Does God Want Us to be Rich?

Self-Employment: Smart Option or Income Trap? »

Popularity: 23% [?]

Apr 1st, 2008 by Kenny

Does God want us to be rich? Does being wealthy prevent us from going to Heaven?

In Matthew 19:24, Jesus states, “And again I say unto you, 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”. This is repeated in Mark 10:25.

Luke 16:19-31 tells the story of Lazarus and the rich man. Lazarus, the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom, while the rich man ended in torment.

On the surface, this seems to indicate that God does not look favorably on the wealthy. But how do we know where the line is drawn between securing our future and becoming rich?

We must remember that there are several rich, yet righteous men throughout the Bible.

Job was a rich man, blessed by God in many ways until Satan was allowed to test him.

Satan took everything he had and killed his children, yet Job remained righteous.

Once again, God allowed Satan to test Job by covering him with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.

All that Job had was gone, except his wife, who promptly urged Job to “curse God and die”. How is that for support? Obviously Satan left her behind for a reason.

Yet, in the end, Job remained righteous and loyal to God. He also showed great compassion by praying for his three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, who had not spoken of God the thing that is right (Job 42:8).

God rewarded Job by blessing him with twice as much as he had before. He was blessed with seven sons and three daughters and lived another 140 years.

So what does all this mean? Does God want us to be rich? When Jesus spoke of the camel going through the eye of a needle, was he suddenly changing the rules?

Not at all. Jesus knew that money meant power and that power corrupts even good people.

Bill Gates is one of the wealthiest, if not the wealthiest person in the world. Yet he regularly gives millions of dollars to worthy causes every year. This doesn’t mean he is going to Heaven, but it is a step in the right direction.

But for every Bill Gates in the world, there are many Scrooges, who never think twice of cheating the poor to pad their own bank accounts.

It is not wealth that condemns a person, it is what they do with it.

If you are one of the lucky people who have wealth, consider this. Do you own your wealth or does it own you?