Is that statement true? That is the question that rattled around in my head when I heard a well-meaning, very zealous individual who was driven to turn fellow-Christians away from the pursuit of materialism. However, this sentiment needs to be taken on and the merits of his case weighed more fully. There is nothing essentially virtuous about being passionate about something and then citing the name “Jesus” in the same breath. Bottom line? Does the argument have merit? If, when held up to the scrutiny of the Bible, this is true then we need to sift the priorities of our lives through the prism of being a follower of Jesus Christ. However, I need more than a fired-up individual who happens to cite “Kingdom priorities” as his proof.
So, does the reasoning that #1. America is a free-market society and #2. greed is prime mechanism in “getting ahead” in a free market society necessarily lead to #3. “Christians can never honor God by making a lot of money in this society”? What would you say to this line of reasoning?
In order for you to consider one view of how greed works in a free-market system see this classic portrayal:
The following are some very helpful resources to consider the subject in light of a Biblical worldview.
So, I will put it to you, can a Christian honor God with a radical Kingdom mentality and yet make a boat-load of money in our free market system?
There’s so much wrong with that statement its hard to know where to begin. Just for starters I’d say that every single organized missionary endeavor in modern times has sprung forth from and been financed by ‘free market’ societies – primarily Great Britain and the United States.
I think the fundamental question is…can a person be live a God honoring life while living a life that yields wealth? I think we find the answer in Job.
Job 1
In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. 2 He had seven sons and three daughters, 3 and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.
Clearly it is possible.
I agree. The issue is “the love of money” not the presence money (I Tim. 6:10). There are so many examples in the Bible who were very wealthy that the abundance of money or the lack of money cannot really be the issue. Simply stated, the issue is not whether you have money but does money have you. I am convinced that people (like the individual I mentioned above) have standards like they do because they personally have a weakness in this area or they were exposed to the ravages of being greedy at some point in their life.
It is so easy for people to superimpose their personal issues or experiences onto others and claim it is THE way to live. Then, they find courage and power in presenting their beliefs by invoking God’s name to prove what THEY believe.
Remember, just because someone says “this is what God says” doesn’t always mean that God agrees that that individual. Can they show evidence of their teaching in and from the Bible?
I think there are a couple things wrong with the reasoning; it stems from a mischaracterization of Capitalism. On way to characterize the system is to say it is driven by Greed, but you could also say it is a system driven by the need to give people the best products at the lowest prices. Or the desire to give people more of what they want.
Also, like Friedman said in the video, Capitalism is the most equitable system in human history. People are free to pursue their interests and profit from them. The less free you are, i.e. socialism, feudalism, etc. all fail to deliver goods to consumers and encourage despotism. Directly causing misery to those involved. You can honor God in your suffering however if you are suffer for suffering sake you are not honoring God.
Greed, though, is a tricky sin. It is not as easy to identify in yourself. It is easy to know when you are lusting or stealing, but when are you greedy-ing? I want to do well with what I have and do well with my money honoring God in both. But how do know when my desires are curving in on myself?