Some people can get kind of weird when you start talking about God and wealth. So many of us are taught that poverty and lack of material goods breeds humility and brings you closer to God. At the other end of the spectrum are the preachers asking their flock for a new $65 million private jet because the one they have is getting old and worn out.
Does God really want us to have nice things and live a life of wealth? Or should we only consume what we need and live a humble life with few material possessions?
Is one side right and the other wrong? Could they both be right to some degree?
In today’s post, I thought I would try to unpack this debate on whether God wants us to have nice things. Hopefully we can get to a few of the central truths within this issue that has a tendency to divide believers.
First, a Few Confessions
Before I start digging into the God and wealth debate, I have a confession or two to make. I own a couple of luxury cars (2 Lexus'). I also own a gold Rolex watch and live in a 4,000 square foot home. Also, I just gave my wife a Rolex watch for our 20th wedding anniversary the day before this was posted. A few months ago, I even treated myself to a beautiful $90 belt from a local luxury leather goods maker here in Nashville.
How did reading that make you feel?
Did it make you feel like “wow that guy is blessed!”, or did it make your skin crawl and cause you to wonder what good and noble things could have been done with that money?
I’ll talk a little more about that mindset in a minute. But first, just what are these “nice things” I’m talking about?
[tweetherder]Does God Really Want Us to Have Nice Things? Bling vs. the Bible- [/tweetherder]
We All Have Nice Things
One thing you have to consider when it comes to the term “nice things” is that it’s a relative term. Someone living in a third world ghetto with a home that is little more than a lean-to would be incredibly blessed to have a little dilapidated house in the U.S. that most of us would think is uninhabitable. Just the same, many billionaires might not be caught dead in my 4,000 square foot house in an upscale neighborhood.
The point is that no matter how modest your situation, you will always have more money and nicer things than someone else.
Should We Feel Guilty For Having Nice Things?
Do you think I should feel guilty for having an expensive watch? Should Dave Ramsey feel guilty for paying cash for a multimillion dollar house? Well, I guess it depends on where your heart is and how you view wealth.
What Does The Bible Say About God and Wealth?
I always strive to look at anything in life through a spiritual lens. Specifically, I like to find out what the Bible has to say about wealth and material possessions. So let’s look at a sample of what the Bible has to say:
- “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal…” (Matthew 6:19)
- “If riches increase, do not set your heart on them.” -Psalms 62:10
- Psalms 112:3 describes a man who fears the Lord. “Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.”
- And many others…
This is just a small sample of the verses you can find in the Bible about wealth. What they tell us is that a righteous man will have wealth as a result of how he lives his life. However, if he starts trusting in his wealth and allows it to separate him from God, it’s a recipe for disaster.
The general theme of all the verses on wealth in the Bible is that God should come before wealth. When you keep that principle intact, wealth will not destroy you. Ironically, putting God before wealth actually has the benefit of preserving and multiplying wealth.
What Are We Supposed to Do With Our Wealth?
So it’s clear that it’s not good to put our trust in wealth. But what are we supposed to do with it?
According to the Bible, there are several things we should do with the wealth that God provides us with. Here are some of the ones we’re most familiar with:
- Give- I’ve written many times in this blog over the years about giving and why we should do it. The Bible tells us in no uncertain terms that we should give generously whether we have a little or a lot. If you’re not sure, you can go here to read all my posts on giving.
- Save- The Bible also says we should save a portion of our money as well, as demonstrated in Proverbs 21:20 where it says “ in the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has.”
- Provide For Present Needs- Of course, you’re expected to use what you have to take care of the present needs of you and your family. Not taking care of your family means you have denied the faith and are worse than an unbeliever (1 Timothy 5:8)
- Leave an Inheritance- You should leave some of your wealth behind as a financial legacy for generations to come. This includes teaching those generations to use it wisely so they continue the blessing you started (Proverbs 13:22)
But Is It OK to Have Nice Things Too?
One of the things that we’re not commonly taught about wealth and material possessions is that we are actually supposed to enjoy them as well. And we are supposed to enjoy them without feeling guilty.
- Ecclesiastes 5:19 “Furthermore, as for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, He has also empowered him to eat from them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God.…”
- 1 Timothy 6:17 “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”
- Proverbs 10:22 “The blessings of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.”
If you know anything about God, you know He is a god of abundance, not lack. He loves us. He wants us to prosper and enjoy the good things He has provided for us. But we can’t let our nice stuff get in the way of serving Him well.
