Does God Want Us to be Rich?

[Random]

You're back!

That's all I have to say.

Big hugs n' loves out to you too, Mystic.

 

[Random]

Anyway, here's something from Alternet reflecting on the atrocity America has inflicted on Christ and his religion: so-called "Prosperity Christianity" -

How Christianity Became a Lucrative Brand

Here's a sample relative to this thread -

In the advanced capitalism of the later 20th century, the terms of the bargain find purchase in Prosperity Christianity. As a set of religious teachings and training, the theology is centered on the notion that God provides material wealth—prosperity—for those individuals he favors. Prosperity Christianity cuts across denominational boundaries and is defined “as the teaching that believers have a right to the blessings of health and wealth and that they can obtain these blessings through positive confessions of faith and the ‘sowing of seeds’ through the faithful payments of tithes and offerings.”

“This idea that God wants everybody to be wealthy? There is a word for that: baloney. It’s creating a false idol. You don’t measure your self-worth by your net worth.” Warren’s comments are another example of how religious leaders purport to use the strategy of capitalism in the name of faith, without capitulating to capitalism’s system of value.

 

[Lintfelmy]

Does God want us to be rich, as some people have said? Why or why not?

God wants you to be whatever and however you want to be. In other words, it is up to you

 

[WorldCitizen]

#19 O friends! Prefer not your will to Mine, never desire that which I have not desired for you, and approach Me not with lifeless hearts, defiled with worldly desires and cravings.

(Baha'u'llah, The Persian Hidden Words)

#52 O SON OF MAN!
Should prosperity befall thee, rejoice not, and should abasement come upon thee, grieve not, for both shall pass away and be no more.

(Baha'u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words)

 

[Reverend Rick]

Does God want us to be rich, as some people have said? Why or why not?

I guess it all depends on who you are implying is God?

 

[Penumbra]

Jesus certainly doesn't.

"Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moth and woodworm destroy them and thieves can break in and steal." -Matthew 6:19 NJB

This quote just seems to be saying where not to keep your treasures.

Well, it is more about hoarding, but I don't remember where the verse about getting rid of your worldly possessions was.

Here's that whole verse:

Matthew 6:19-24
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy,[c] your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy,[d] your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Also:

Matthew 19:16-24
16 Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”
17 “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”
18 “Which ones?” he inquired.
Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,’[c] and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’[d]”
20 “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”
21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, 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.”

The guy kind of lived on the fringes of society and preached a coming apocalypse, so wealth wouldn't be seen as valuable in that group.

He did use wealthy people in a positive light his parables on occasion to represent god's role in stories.

 

[Penumbra]

Does God want us to be rich, as some people have said? Why or why not?

Well in the religion I was raised in, God wants you to be rich if you want to be rich.

Law of Attraction and that sort of thing.

Experiences of contrasts- joy and sadness, wealth and poverty, love and hatred, etc.