Christian Liberty and Wealth

I was hanging out with some good friends of mine tonight, and we got into a discussion of wealth and Christian liberty. Sojourn just finished up a sermon series on Christian liberty from Romans 13 as part of our year long Romans series. Our discussion centered around liberty and wealth. In terms of wealth, American Christianity looks far different than what it seems that Jesus was teaching his disciples. How much of this is cultural and how much of this is outright sin? Is any of it sin? Or is driving a BMW a sign of God’s blessing?

Certainly, there are no verses that say you cannot acquire wealth, or that having a profit margin in your business is evil. There are plenty of verses that point to the dangers of having a lot of money- such as the ease of the rich to “get into heaven,” or the tendency to make money our masters. There’s also the the fact that Jesus sent out 72 missionaries without money, bags, or even sandals (see Luke 10). Or the time he sent out the 12 with the command, “Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts— 10 no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff” (Matthew 10). That certainly isn’t very capitalist of Jesus to say! But how do we deal with this today? Does that mean we shouldn’t own cars? Or houses? or fill in the blank here?

I don’t think that’s the point. And this is why its a matter of Christian liberty. We see that there was no amount set where having something is “too much.” For example, Jesus told one person to give everything away (Matthew 19) yet told Zacchaeus to only give half. And even in Matthew 10 and Luke 10 cited above, Jesus says that a worker deserves his pay. Paul later quotes this to show that Elders can be paid for their work in 1 Tim 5:18. So, taking all these verses into consideration, what are we able to say about the Bible’s teaching and wealth.

I think the biggest thing we can say is that wealth is a heart issue. There simply isn’t a golden number where we can say “this is too much” that is the same in all places at all times, which is where Christian liberty comes in to play. It was different for the rich young man and Zacchaeus. It’s different for someone who is working in the villages of Africa, where wealth may bring up images of Apartheid, and someone working in middle class America where certain things are anecessity to function in society. What Jesus was getting at, as he did so many times in his teaching, is “where is your heart at”? You cannot serve both God and money, but you can serve God with your money or even your lack thereof. Wealth was the stumbling block that kept the young man from the Kingdom of God, it was his master instead of God. For Zacchaeus, the ability to give his money away was joy.

But what about us today? Does Jesus’ teaching have anything to say about whether we can own a car or not? Well, yes and no. If we wanted to strictly apply Jesus’ commands to the 12 and 72, certainly cars would be in excess. Yet we find ourselves in a context and culture vastly foreign from 1st century Israel. It is almost impossible to continue living without a car. In order to pay bills one must have a job, and in most places one needs a source of transportation to get to their job. It is financially irresponsible to be in our context and not have a job (and really, its bad for so many other reasons). It’s a fact of survival. Of course, in some places public transportation is good enough that it’s not an issue, or some people are able to walk and bike to work, but for others these just simply aren’t options. So here, the two tunic thing just doesn’t translate to whether we can or should own a car or not. Nor is it meant to. It isn’t the point.

So how do we apply biblical principles to such issues? Well, certainly, if we own a car we cannot let it become an idol. Our identity should not be wrapped up in what we drive. And if your family is barely getting by, yet you are driving a Hummer, I think it’s safe to say that your priorities are in disarray and you are in sin. Paul certainly would say that you are worse than an unbeliever in this particular scenario (1 Timothy 5:8).

So the question comes down, I think, to how you are using your wealth. Are you enslaved to it? Or do you know that Christ is the greatest treasure- and that you are given much to give much? I’m not going to lay down guidelines to what is excess in this post. To some degree, that is contextual as well. What I do want to give as a guideline is to consider how you are using what God has given you. Is your spending a reflection of Kingdom values? Or, is it a reflection of excess and selfishness?

One of my favorite stories about Godly use of wealth comes from one of the Sojourn classes on stewardship. The story is about a Christian leader who was teaching a bunch of pastors. He asked them to put down how much they were in debt on a piece of paper. The sum-total of the debt came to about $80,000 between them. He took out his checkbook, wrote a check out for the amount, and canceled all of their debt. He then exhorted them, “Do not ever become a slave to money again.” This is a Godly use of wealth that God had blessed someone with. It wasn’t in driving the best car, or living in the biggest house. Of course, some of you may think this is enabling them, but that is only true if he would continue doing this for the same people every time. Then again, if we applied this to the cross, you would think that Jesus was enabling sinners to keep sinning by canceling their debt.

I can’t give you a definite answer as to when something is done in excess. That takes going situation by situation, and an analyzing of the context. More than that, and definitely more important, is that it takes an analyzing of your heart. What is the reason or purpose behind your use of money and wealth? How is this affected by the culture you are ministering it? Is your spending a hindrance for the spread of the Gospel? Is the affluence of your culture giving you an excuse to spend more than you should? Is there a better opportunity for you to spend the money for the Kingdom? These are all questions we could and should ask ourselves.

All of this being said, we must remember that the overwhelming amount of commands is to give than to receive. This is not some post-modern idea of “what’s true for you is true for you, and what’s true for me is true for me.” There is no liberty to bow before an idol. Though some things are a bit fuzzy when it comes to minute details, God has certainly, and authoritatively, spoken on the issue: “You cannot serve two masters… you cannot serve both God and money.” And when there are clear commands, there is no liberty to do as we wish.