you can't serve both God and money

[RDKirk]

and yet He told the rich man to sell EVERYTHING he has. think about that. i don't understand why we christians have to be at the bottom of the pyramid.

That was rather a trick question. Jesus had little patience for people who tried to manipulate him, which the rich young ruler was trying to do. He was trying to manipulate Jesus into pronouncing him as righteous, which Jesus refused to do (similar to how the Jews who brought the adulterous woman Him tried to manipulate Him into agreeing with her stoning). Jesus presented all of them with challenges He knew they could not meet.

But the real answer--what Jesus really was talking about--is exemplified in Acts 4:

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.

That would have been the right answer for the rich, young ruler. It was essentially Zaccheaus's free will offer. It's the mental concept that one is merely a steward of resources that actually belong to the Lord and is obligated to manage those resources wisely for His profit and purposes.

That goes as well for our own time and strength: Our time and strength really belong to the Lord, and we are obligated to manage our time and strength wisely for His profit and purposes.

 

[John Z. S. Kazi]

i have summarized my conclusions below:

“cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life”. we are slaves to money while we are on earth.


what i am saying is capitalism is slavery but there is no alternative. just like democracy is a horrible system but is the best available option.


“no one can serve two masters. either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other”. if we love God, we will despise working for money.


the curse is a direct consequence of obeying satan or those that follow him. the Father has tasked Jesus with putting everyone under his command and restoring order after the rebellion of chaos that satan started. in order to be born again, it is necessary to value your life to be NOTHING. that is why “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”.


the american dream (or a similar concept) is essentially meaningless to someone who serves God. it is not possible to amass a great fortune unless you obey satan, give in to greed, and oppress others along the way. sure, it’s possible to save up and pass on an inheritance through honest labor (thus taking the curse upon yourself instead of your children), but this will never amount to a billionaire status.

 

[Robban]

i have summarized my conclusions below:

“cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life”. we are slaves to money while we are on earth.


what i am saying is capitalism is slavery but there is no alternative. just like democracy is a horrible system but is the best available option.


“no one can serve two masters. either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other”. if we love God, we will despise working for money.


the curse is a direct consequence of obeying satan or those that follow him. the Father has tasked Jesus with putting everyone under his command and restoring order after the rebellion of chaos that satan started. in order to be born again, it is necessary to value your life to be NOTHING. that is why “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”.


the american dream (or a similar concept) is essentially meaningless to someone who serves God. it is not possible to amass a great fortune unless you obey satan, give in to greed, and oppress others along the way. sure, it’s possible to save up and pass on an inheritance through honest labor (thus taking the curse upon yourself instead of your children), but this will never amount to a billionaire status.

Our three basic needs are, food, clothing, shelter.

The highest form of charity is not giving money but giving an unemployed a job
so they do not have to beg.

Or giving an intrest free loan to get a project off the ground.

In India women were offered such loans to buy a sewing machine so they could start a little buisness.

I recall reading.

 

[timothyu]

So rather than have a world of small communities where all worked for the benefit of all within, sharing rather than building personal material gain, we continue to put forward the idea of pushing everyone into the 'system' that has been the basis of non isolated civilizations for millennia. Backwards is as backwards does. Oddly no amount of teaching contrary values from the point of God has done a thing to change that regardless of how great a religion the system build, not for the benefit of mankind but for itself.

 

[Robban]

Our three basic needs are, food, clothing, shelter.

The highest form of charity is not giving money but giving an unemployed a job
so they do not have beg.

Or giving an intrest free loan to get a project off the ground.

In India women were given such loans to buy a sewing machine so they could start a little buisness.

I recall reading.

One level of charity which may be higher is giving and not know who is recieving and

recieving without knowing who is giving.

As in post#13.

The lowest level is giving unwillingly.

 

[grasping the after wind]

i live in the uk where there are a lot more government benefits than in the us and there is homelessness even here. so according to you, homeless people simply choose to be homeless?

Exactly what benefits does the UK afford to those with little or no income that exceed what the US provides?

According to me. " In order to starve or remain homeless in a modern western country one must actually avoid being helped." I don't see anything there about choosing to be homeless only avoiding being helped. People do not choose to have mental illnesses and they do not choose to be addicts. One is not a matter of choice at all and the other may be a matter of bad choices about drugs or alcohol not purposely choosing to become homeless. Then there are the very few that are sane and sober but not interested in accepting government subsidies or conforming to societal norms. Remember that I am speaking of those that remain homeless not those that find themselves homeless for a time due to circumstances and seek help thereby not remaining homeless beyond that temporary period.

 

[John Z. S. Kazi]

Exactly what benefits does the UK afford to those with little or no income that exceed what the US provides?

According to me. " In order to starve or remain homeless in a modern western country one must actually avoid being helped." I don't see anything there about choosing to be homeless only avoiding being helped. People do not choose to have mental illnesses and they do not choose to be addicts. One is not a matter of choice at all and the other may be a matter of bad choices about drugs or alcohol not purposely choosing to become homeless. Then there are the very few that are sane and sober but not interested in accepting government subsidies or conforming to societal norms. Remember that I am speaking of those that remain homeless not those that find themselves homeless for a time due to circumstances and seek help thereby not remaining homeless beyond that temporary period.

the uk offers those looking for work or on low income ~£350/mo and an additional ~£350/mo for rent. i don’t think you get that in the us. in spite of that there is a homelessness problem. i haven’t looked into it but i very much doubt they are all insane junkies.

 

[John Z. S. Kazi]

Our three basic needs are, food, clothing, shelter.

The highest form of charity is not giving money but giving an unemployed a job
so they do not have to beg.

Or giving an intrest free loan to get a project off the ground.

In India women were offered such loans to buy a sewing machine so they could start a little buisness.

I recall reading.

i agree that giving someone a steady income is better than a one off donation. there is however a problem when 100-200 people are competing for one job.

 

[grasping the after wind]

the uk offers those looking for work or on low income ~£350/mo and an additional ~£350/mo for rent. i don’t think you get that in the us. in spite of that there is a homelessness problem. i haven’t looked into it but i very much doubt they are all insane junkies.

here is a short list of some of the programs available for those residing in the US. It does not include State or local programs only those provided by the Federal government. Looking for work is not a requirement to access most of these programs.
List of 80+ Federal Welfare Programs (singlemotherguide.com)

 

[grasping the after wind]

i agree that giving someone a steady income is better than a one off donation. there is however a problem when 100-200 people are competing for one job.

Employers in the US have jobs competing for workers.

 

[The happy Objectivist]

Jesus says you can't serve both God and money but paul says he who does not work does not eat. isn't working the same as serving money?

No working is how people serve themselves and their own life. Money is only a tool, one that serves man and not the other way around. If we didn't invent money, then we'd still be bartering which is way less efficient. Or worse, we'd be raiding each other to get what we need and want.

"When money ceases to be the tool by which men deal with one another, then men become the tools of men". I suggest you watch this video: