread, to be sure. Christians can and should use this bread to support themselves and their families. They should also be generous with the bread they have and share it with others in need or as tithes and offerings to further God’s kingdom.
However, as good stewards of the blessings with which God has entrusted us, Christians should reserve a portion of their earnings as seed to be planted for future harvest.
If unsure of how to do this or where and how to invest, then I would submit that Christians have a duty to understand this, like the good and faithful servant in Matthew 25:14-30 who wisely used what his master gave him to produce an increase.
By becoming good stewards of God’s resources, we can break the cycle and find true freedom – or true wealth! We can do this not by becoming richer but by becoming good stewards of that which God has already given us.
22A good person leaves an inheritance for their childrens’children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.
Proverbs 13:22
The true inheritance we leave our children is not the money they get when we die. Rather, it is the values, skills and wisdom we instil in them today.
Inheritance in the Bible is a subject we should teach our children.
It’s a standing joke in our house. Every time one of my children makes a disparaging comment about:
my age
my hairstyle
my fashion sense
or The Beatles
… I say, ‘You’re out of the will!’
They find this amusing and seek out opportunities to goad me.
In our house, we can joke about this but it saddens me when I see the broken family relationships that disagreements over an inheritance can cause. Just when families should be drawing closer to comfort one another over the loss of a loved-one, resentments build and the arguments begin over money. Rifts are created and often never repaired.
Inheritance in the Bible
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.’ 14 Jesus replied, ‘Man, who appointed me judge or arbiter between you?’ 15 Then he said to them, ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.’
Luke 12:13-15
I pray that my children avoid this trap and it is my hope that I will be able to teach them
the right attitude towards money and
the wisdom to manage their own money
… from an early age so that when I go to be with Jesus, they will have no reason to squabble over the inheritance I leave behind.
I would rather teach them the values, financial skills, and the wisdom that empowers them to create their own wealth and manage it as responsible stewards of God’s blessing in their lives.
To that end, I believe in teaching my children about money at every opportunity. Not so that they become lovers of money, but rather, so that they don’t!
Did you know the Bible actually says God gives us the ability to produce wealth?
11 Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe His commands, his laws and His decrees that I am giving to you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, the thirsty waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of the hard rock. 16 He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you. 17 You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.’ 18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.
Deuteronomy 8:11-18
Some translations say power to create instead of ability to produce wealth but the meaning is the same. We can produce wealth because God enables us to do so.
The key verse is Deuteronomy 8:18 which says ‘… for it is [God] who gives you the ability to produce wealth’
We need to read the whole passage in context, however. The good news, that God gives us the ability to produce wealth, is framed in a warning and this is the main thrust of the passage. Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God.
The passage leads with these words in verse 11 and then echoes the warning in verse 18. But remember the Lord your God… because is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.
Most sermons you hear on this passage will concentrate on the warning, and rightly so. After all, this is primarily what the passage is about. They will focus your attention on the fact that God is concerned with your eternal soul and that things of this world are transient. God comes first and is the most important aspect of our lives. All of this is true and we would do well to remember that.
However, this glosses over an interesting fact in the Bible; God actually gives us the ability to produce wealth!
The Ability to Produce Wealth
Note, God’s word says he gives us the ability to produce wealth. This does not mean that every person automatically has instant access to wealth. I may have the ability to run a marathon in under four hours but that doesn’t mean I automatically can.
In order to achieve my ability, I would need to discipline myself, maintain a healthy diet and train hard. I would need to do this consistently over a period of months or even years. While most people are enjoying their morning lie-in, I would have to be out early in all types of weather, ensuring that I put in the miles I need to achieve my goal.
If I choose to adopt a couch-potato lifestyle instead of training as I should, it is unlikely I would ever realize my God-given ability.
I might even have a personal mental block that prevents me from achieving my ability. What if I believed that the Marathon is a race that has its roots in pagan religion? Since the Marathon distance originates in the Olympics which were a celebration of the ancient Greek gods, I might conclude that partaking in, or even attempting to run, a marathon is actually a form of idolatry. As such, I might justify my choice to sit on the couch with a packet of crisps, a few bars of chocolate and a constant supply of sugary drinks while I watch some sport on TV. All in my effort to avoid idolatry.
That thinking probably sounds a bit silly to most people. And yet, we do this with money all the time. The Bible tells us that God has given us the ability to produce wealth. However, instead of exercising that gift, we choose the metaphorical sofa instead. More than that, we are so terrified of making money an idol in our lives that we justify our choice.
How to Produce Wealth
The ability to produce wealth comes down to two things:
The ability to acquire wealth and
The ability to keep wealth
This requires discipline and consistency. Above all, I believe we need to root out the love of money in our lives to achieve this.
