MHA: In the next part of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus focuses on the topic of earthly wealth. Jesus considered wealth a hindrance to attaining the kingdom of heaven.
As usual, you focus on a disturbing aspect of New Testament teaching (and its exploration by the church Fathers): the singleminded devotion to our Lord and its relationship to attachment to wealth (power, honor, pride........). The love of money, not money itself, is the root of evil, as St. Paul teaches 1 Timothy 6:10). Mere distributing of wealth to the poor is not what is essential from this perspective: If Michelangelo had abandoned his talent as an artist to feed the poor in Rome, would anybody, including the poor, have been better off ? The wealth aspect must have been of considerable importance to the early followers, since many of them were possessed of material abundance, not to mention fame and authority (Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, and, it seems to me, Claudia, Pilate's sleep deprived wife, to mention a few). One of the few good things about the "pandemic" is that it taught us how transient these things really are.
I think about things like this. For example, what of the business leader or entrepreneur who builds a company that serves customers well and treats employees fairly while providing long-term sustainable employment? Giving away all company shares to the poor probably would be the worst thing he could do.
I have several questions/thoughts about what type of economic activity serves God or Mammon.
The things that clearly serve God are providing basic needs for the very poor, funding churches, funding parachurch ministries, using your resources for church functions or gospel preaching opportunities or Bible studies.
The things that clearly serve Mammon are extravagant buying of things. Spending money uncontrollably on whatever you want in the moment. Organizing your life for the greatest level of income, pleasure, or ease.
What I am not clear on are other types of economic activity. Different types of investment build a better economic system that serves the poor and middle class better. Saving money for your children's education and inheritance so that they can further their own lives and teaching them to do the same also is a type of selfless behavior. There are not just the first order effects but second and third order effects. Buying bitcoin and using it helps set up a monetary system which is way more God honoring than the one we have today.
I think giving all your money away either to others or spending it all on yourself are two types of the same kind of action. It is an action of dissipation not an act of storing up treasures of any kind.
RMB, I struggle with many of these same questions. I have done some meaningful work on these topics, perhaps I will turn this into a blog post. Also, I have a short book on the matter to work through, which I will come to in time.
I very much appreciate your last sentence; either can be an idol, or, perhaps, either can be a form of pride.
As usual, you focus on a disturbing aspect of New Testament teaching (and its exploration by the church Fathers): the singleminded devotion to our Lord and its relationship to attachment to wealth (power, honor, pride........). The love of money, not money itself, is the root of evil, as St. Paul teaches 1 Timothy 6:10). Mere distributing of wealth to the poor is not what is essential from this perspective: If Michelangelo had abandoned his talent as an artist to feed the poor in Rome, would anybody, including the poor, have been better off ? The wealth aspect must have been of considerable importance to the early followers, since many of them were possessed of material abundance, not to mention fame and authority (Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, and, it seems to me, Claudia, Pilate's sleep deprived wife, to mention a few). One of the few good things about the "pandemic" is that it taught us how transient these things really are.
Good work, my brother.
Christ is risen!
I think about things like this. For example, what of the business leader or entrepreneur who builds a company that serves customers well and treats employees fairly while providing long-term sustainable employment? Giving away all company shares to the poor probably would be the worst thing he could do.
I have several questions/thoughts about what type of economic activity serves God or Mammon.
The things that clearly serve God are providing basic needs for the very poor, funding churches, funding parachurch ministries, using your resources for church functions or gospel preaching opportunities or Bible studies.
The things that clearly serve Mammon are extravagant buying of things. Spending money uncontrollably on whatever you want in the moment. Organizing your life for the greatest level of income, pleasure, or ease.
What I am not clear on are other types of economic activity. Different types of investment build a better economic system that serves the poor and middle class better. Saving money for your children's education and inheritance so that they can further their own lives and teaching them to do the same also is a type of selfless behavior. There are not just the first order effects but second and third order effects. Buying bitcoin and using it helps set up a monetary system which is way more God honoring than the one we have today.
I think giving all your money away either to others or spending it all on yourself are two types of the same kind of action. It is an action of dissipation not an act of storing up treasures of any kind.
https://thecrosssectionrmb.blogspot.com/
https://libertarianchristians.com/2024/05/03/gods-monetary-policy-in-the-bible/
RMB, I struggle with many of these same questions. I have done some meaningful work on these topics, perhaps I will turn this into a blog post. Also, I have a short book on the matter to work through, which I will come to in time.
I very much appreciate your last sentence; either can be an idol, or, perhaps, either can be a form of pride.