Can I Be a Christian and Want to Be Rich? | Faith & Life | Our Daily Bread Singapore (2024)

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Can I Be a Christian and Want to Be Rich? | Faith & Life | Our Daily Bread Singapore? ›

One can be rich and still love God more than he loves or trusts money. However, that's not easy. Perhaps that's why Jesus said in Luke 18:25: “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.”

God doesn't seem to have a problem with people being wealthy. For those chosen by God, wealth is the result of trusting and obeying him. As a Father, God blesses his children when their attitudes and actions align with his desires. The Bible is filled with such examples.

Work hard and become successful in life but don't think of yourself as better than others because of your material wealth. In Deuteronomy 8:18 Moses reminds us, “But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.”

In Christianity, bread is one of the most powerful symbols. It is found in the Lord's Prayer: “Give us this day our daily bread.” This Christian prayer is a request for both actual and spiritual food.

Rich in good works and generosity

On the other hand, wealth can be used for good, as the apostle Paul instructs in 1 Timothy 6.17-19: Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us with all things to enjoy.

Ecclesiastes 5:10

For those who seek after riches and gaining them quickly, their appetite will never be satisfied. The root of these desires is greed and the pursuit for more will never end. The cure for this type of heart condition is contentment in what you have and what you have worked for.

The biblical teaching on money is thus two-fold: money is a gift from God, a sign of his blessing. But it is not to be a god in itself. The Bible is not ascetic; poverty is not inherently virtuous, nor is wealth sinful. But true wealth, the Bible teaches us, is spiritual, not material.

Money is a tool of evangelism, discipleship, and serving others. Jesus tells his disciples, “And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of worldly wealth so that when it fails, they may welcome you into eternal dwellings” (Luke 16:9).

Proverbs 10:22: The blessing of the Lord makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow with it. 2 Corinthians 9:8: And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.

Yet, our Creator God wants everyone to truly prosper in the area of personal finances. Notice the prosperity He gave to Joseph anciently: “And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man …. [T]he Lord made all that [Joseph] did to prosper in his hand” (Genesis 39:2-3).

What foods can Christians not eat? ›

For Christians, all foods are acceptable. When no fast is prescribed, there are no prohibited foods. Orthodox Christians follow a basically Vegan diet during periods of fasting.

Christians may eat pork because God has declared it once more to be clean. “What God has declared clean you must not call common” (Acts 10:15). Pork is one of those “foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth” (1Timothy 4:3).

Can Christians get tattoos? The Bible makes no specific references to tattoos as we understand them in modern times, but some Christians believe tattoos to be immoral because of a particular verse. Leviticus 19:28 Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves.

Jesus can and ultimately did provide a way for rich people—and all who believe in Him—to enter God's Kingdom. Peter seemed stunned by Jesus' statement that it's humanly impossible for the rich to inherit God's Kingdom. He said, “We have left everything to follow you!” (Mark 10:28, NIV).

Proverbs 10:22 clearly indicates that God can make His people rich. We know that everything that God does is good and He wouldn't give us anything that will purposely hurt us. The scripture makes it obvious that wealth can be a blessing from God and that when God gives wealth, there is joy and happiness along with it.

God's blessing of wealth is usually obtained by great wisdom and responsibility and through discipline, hard work, saving, investing, and seeking God's will. Occasional, Biblical wealth is obtained suddenly by a great blessing such as an inheritance, oil and gas discovery or great invention.

The Bible takes it as a given that people wish to be wealthy and that there is nothing wrong with this. While there are certainly dangers inherent in the wish, the wish itself is never rebuked, except insofar as illicit means are used to fulfill it.

No, it's not a sin to pursue and acquire wealth. In fact, I have come to believe that those who pursue and realize their dreams, and become wealthy in the process, are actually closer to “God” than those who sat in condemnation of them. Don't let ignorant ideologies hold you back from the pursuit of success.

You should also save money because it allows you to invest and build wealth over time. And here's the thing: Unlike what some people want you to think, there's nothing wrong or immoral about building wealth. In fact, if you follow God's ways of handling money, you will build wealth over time, and He is A-OK with that.

You cannot serve God and money.

That's the sobering message of this story. The rich man was not unrighteous because he had wealth; he was unrighteous because he chose to live for himself and disobey God's instructions, ultimately leading him to reject God.