Can you be a rich Christian?

As a Christian I would say the question should be: "Should there be rich Christians....?"

 

As long as they are willing to aid those who are less fortunate, being rich does not contridict their being a christian.

 

Granny says Creflo Dollar got all dem people sendin' him money, an' he got dat big ol' diamond ring on his hand, so he must be rich...

Pastor Creflo Dollar charged with attacking his daughter
Jun 08, 2012 - Megachurch pastor Creflo Dollar was arrested today in Georgia on charges of attacking his 15-year-old daughter during an argument, WXIA-TV reports.

 

"So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom." - 1 Kings 10:23

"You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God." - 2 Corinthians 9:11

"The LORD blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the first. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys." - Job 42:12

 

I believe the bible is essentially talking about the process or the means of becoming rich, rather than simply being rich. Cheating, lying, collusion,deceiving, stealing etc etc are not qualities that one would associate with being a God fearing and abiding Christian. If by divine revelation a man sees the error of his ways and realise his earnings were not acquired under the requirements of Jesus teaching.....THEN, GIVE IT ALL AWAY!!!!!That would then be the right thing, because it wouldn't rightfully be yours!!

 

If you go by Jesus' teachings, no. A Christian can never be rich whilst someone else is not. That is the whole point of love - altruism.

 

lol....How about the old notion: You give a man a fish, you feed him for a day - you teach him how to fish you feed him for a lifetime.

 

I thought that saying was " teach a man how to grow pot and lose a customer for life"

all these so called Christians that are rich are so full of chit it ain't funny..how greedy can you get..at least Jews are honest about it..

 

What about it? If you're rich and he isnt and he asks for assistance via your wealth as well, you aren't living Jesus teachings.

 

You are right as far as I'm concerned, to a degree anyway. I don't have much but what I give is given wisely....I think?? There is a context. I could tell a story about my brother who doesn't believe in work and as a consequence has but the cloths on his back to his name...hahaha! Or my mate who gambled quite a substantial windfall, when he already had nothing!

 

I agree with that - context should never be disregarded.

 

lol...there has always gotta be one! But this is the ideal of the business world as a whole obviously. The less competitors the more money one makes. This is where riches argument becomes contentious. Therefore my response in a previous post regarding collusion etc.

 

Are you sure you want to take charity advice from Jesus? He was a free-loader who lived off of his rich friends. He never gave anyone anything. When he had the opportunty to sell some of his perfume for three hundred denarii and give the money to the poor he flatly refused. He said that he needed it more than the poor did because they would always be poor. He wanted to smell good.

Mark 14:3-9 (NKJV) = 3 And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head. 4 But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, “Why was this fragrant oil wasted? 5 For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they criticized her sharply.

6 But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me. 7 For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always. 8 She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. 9 Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”

*It's estimated that three hundred denarii would be about $6,000 today. Jesus wanted it all for himself.

As it says in Proverbs 30:8-9 (CEV) = Make me absolutely honest and don’t let me be too poor or too rich. Give me just what I need. If I have too much to eat, I might forget about you; if I don’t have enough, I might steal and disgrace your name.

 

Not correct, since you count the Old Testament as part of Christian teachings, then God had no problem with people being wealthy - he blessed Job and King Solomon with what would have amounted to millions of dollars.

 

If you actually READ what I wrote you will find I was talking entirely about Jesus' teachings, not those of "Christianity."

 

They were acting indigantly in my bible. Jesus cottoned on to their plan.

 

Rich probably can't.

Think about it, we have 1/3 of the world people starving. Basically the rich have much more than they need and holding the wealth, watch massive of people suffer and die. That's not Christian like at all.

 

There are plenty who do heaps! Gates, Winfrey, Brangelina, come to mind. I think you'll find that there are many many more who are autonomous philanthropists. Not sure of their religious backgrounds though. Obviously not enough actually taking action to make a huge impact though. Suffice to say, my belief is that it is not impossible for a rich man to walk through the pearly white gates if the intent of the heart is right. Who are we to judge from here!

 

Gather wealth much more than one need is crime in God's eye, plain and simple. But whether they can go to heaven or not, it all depends, Jesus said, through him everything is possible, that leave room for possibility, and it is only possibility, not certainty.

 

In an answer to your question...can you be a rich Christian?...the answer is of course as someone posted pics of Beck Hannity and Rush. As far as them making it to heaven, I would say they're probably the first to enter the pearly gates since they all gave and are giving large amounts of their own money to charities--something you won't find a rich liberal man doing.

 

I think the answer is yes, but you have to beware of false prophets like Joel Olsteen and their "prosperity gospel"

Too much money or too little money can be a severe challenge to one's spiritual growth, like many other things.

 

Just out of curiosity, do you have any links about such charity?

 

Can you be a rich Christian? Obviously not. Look at the Americans, who go against everything Jesus said, almost automatically.

 

So what is your unequivicol answer?

 

"Rich" is completely relative - compared to a man from india who works on a farm, the average full time Walmart employee in the USA would be "rich".