Being all about the bling will get you nowhere.
Where Do You Draw The Line on God and Wealth?
The Bible teaches that we should never trust in our wealth whether we have a little or a lot. Our money and our stuff will only get us so far. It’s God that we should trust in completely if we want to truly succeed in this life and the next.
But where do you draw the line when it comes to stuff? Well, that’s between you and God. Only you can know when your stuff is becoming a burden in your life. Keeping God as the main focus of your life every day will definitely help you stay on the right side of things.
People Will Judge You
The opinions of people will always get in your way if you’re not careful. Other people’s jealousy, envy, and skewed belief can really do a number on you if you let them. Whether you have a Manhattan penthouse or just one worn out pair of shoes, don’t let judgmental people make you feel guilty about what you have or don’t have.
On the flip side, be aware of how you talk about people that have more than you. If you find yourself saying things like “why would anyone need a private jet and a 20,000 square foot house?” then be careful. It’s extremely easy to be judgmental of those that have more than you. Remember, it’s not your job to judge others. What others choose to have is between them and God.
What Do You Think?
So what do you think about all this? Am I totally off base and need to go jump in the lake? Did you cringe when I told you about the nice things I own? Does God really want us to have and enjoy nice things and build indpendent wealth?
Leave a comment and tell me what you think.
Thank you for explaining this so well. I belive that God loves us all and He blesses us with opportunities. I myself want to have more so I can give more. It makes me feel so blessed when I can randomly pay for someone’s grocery bill at the store, when I can buy a stranger a flight ticket, when I can just buy someone a gift. I grew up in an orphanage and I understand what means to not have anything, so therefore I want to help as many people as I can. I want to have more so I can give more. I put God first in everything that I do, and I agree that wealth is a blessing as well. Money is not evil if you use it for good, money is a blessing because you can use it to change someone’s life. Definitely nothing wrong with enjoying a few nice things, it’s just another way of being grateful.
While I was growing up I had no shoes to wear, but when I became an adult I enjoy buying a good pair of shoes and every time I buy a pair of shoes I thank God for them because He made it possible. It always brings tears to my eyes remembering where I’m coming from. Everything I have is because God guided me through the storm.
I thank you for your beautiful explanation on Wealth and God. You’re a beautiful soul.
God gave us the best he could make. We are his children. He wants us to make nice things too. God gave them to us without a price. God has better things that we have not yet seen. God will therefore value them more than what is seen. Don’t behave like this is all there is. Satan wants to gather the whole world unto that being’s self through a person. Don’t do that seeking a vain thing.
God gave us the best he could make. We are his children. He wants us to make nice things too. God gave them to us without a price. God has better things that we have not yet seen. God will therefore value them more than what is seen. Don’t behave like this is all there is. Satan wants to gather the whole world unto that being’s self through a person. Don’t do that seeing a vain thing.
In response to Jon Jay’s comment:
Jon Jay…I’ve ‘studied’ the bible for years via John Gill’s interpretations. What Jason Cabler wrote is far from perverting GOD’s scriptures & words.
It’s unfortunate but there are a lot of imposters spewing worldly views of the Bible to their own understanding & preaching the wrong message. GOD teaches you to work hard, to save, invest, enjoy the fruits of your labor, help the poor & leave an inheritance to your Grandchildren. There’s NO WAY you can do all of this by scraping by. Research Solomon’s & Job’s wealth which was given as rewards for putting GOD 1st.
Thanks Mr. Cabler for the reiteration of what is true to the word.
GOD Bless.
Since you ask: "what do you think?"
I think you have perverted God’s message to suit your desires: you’ve twisted scripture to suit your lifestyle choice rather than conforming your lifestyle to scripture. I think you are avaricious, and your heart is far from God – much closer to things. You are a greedy man, and backwards.
You are spreading a dangerous message that is not biblical and has nothing to do with the True Living God. Your things will never reveal Him to you; they will never love you.
I’m not sure how you could have possibly come to that conclusion after everything I wrote above. I can only surmise that you didn’t read the entire article, especially the part about not being judgemental. You have no idea about the condition of my heart or my finances. By judging me so harshly, you’re taking on the role of God. Very unwise.
I believe if one has money share with those in need! The Church I attend has PIN (People In Need) fund.
