Dear JD,
The world is becoming ‘wealthier’ by the day. Money and wealth are beginning to occupy much of our attention. Our relationships with people and God Himself is being determined by money! Though the economic structure of the world today is much more complex than that of Jesus’ time, his teachings suggest to us some basic attitude towards money and wealth. Jesus had a very balanced attitude towards money. He knew what is the purpose of money:
- To meet our daily needs. If you read Luke 8:1-3 you hear Jesus had some women disciples and some of them were very rich women, who provided for the daily needs of Jesus and his apostles. They were his benefactors. (See similar reference of Paul in 2Cor 11:9).
- To fulfill the requirements of the law – “give to ceasar what is ceasar’s” (Mt 22:21);
- To help the poor (Lk 19:8 ; Mt 19:21)
- To use it for the glory of God (Jn 12:5);
- and to enhance human relationships – Lk 16:9; see also Lk 6:34.
All this is possible when one is detached from money. Jesus also was very much aware of the dangers of money especially when one is attached to it:
- When we are attached to money it can put us against God – you cannot serve God and money (Lk 16:13).
- In Mt 19:16-30 there was the young man who could not follow Jesus because of his wealth – he was attached to it! Peter, Andrew, John and James, and Mathew had also great wealth – but they could follow Jesus because “they left everything and followed him.” Peter & Co were not poor fishermen. They had their own boats and nets, they had hired men!
- See also 1Tim 6:8,10.
Jesus made a distinction between being “in the world” (John 16:33; 17:11) and being “of the world” (John 15:19). We are born in the world and find ourselves in the world (with its wealth, sin, pleasures, etc.) We cannot run away from it as long as we are alive in this world. But we should not become “of the world”. We should not be submerged by the world and become one with the things of the world.
Let me give you a simple analogy. Look at the water lily or the lotus. Lotus is in the water. It needs the water to live. But it will always be above the water. And water cannot stick to the lotus or to its leaves. If it is submerged by the water, it will get rotten and die!