Ability to Acquire Wealth
In order to acquire wealth, we need to ensure that we spend less than we earn. The only way to do this is to:
Increase our income and / or
reduce our expenses
In the main, finding ways to reduce expenses is easier than generating additional income. That said, you don’t have to choose one or the other; you should pursue both goals at the same time.
Here is an easy way to reduce your expenses. Get your bank statements for the last three months and go through every item on the list. Focus particularly on the recurring items and follow three easy steps.
1. REMOVE Unnecessary Expenses
You have to be brutal when you do this. What about that gym membership that you haven’t used in over a year? If you are truly honest with yourself, you’re never going back. Cancel it!
That Amazon Prime membership that you signed up for to get free a month’s service? I know, you meant to cancel it at the end of 30 days but then forgot. Cancel it now.
And those subscriptions you have been meaning to cancel but simply never get around to … you know what to do.
What about recurring restaurant bills? If you think about it, eating in is both cheaper and healthier.
I never said this would be easy. It will require some tough choices.
Be brutal. Any expenses that are not absolutely necessary have to go.
Once you have done that, you can move on to step two.
2. REDUCE Remaining Expenses
This is a headache but probably easier than step one. By casting your eye around, you can often find a cheaper supplier for things like
Energy bills
Insurance
Telephone & Broadband
In fact, your suppliers will actually help you out on this. Simply call up your supplier and tell them you want to move… and listen to the person on the end of the line launch into their retention script.
First, they will offer you a cheaper configuration. Next, they will offer you a discounted price. They will engage in all sorts of ploys to keep your business, every one of which will result in a cheaper price than you are currently paying.
In the end, you can either switch to the cheaper supplier or stay with the existing one at the much better rate; a rate that they should have offered you before you told them you planned to leave.
Now that you have removed unnecessary expenses altogether and reduced the remaining expenses, you are ready for step three.
3. REPAY Outstanding Consumer Credit
One of the necessary expenses that remains will, very likely, be minimum payments on one or more credit cards. You can’t remove or even reduce this expense because you are paying for past purchases. What’s done is done. You can’t change the past. But you can change your behavior going forward.
Take all the extra money you are now saving each month and pay off the outstanding balance on your credit cards. This may take a few months but it will be worth it.
There are two trains of thought on this. One suggests that you pick the card with the highest interest rate and pay that off first, then the next highest and so on.
An alternative approach is to pick the one with the smallest balance outstanding and pay that off first, then the next smallest and so on.
The first approach is the more sensible financial one as it will save you the most money in the shortest time. However, studies have shown that the psychological satisfaction of paying off one of your cards is often a greater motivation. Of course there is every chance that your smaller balances come at a higher interest rate in any case.
No matter which option you choose, work to get those credit balances down to zero. Pay off one card, and then the next, until all your cards are down to a zero balance. This will once and for all reduce the impact of interest on consumer debt in your life and free you up to begin planting the seeds from which your wealth will grow.
Ability to Keep Wealth
It sounds absurd but it is true. The ability to keep the wealth you have generated is as much as skill as the ability to acquire wealth. It’s no accident that so many lottery winners end up in a worse financial state within a year or two of winning millions of dollars.
However, it is not just lottery winners who fall into this trap. Many successful business owners build up a company from nothing and sell it for millions. Then, they manage to lose it all in two years or less.
This is because wise investment requires a different skill-set than entrepreneurship. Both of these skills can be learned with the right information and proper mentorship or guidance.
One of the lessons I have learned with respect to keeping wealth is to simply slow down and limit expectations. Every time I have lost a significant amount of money, has been when I tried to grow too fast or too soon. Wealth creation is a slow burn and there are no short-cuts or get-rich-quick schemes. Slow and steady wins the day – every time.
Keeping Things in Perspective
We all know how easy it is to forget God when things are going well. As we discipline ourselves and begin to create wealth, we increase our financial knowledge and wisdom.
Each success builds on the previous one and the temptation is always there to think that we are doing this in our own strength. As our wealth begins to grow, let’s heed the warning in Deuteronomy 8:11-18 and remember the Lord in all we do.
Let us never forget that God is the source of all that is good in our lives and let us not become so arrogant as to think that what we have achieved in life is by our own strength.
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.
Jesus said this… why can’t Christians be more Christ-like?
A brother in Christ recently posed this question to me. It’s a fair question because, truth be told, far too many believers who advocate Christian wealth and prosperity try to hide from this scripture.
Those who don’t ignore it altogether are quick to point to Old Testament passages where God actually made righteous men like Abraham or Jacob wealthy. Or they point to New Testament scriptures that allude to the fact that many of Jesus’ followers were actually wealthy. Little more than a futile attempt to negate the truth of this verse.
I have even heard a teaching that suggests Jesus didn’t really mean the eye of an actual needle but rather a broken part in Jerusalem’s city wall which, while difficult to negotiate, could actually allow a camel to get through albeit with great difficulty. The teaching contends that this gap in the wall was called The Eye of the Needle by the locals.
