Money and Christianity

It is very important for us to study closely what the Bible says about money and from there we will see that Socialism or Communism does not quite achieve the sort of prosperity that God has promised each man. Firstly, we need to understand that at the core of Socialist thinking from Marx all the way through to Stalin and Mao, God is not the primary focus of their ideology. Instead it is Man and the collective need for social cohesion and harmony among everyone.

When we examine the reality of Communist countries many are dictatorships and have failed to bring about widespread social economic development that the promised, instead the brought about extreme poverty in Africa and the rest of the world where this economic system was practiced. Today all supposed Socialist countries (China, India and South Africa) are flirting with pro free market reforms and making a mess of it. But rather than blame their ineptitude they find scapegoats in multi-national companies, globalisation and the United States of America, the richest country in the world.

The Bible teaches that there are two aspects to human nature. First, we are created in the image of God and thus able to control the economic system. But second, human beings are sinful and thus tend towards greed and exploitation. This points to the need to protect individuals from human sinfulness in the economic system. Instead of changing people from the inside out as the Gospel does, Marxists believe that people will be changed from the outside in. Change the economic base (put the state in control), they say, and you will change human beings. This is one of the reasons that Marxism was doomed to failure, because it did not take into account human sinfulness and our need for spiritual redemption.

So Christians should not feel that economics is outside the domain of Christian thinking. If anything, we need to recapture this arena and bring a strong biblical message to it. In reality, the Bible speaks to economic issues more than any other issue. The scriptures tell us that true wealth is a tool to advance the Kingdom of God. Wealth is created by hard work and good stewardship, not only for our own benefit but to help others (I Cor. 10:24). The mistaken notion that work is a curse is not taught in the Bible.

Many have said and believe that money is the root of all evil. Wrong! When we look closely at this often misquoted verse in the Bible we find that Paul was addressing Timothy, as he was preparing him for public ministry. From the New International Version of the Bible, 1 Timothy 6: 10 states; "For the love of money (and all it buys) placed before the love of God (in reality) is a root of all kinds of evil." It continues to say “some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” A good example is the fall of our former President Chiluba and his Ministers and other cronies that are facing widespread corruption cases. These gallant men and women once in power became eager for money and today it has taken them nowhere.

A clear distinction must be made between THE LOVE of money and money itself. Let this truth sink deep into your spirit. God is not anti-money, or anti-wealth, He is anti-money WORSHIP. He has helped us to identify that money love (worship) is the root of all kinds of evil. In fact, God's plan is that we are healthy, wealthy, and wise in this world -- as a testimony of His greatness, power, and glory to come.

Wealth is NOT the only measuring stick of our blessing from God. Wealth is an indication that a godly man has his house in order but not a guarantee of spirituality. The world is full of rich men and women who are lost spiritually. On the other hand, the majority of the world's people are both lost and poor (like Africa and Asia). This means that we cannot boast in our wealth, but rather, as Christians we are to learn to be content in whatever station of life we find ourselves.

Our materialistic culture is seducing Christians into an economic lifestyle that does not glorify God. Even within the Christian community, believers are bombarded with unbiblical views of wealth. At one extreme are those who preach a prosperity gospel of "health and wealth" for all believers. At the other extreme are radical Christians who condemn all wealth and imply that rich Christian is a contradiction in terms.

But a comprehensive look at the relevant biblical passages quickly reveals that a biblical view of wealth is more complex. In fact, Scripture teaches three basic principles about wealth. First, wealth itself is not condemned. For example, we read in Genesis 13:2 that Abraham had great wealth. In Job 42:10 we see that God once again blessed Job with material possessions. In Deuteronomy, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes, wealth is seen as evidence of God's blessing (Deut. 8; 28; Prov. 22:2; Eccles. 5:19).

Second, when wealthy people in the Bible were condemned, they were condemned for the means by which their riches were obtained, not for the riches themselves. The Old Testament prophet Amos railed against the injustice of obtaining wealth through oppression or fraud (4:11; 5:11). Micah spoke out against the unjust scales and light weights with which Israel defrauded the poor (6:1). Neither Amos nor Micah condemned wealth per se; they only denounced the unjust means by which it is sometimes achieved.

Third, Christians should be concerned about the effect wealth can have on our lives. We read in Proverbs 30:8-9 and Hosea 13:6 that wealth often tempts us to forget about God. Wealthy believers may no longer look to God for their provision because they can meet their basic needs. We read in Ecclesiastes 2 and 5 that people who are wealthy cannot really enjoy their wealth. Even billionaires often reflect on the fact that they cannot really enjoy the wealth that they have. Moreover, Proverbs 28:11 and Jeremiah 9:23 warn that wealth often leads to pride and arrogance.

So the Bible does not condemn those who are wealthy. But it does warn us that if God blesses us with wealth, we must keep our priorities straight and guard against the seductive effects of wealth. It is important for Christians to think about the economic arena. It is a place where much of everyday life takes place, and we can evaluate economics from a biblical perspective. Claims that God hates all the rich are clearly incompatible with the teachings of Jesus, who saw nothing inherently evil in money, wealth, or private ownership.

While Jesus certainly condemned materialism and the compulsive quest for wealth, He never condemned wealth per se. Jesus did not teach that being rich means necessarily being evil." Jesus did not see anything sinful in the ownership of houses, clothes, and other economic goods.

He had wealthy friends and followers (Luke 14:1); he stayed in the homes of wealthy people; he ate at their tables (Luke 11:37). Every Christian, rich or poor, needs to recognize that whatever he or she possesses is theirs temporarily as a steward under God. Wealth that is accumulated dishonestly or that becomes a controlling principle in one's life falls under God's judgment. Wealth resulting from honest labour and wise investment, wealth that is handled by people who recognize their role as stewards under God does not.

When we use the Bible as our framework, we can begin to construct a government and an economy that liberates human potentiality and limits human sinfulness. This can only be achieved in a democratic free market system that has well established social safety nets that help the less fortunate of society. Admiring socialist systems that do not provide any checks and balances and only enrich a small minority elite will not help Zambia get out of poverty. The South African or Latin American model is highly flawed as it only liberates and enriches a minority of while the majority masses are still mired in poor housing, poor schooling and poor healthcare. Blaming America and Europe for our troubles and poverty will keep us from liberating our minds and fulfilling the potential that God has given to each of his creation. Remember we were all created in His image to fulfil his works on this earth.

Adam Smith (Wealth of Nations, 1776) recognized that every one of us has self-interest and rather than trying to change that, he made self-interest the motor of the capitalist system. And before you react to that, consider the fact that even the gospel appeals to our self-interest. It is in our self-interest to accept Jesus Christ as our savior so that our eternal destiny will be assured.

By contrast, other economic systems like socialism ignore the biblical definitions of human nature. Thus, they allow economic power to be centralized and concentrate power in the hands of a few greedy people. Those who complain of the influence major corporations have on our lives should consider the socialist alternative of how a few governmental bureaucrats control every aspect of their lives (e.g. Cuba, North Korea, Iran and China).

Greed certainly occurs in the capitalist system. But it does not surface just in this economic system. It is part of our sinfulness. The solution is not to change the economic system, but to change human nature with the gospel of Jesus Christ. In conclusion, it can be readily acknowledged that capitalism has its flaws as an economic system, but it can be controlled to give us a great deal of economic prosperity and economic freedom as it has done in many other parts of the world including, China a supposed Socialist country.