What does Jesus Teach About Money and Weath? Mark 8:36

Jesus spoke about money often, he paid taxes and watched people give money at the temple; and sometimes he used money as an example or a teaching illustration. If he had one piece of advice about money what would it be?

"For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and to lose his soul?" Mark 8:36.

A QUESTION
It is amazing at how well Jesus answered his critics who challenged him with questions. Here it is Jesus who asks a question, and his question may be the hardest one to answer but the most important one, and it is a question each of us must answer for ourselves.

A QUESTION OF VALUE
It is a question of values where one is greater and one is lesser and we determine which.

PROFIT
This may be the most important word in this verse. Here is the bottom line. Here is the ultimate question. It is like saying, "What is the point, or what is the good in it?"

THE WHOLE WORLD
At first glance, the whole world would be the ultimate gain, if you had the whole world you would have it all; every need, every desire, and every pleasure would be yours. If we stop there it would be a nice idea but the next phrase adds a surprising perspective.

LOSE YOUR SOUL
We have gone from gaining to losing. Our soul is eternal and it is the truest part of us. To lose your soul would be a loss that cannot be recovered. The Bible teaches we have one life and experience one death then we face the judgment. Hebrews 9:27.

GAIN
Everyone agrees that you must look to the future and save for retirement or save for kid's college, but when it comes to eternity we become nearsighted.  Yes, we should save for retirement, mortgage, and for kid's college but we must also look beyond.

The reason we save for things like retirement is that we hope to live into retirement, but even if we don't we will still experience eternity. We must make plans for how we will spend eternity just like we plan for our retirement here.

THE ANSWER
All the riches and power for the few years we have here are not worth sacrificing eternity for.

We must work and earn a living but just earning money and acquiring wealth should not be our focus. We need a balanced attitude. We live this life and use its resources for the next. The wealth you gain in this life you cannot keep in the next.

There is no profit in getting wealthy for a short time to lose your soul forever, but if you live your life in such a way that you consider eternity you will have a richer life here; it may not be finically richer but richer in ways the world cannot measure and that heaven rewards.

To learn more about the riches of salvation see my other blog.
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(c) Adron 7/22/16

What Is Money According To Jesus?

Jesus taught often about money. In one parable* he told about a wealthy man who entrusted three different sums of money to three servants and left on a journey. Two invested and received profitable gains but one hid his trust in a hole in the ground.

The master returned to praise and promote the first two but to the third said, "You wicked, lazy servant! You knew I harvest where I have not sown and I gather where I have not scattered seed. You should have put my money on deposit with the bankers so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest." (Matthew 25:29.) He then reallocated the money to the one who did the most profit and removed the servant from service. (Literally threw him out, see the link below for the entire passage).

ACCOUNTING
The master trusted his servants with the money and later he had each give an account. He rewarded the industrious and faithful, but he condemned one who abused or neglected the trust. So money was the test for the servants.

PRAISE OR SHAME
God has given us gifts and blessings he has endowed us with talents and abilities. The day will come when we stand before him and give an answer for their use. This accounting is not to determine our salvation, since salvation is already given as a gift based on the death of Jesus who paid for all of our sins and if we receive the gift of eternal life we will never face judgment. The accounting seems to be a serious one though and appears to relate to eternal blessings and rewards, or for those who have a poor account it seems to be a point of shame.

WORD TO THE WISE
As we receive God's blessing in money or temporal goods let's consider how to best invest for the kingdom of God and the good of others. Let's beware of squandering blessings when instead we can increase them for others. Let's strive for the day when we shall say, "Look you gave me five talents, see I have made you five more!"

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Jesus spoke elsewhere of our having to give an account such as that we will "give account for every word idly spoken," Matthew 12:36.

*Matthew 25:14-30

Does The Bible Teach Who Is More Likely To Obtain Wealth?

Is there a kind of person that is more likely to become wealthy? The Bible says yes.

"Riches and honor are with me, enduring wealth, and prosperity." Proverbs 8:18. NIV.

The 8th chapter in the book of proverbs personifies wisdom then identifies the person as being God.

Wisdom is pictured in this chapter as sitting in the marketplace calling people to come and find wisdom. Wisdom offers many gifts and in the middle of this list is the verse above.

WISDOM
Wisdom can be defined many different ways, but the character of this chapter is leading to one kind of wisdom.

• It is the first of God's works, (vs. 22).
• It is a kind of wisdom that was with God in the beginning, (vs. 23).
• A wisdom that is not of this world since it existed before the universe, (vs. 27).
• The universe was made by this wisdom. 
• The wisdom God delights in, (vs. 30).

WHAT WISDOM OFFERS
Riches and honor do not always go together but the riches wisdom gives is always accompanied by honor. Some people obtain riches and have guilt or feel uncomfortable to say how they obtained the riches, they may be hiding something. That is not riches with honor.

Enduring wealth is rare today. One may have a fortune one day and none the next; but the wealth wisdom gives us endures, it is not vanishing.

