All four parts of the series are now posted on our blog. Please share your thoughts with us.
.-= Steven and Debra´s last blog ..Are YOU a Hoarder? Are You Sure? (Part IV of a Four Part Series) =-.

The series began yesterday when we posted part 1. We’re not sure why Comluv is still showing a previous post. It you click on our name it will take you there directly. Please give us some feedback as we progress through the series. It is a vitally important subject to sort out. Thanks!
.-= Steven and Debra´s last blog ..Disappearing Money =-.

Your basic point about the purpose of the passage sounds right on the money. It isn’t so much about money, but our attitudes toward it and what we think it can do for us. In the right hands money can be an unmitigated blessing; improperly managed it can be a curse.

I love your point about the poor placing faith in lotteries and politicians. Lotteries are just gambling, and politicians are people just like the rest of us, not superhumans possessing some great reserve of knowledge and insight. I think we forget that when we get all caught up in politics as the answer to our troubles. And by expecting superhuman feats from them we put them into a corner where either they chase our expectations or we put them out of office.
.-= Kevin@OutOfYourRut´s last blog ..Buying vs Renting a Home – Its Not All About Money =-.

The aspect of being bankrupt toward God is not the exclusive domain of the rich (Proverbs 30:8-9). Many poor and impoverished people are consistently taking their meager earnings and placing bets (trust) in the lottery (Proverbs 28:20) to extricate themselves from their poverty or they place their bets (trust) in politicians (Proverbs 28:19) who promise them something for nothing.

We see Biblical examples of rich men who had tremendous wealth beyond their immediate and foreseeable needs, but as long as their relationship to God was also rich they were blessed with even more. God allowed Job (a rich man) to be tested because Satan made the claim that if Job was deprived of his wealth that he would turn away from God. Satan was proved wrong and Job’s wealth increased even more. A New Testament example of a rich man and disciple of Christ (Joseph of Arimathaea) is found in Matthew 27:57-58.

In our view, it is not wealth or the lack of wealth that causes the problem, but rather not being grateful for what we have and giving consideration to the true source and nature of our blessings. When we place our trust in lotteries and politicians (equally foolish) we enter the fleshly realm of envy, strife, scarcity, and social conflict. When we walk in the spirit (rich toward God) we enter the realm of abundance and peace.

The one thing the Israelites (a congregation of the Lord’s people) consistently did that provoked God’s wrath toward them was their ungrateful nature. God repeatedly extricated them from their predicaments and they soon became unthankful. They, as a group, developed an entitlement mentality and became sassy and ungrateful toward God. So, we can see that the rich man’s lack of richness toward God can also apply toward groups of people including modern day churches or congregations. The parable of the rich man applies to individuals and groups because groups are nothing more than a collection of individuals. If something is good or bad for the individual it is also good or bad for the group (church). If we can have rich churches we can have rich men, but the more important consideration, as implied in the parable, is whether they are both rich toward God.

Kevin, we hope we’ve answered your question as well.
.-= Steven and Debra´s last blog ..Disappearing Money =-.

Thanks for your comment. I appreciate the fact that you’ve taken the time to leave such a detailed reply.

There must be a point when enough is enough otherwise the story in Luke 12:13-21 has no meaning. What was this man’s sin if it was not that he could not identify when he had enough?

You asked, “If half the membership decided they had “enough” money to retire on, what programs might have to be curtailed at that particular congregation?”
Actually, I was envisioning quite the opposite. Not that when we had enough we would stop working or stop contributing. But, once WE had enough we would then use our excess for giving and helping others. As a result, when Christians realize they have enough the extra is now available for Christian ministries.

Thanks for stimulating some good discussion.

But I’d like to read more about your question, “can we have too much spirituality?” Most of the points you raise have to do with questions of demension–money, congregation size, etc–but this one stands out as being different.
.-= Kevin@OutOfYourRut´s last blog ..Buying vs Renting a Home – Its Not All About Money =-.