Is Being Rich or Self Defence A Sin?

[dave_]

I was looking for passages in bible that proves sinners will suffer actual pain after death.I came upon below passage.It seems like Rich Man was a good guy.Even in pain he thinks about saving others.

If his sin was not helping the beggar , thats not because he was evil , he was simply wise.If it was me i would beat the beggar so that he understands i am not to be messed with.Who knows if i help him he and his buddies may think i am soft and think they may rob and murder me and get away with it.Also i would suspect he may be planning to hurt me or my beloved because he is waiting at my gate all the time.That's not because i am a bad person but i am defending myself.So what is God's problem about rich people defending themselves?



Source:Luke 16:19-31 - The Rich Man and Lazarus - “There was - Bible Gateway

Luke 16:19-31New International Version (NIV)

The Rich Man and Lazarus
19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’

30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

 

[catch22]

No, he wasn't a good guy. Look at what he does. In even death, he asks for his servant. He actually wants his servant in life to come down into his agony, in order to serve him. His heart is wicked and selfish. He doesn't care about the bliss of this man who suffered in life (of which he gave no help, seemingly), he just wants to be served by him.

This parable is probably more about faith and belief more than it is about the afterlife. Being "a good guy" won't necessarily land you in heaven. The point is the final verse, that despite anything else, if people refuse to believe in life with what they are given by God, not even a supernatural event will lead them to true belief. The parable of the sower (Matthew 13, for example) applies here.

I have friends who offer this kind of reasoning. "If only God would appear and make a sign, so that I might know!" It's foolishness. Jesus, in Mark 8 for example, says no sign will be given. As Abraham points out in this parable, even if someone came to them, if they didn't believe Moses and the Prophets, they won't believe their own eyes, either.

If the heart was unwilling before, it would ultimately be unwilling after. Faith and belief lies not in evidence or the mind, per se -- but rather in the heart. Shallow soil makes for shallow belief.

If his sin was not helping the beggar , thats not because he was evil , he was simply wise.If it was me i would beat the beggar so that he understands i am not to be messed with.Who knows if i help him he and his buddies may think i am soft and think they may rob and murder me and get away with it.Also i would suspect he may be planning to hurt me or my beloved because he is waiting at my gate all the time.That's not because i am a bad person but i am defending myself.So what is God's problem about rich people defending themselves?

Read the rest of this chapter, start at verse 1. You cannot serve God and mammon. You need to understand this.