For the record, I don’t subscribe to that idea because I see no scriptural basis for the theory. If we profess to be Christians who allow the Bible to guide our thoughts, speech and actions, then we need to seek our understanding from scripture.
In short, we need to own this scripture as believers. As my brother so rightly points out… Jesus said this!
The Eye of a Needle
Let’s take a look at the Matthew 19:16-25 passage.
16 Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, ‘Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?’ 17 ‘Why do you ask me about what is good?’ Jesus replied. ‘There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.’ 18 ‘Which ones?’ he inquired. Jesus replied, ‘’You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’’ 20 ‘All these I have kept,’ the young man said. ‘What do I still lack?’ 21 Jesus answered, ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’ 22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. 23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’ 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, ‘Who then can be saved?’ 26Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’
Matthew 19:16-26
For me, there are three key verses in this passage. The first is the one everybody knows. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.
This is certainly the verse that most of us focus on. I guess we do this because it is a clever catch-phrase that also illustrates a deep spiritual truth.
If ever there was a passage about the love of money, it is this one. The rich young man clearly knew that something was missing in his life and that he needed to be saved. Jesus showed him the way but the young man’s love of money prevented him from embracing the truth.
This leads Jesus to make the observation we all know so well. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle…
The second key verse is the disciples’ reaction to that statement. They were greatly astonished and asked, ‘Who then can be saved?’
I have been a Christian for most of my life. Every message I have heard on this passage stops at verse 24. The challenge is obvious and our pastors and teachers slam the message home. Rich people cannot enter the kingdom of God.
When we hear messages like this, our take-away is simple. For most of my life, my thought process has been as follows. This verse applies to rich people. I am not rich, therefore this verse doesn’t apply to me – but it is interesting and memorable.
Because we get hung up on verse 24, most of us miss what the disciples so keenly observed in verse 25. Who then can be saved?
Who, indeed? While our first-world culture sees shades of grey, the disciples appear to have had a far more binary view of the world. They saw the poor – and everybody else. The poor were those with disabilities or widows and orphans who were physically or socially incapable of generating an income. As such, they were unable to buy basic necessities like food, shelter or clothing. In the disciples’ eyes, if you were not poor, you were, by definition, rich. Hence their astonishment and the question Who then can be saved?
Instead of assuming that this verse does not apply to them, the disciples accept that it does! This creates a far more frightening thought pattern for them. I am not poor. Therefore I am rich. How then can I be saved?
In their minds, Jesus statement ruled out just about everybody the disciples knew from ever entering the kingdom of heaven, including themselves. And it should do the same for us.
I realize that most of us don’t feel rich or, indeed, consider ourselves to be rich. But this is just a glass-half-empty mentality. It is another example of The Devil’s Greatest Trick.
I was born in South Africa where any family with a household income of more than $500/month was in the top 5% income group in the country. That means, in most homes, both mom and dad work eight hours a day to earn roughly $250/month each. By that measure any family earning the USA national median monthly salary of $4,700 would be considered rich beyond measure.
Who then can be saved?
Fortunately, Jesus provides the answer in the third key verse in this passage. Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’
Conclusion – the Whole Picture
When I see the full picture, I am confronted with a frightening truth. The “rich” folk that Jesus refers to actually includes many more people than I might automatically think. It actually includes me even though, as someone who works hard for a living, I don’t think of myself as rich.
As someone who is already rich by the Biblical measure that the disciples used, I don’t have to hide from this scripture. Nor do I have to invent fantastic stories about merchants squeezing their camels through large cracks in the city wall after the gates have closed for the night, like a group of blokes trying to get a smelly sofa up some narrow stairs to an apartment.
I also don’t have to reach for other scriptures to prove how many of Jesus’ followers were actually rich. The answer is provided by Jesus himself, right there in the passage. With God all things are possible.
I need to be careful here. This does not diminish the value or truth of verse 24. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle... There is a clear warning in this passage to guard against the love of money in our lives. There is also a very specific warning to those who have money and are rich. Anyone who is already “rich” (i.e. not poor) needs to take heed. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. Fact! Jesus said this.
But even as he said this he also offered us the way to redemption.
As such, we need to guard our hearts and rely on God’s strength to carry us through. Never stop fighting the good fight. And when money becomes too important, we need to repent, turn back to God and make him the center of our lives once more.
Most of us will probably go through this cycle not once, but many times in our lives. Let us never forget this scripture. Let us never hide from it. Let us never assume that it does not apply to us. Rather, let us embrace it.
Only remember; never stop reading at verse 24. Rather meditate on this scripture in its entirety. Perhaps a better way to remember this verse in future is:
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.…Who then can be saved?….With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
As a parting note, this raises another interesting topic for me. Namely the difference between “rich” and “wealthy”? I have some thoughts on this…