Prosperity is wealth that continues to grow. It does not stagnate it is always sufficient.

FIND WISDOM
It can be found because the Bible promises, "I love those who love me and those who diligently seek me will find me." verse 17. To diligently seek is to search with earnest dedication not giving up, watching and waiting for its discovery. If we diligently seek God's wisdom we will find it.

Do not seek the wealth- seek wisdom and wisdom will give you the right kind of wealth.
(c) Adron 2015

What Did Jesus Say About Keeping Wealth.

The Bible has a lot of advice about how to live life. When it comes to wealth much of what it says is clear common sense but sometimes it takes us above the world view.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy and thieves do not break in and steal." Matthew 6: 19-20. NIV.

STORE
To store something is to purposefully acquire and keep something. To store here includes the idea of hoarding, collecting, to lay something up or to accumulate.

TREASURES
Jesus spoke to the poorest people in the poorest country in the empire- when you are poor you may wish to be wealthy. Jesus did not use words like money or wealth but treasures, in the plural sense. There are many things we could be treasuring in this life; our treasure may not be gold and silver- anything can be viewed as a treasure.

EARTHLY LOSS
The treasures we have here are temporary, they decay, are destroyed or are stolen.

HEAVEN
Jesus encourages us to have heaven in our view. He suggests the treasures (again plural) in heaven do not diminish, decay, and are secure from loss or theft. The permanence of heaven is in contrast with the temporary nature of this world.

HOW
We each must decide how we will store up treasures in heaven. It may be by giving money or time or talent; it could service, mission, or frequent acts of generosity. It may be different for each of us. We must resolve to find the right way to store treasure in heaven.

THE SIDE EFFECT
To live generously and charitably changes our character, we become nobler and less selfish, more content and happy; and to consider God and obey his commands builds in us faith and saintliness.

"He is no fool to give up that which he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." Jim Elliott.

(c) Adron 2013

Does The Bible Have Commands For Wealthy People?

Does the Bible have anything to say to the rich?  Does it give negative commands to give all our money away or does it say something else?

The Apostle Paul wrote:
"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain,  but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." 1 Timothy 6:17, NIV.

AN OBSERVATION
The phrase, "Rich in this present world," suggests that wealth is limited to the time and space of this present world. Wealth seems to be a phenomenon of this life and is not a concern in heaven.

ARROGANT
An arrogant person may think they are better than others. The wealthy are not to think they are more privileged than those who are not. The Bible consistently admonishes us to be humble, not seeing ourselves as better than others.

HOPE
We are not to put our hope in wealth. Do not think that money assures pleasure, comfort, love, peace, freedom from want or deliverance from need. Money is no guarantee of any of these things.

UNCERTAIN
Money is uncertain. The markets may crash, there may be a run on the bank or there may be economic collapse. The treasure hidden may be stolen or the value deflates.

PUT THEIR HOPE IN GOD
Do not hope in riches but in the giver of riches- in God. The things we fear are under his control. Poverty, need and security are things He is able to take care. We need to put a dynamic active hope in Him. We hope by choosing to hope in Him and not choosing to hope in temporary wealth.

GOD RICHLY PROVIDES
The wealth of Our Heavenly Father is capable of providing what we need. He can provide abundantly more than enough if we just hope in him. The Lord is not stingy, he provides and we may enjoy what he provides.

SUMMERY
The Scriptures does not condemn wealth: it says to not trust in wealth but trust in The Lord.

(c) Adron 2013

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See my most helpful post in the sidebar.

 Adron

Are Small Lies OK If The Gain Is Great?

They say "honesty is the best policy," but what if we make an exception once in a while? Is it OK to tell a little half-truth to get a big payout? What does the Bible Say?

"A fortune made by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare."Proverbs 21:6. NIV.

LYING TONGUE
The words "lying tongue" is a poetic phrase that pictures any deceit or falsehood. This includes any practice or act of untruth or the smallest deception- what many call a white lie or a half truth. The Bible in many places condemns lying and giving false witness.* When we say something is such and such, or that we will do so and so it must be true.

FORTUNE
A fortune may not be a massive amount of wealth it may be any treasure even of a small monetary value; the standard is the same in all cases; if the value is one dollar or one billion then lies and half-truths are condemned.

A FLEETING VAPOR
In the desert lands where these proverbs were written you might see a mirage, shimmering lights that looked like water. The desperate thirsty traveler could chase these to his death. So we may think a truth spun to our advantage may quince our need but it is ourselves we are deceiving.
A vapor is an insubstantial mist that has no tangible substance, we cannot hold it, and melts on the wind. This cannot be possessed, and soon gone.

A DEATH TRAP
Why is a fortune a deadly snare? There are always consequences to telling half-truths and lies, like you get caught and people want restitution and more, but the most compelling reason that it is a deadly snare is because God says it is. If The Lord calls something a deadly snare it is foolish to act as if it wasn't.

*Proverbs 6:16-19 , Numbers 23:19 Leviticus 19:11 (Just a few references to support the point, the list is very long).

(c) Adron 2013

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