Bible Discussion Thread

Does god expect us to be poor and give all away to the poor or give and tithe or to have nice things and nice homes as we prosper!!? what does it really mean when jesus said to sale all possessions and follow him? some say we are to be as poor as possible and give all away that we have to be a christian!! i believe god want us to be prosperous and give, am i wrong please help and explain!

Rhonda, "give all away that we have to be a christian!!" People who view a relationship with God by their merit/money, are not only wrong, but they misrepresent the true relationship, which is by a combination of faith and grace. That is, the believer understands the grace of God in salvation and lives trusting/faith in his work to save them. Until you give up on being good enough, you never will be saved. Christ said, "it is finished" from the cross, because he finished all the payment for sin. Forgiveness comes at a cost, Christ paid it all. Money will pass away as all the Earth will, but what Christ has purchased with his blood, will remain his forever. Use your money as wisely as you can, but the question you must answer is, what has Jesus done for you?

I personally believe it comes down the heart. I don't believe it has to do with the amount or the % in my opinion. Jesus spoke about the poor woman who gave all she had: Luke 21:1-4. I also believe someone's time has value and people can give of their time and sometimes be of more help to others than giving money. I personally prefer to help someone I know and can continue the relationship with, than to give to a charity where the CEO makes $500k/year and 50% of the donations only go to cover expense overhead. Churches can be the same drain on money too and their spending can be as irresponsible as the government. For example, a medium sized city might have 200+ church buildings, each having overhead like tax, rent or mortgage, trash, AC/heat, licensing, fees, but most of the buildings are closed 95% of the time each week. So instead of sharing resources and lightening the burden on its members they each want their own expensive building then preach sermons guilt tripping each person about giving to 'God'. Some of the churches spend lots of money on fancy projectors and sound systems and other unnecessary luxuries or status symbols. I personally think it's more honorable and beneficial to talk to homeless people and try to help them or to talk to your neighbor or volunteer and help others in a more direct way. In general Christians should strive to be Christlike and be a light to the world. I personally don't think we should spend most of our money having our little private buildings' overhead that can be used to actually help others instead. I see nothing in the Bible about God wanting us to be prosperous- that's made up by rich preachers on TV who want to be richer and buy more planes. It instead says store your treasures in heaven, not on earth. Posessions can become idols. We're supposed to pursue God not objects. God bless.

I am in 100% agreement with everything that you said. Serve our neighbor's and people in need. Let Christs light shine on every good thing that we do. Amen and God Bless.