For everyone just starting to read this blog, this is the second blog in my series “Was Jesus a Socialist?” For more information on why I decided to start writing this series, please click here and read the first paragraph of part 1.
The Idea
I’ve seen some people on social media floating around the idea that no Christian should have an abundance of money. They claim that a person cannot be Godly and still have a healthy sum in their bank account. People use scriptures like the following to justify their feelings: “Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!” This amazed them. But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is very hard to enter the Kingdom of God. In fact, 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!” Mark 10: 23-25 (NLT) and the very popular “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.” 1 Timothy 6:10 (NLT) Clearly Jesus was against money, right?
What Does Scripture Really Say?
As with my first blog in the “Was Jesus a Socialist?” series, if we take both of these scriptures at face value then it appears that Jesus was against his believers having money. However, let’s dive a little deeper. In context, the first scripture follows the story of the rich young ruler, and what happened with the rich young ruler is what spurred Jesus speaking about rich people entering the Kingdom of God. This was a young man that came to Jesus and basically told him that he had kept every law in the Torah and asked how he could enter the Kingdom of God. Jesus responded to him by telling him to sell everything he had and give it to the poor. When the young man heard this, the scripture says that he went away sad. Let’s think about this for a second – did he leave because he had money? I don’t believe so.
This young man did not leave sad because he had money. He left because he loved and wanted money more than he loved and wanted the Kingdom of God. Notice our second scripture does not call money the root of all evil (contrary to what people tend to quote on social media) it calls the love of money the root of all evil. Having money is not the problem; loving money and wanting it more than you love and want Jesus is. Money is a tool that on its own is not inherently bad or good but our attitude towards it determines which it is in our lives.
In Conclusion
I do not believe there is any Biblical evidence that Jesus is against his followers having money. He is, however, against his followers loving money more than they love him. In this respect, Jesus does not align with the socialistic value that the rich are evil. After all, how can you be generous with others, feed the poor, and take care of the widow and orphan if you do not have money to give? In conclusion, I encourage you, the reader, to dive into the scriptures and read them in context to decide what you believe Jesus thinks about money.
I plan on writing at least one more blog in my series Was Jesus a Socialist? Stay tuned!