Absolutely! Wealth is about more than owning stuff. Nothing wrong with having some nice things and enjoying your money, as long as you’re not totally focused on yourself. We should be giving large!
Literally all I want to buy is a Wii U because it’s been a long time since I’ve played new video games (because I have a Wii and a ps2) and I feel all this guilt and I’m overthinking everything
If you can afford to pay cash for it without hurting your family’s finances, then quit feeling guilty and go for it!
I agree with what you wrote. However, there are very few rich that follow those guidelines, sadly. I have a family member that is rich and it makes me angry to see the waste. They just blow money like water. I know that anger is not a Godly mindset and I ask God to help me there. But my husband and I struggle day by day. And I am not envious at all of their wealth, because they have many sorrows as well. I would never want to change my life for theirs. However, it’s their waste that gets to me. I pray that God helps me to never feel envious. I truly believe I do not at all. But the waste does make me angry..is that wrong?
I’ve struggled with the boundaries of what’s okay and not. I’ve come up from meager beginning and in my late 40’s I’ve attained a healthy income. I’ve learned to be content when we had nothing and learned to be content to have what I have
now. We live in a modest average home, we have fixed it up pretty much with sweat equity…only because I can be a cheap skate if I can do it myself. I don’t buy much of anything for myself I enjoy buying for my family than myself. We are putting in a inground pool and redoing the whole backyard. Though we have the money to pay in cash and it won’t hurt us.. I feel guilty because it’s is luxurious and I couldn’t ever imagine in mylife to be able to do something like this for my family. It’s hard for me to draw the line with what God feels is okay and not. I think God feels okay with it because we are not in debt, it’s paid for and we had the money set aside. I know it will provide wonderful memories for us as a family and our friends. It’s hard for me to spend on mys of and enjoy the benefits of the hard work through the years of my life. Thanks for the article
I believe you’re right that God is ok with it. God wants us to enjoy the fruits of our labor and wants us to have nice things, as long as those nice things don’t get in between Him and us. Do NOT feel guilty about your pool and back yard. They are a blessing from God, paid in full by your hard work. Enjoy it and thank God for it! Sounds like He’s brought you a long way since your meager early days!
Good article Jason. I have always been troubled by Christians who seem to feel that if you are driving anything better than a 1973 station wagon held together by chewing gum and duct tape then you just aren’t spiritual enough. On one level I have always felt that there is nothing wrong with having nice things. At the same time our culture has become so saturated with the idea that if you are wealthy then you must have taken advantage of people to get there and that you are wrong if you have nicer things than me. Intellectually, I don’t believe that for a minute. And yet I find elements of that which have infiltrated my thinking even as I reject them. When I see a someone driving a 6 figure sports car or living in a million dollar home as much as intellectually I say that is none of my business, there is still a little judgmental voice inside me that says no one needs that. For all I know maybe that guy driving the 100,000 sports car is a billionaire and gave away more money last year than I’ll make in my lifetime.This really came to light for me as I was teaching Dave Ramsey’s Legacy Journey class a couple years ago. One of the lessons talks specifically about this topic. It was interesting to me how while on the one hand I agreed with what Dave was teaching in the lesson that it is about ratios and attitudes of the heart, that there was still a part of me that had been brainwashed by our culture. That lesson really made me aware of how the culture affects our attitudes even when we don’t want it to.
You’re right Bob, we really have to be careful not to let judgementalism creep in and ruin our attitude toward others who have more than us. Judging people for their wealth can be just as bad as having a poverty attitude.
I’ve struggled with this issue, partly because I have a frugal nature and admittedly certain things don’t mean much to me. But it’s taken me a while to realize that my money and lifestyle (modest in some ways, less modest in others) are part of how God works in my life. I don’t have money simply to give it to the church or charitable causes (though that is important). Instead, what I have, how I earn, and how I spend are part of my overall purpose. Practically, that may mean that my investments, for example, allow me to send my kids to college or take a vacation or help support a friend’s (or my children’s) mission trips; it also means that I have the time and money to take a trip to the coast to do a century bike ride with friends. — And, I have finally (almost!) stopped cringing when I read about how other spend money. While I still believe that our checkbook can reveal our spending priorities, living with purpose can happen at various levels of wealth and spending.
It’s definitely a subject that each individual has to come to grips with on their own. Ultimately it’s between you and God. I’m naturally a very frugal person myself, but I don’t mind splurging on occasion for something nice.
With that said, I’m definitely not all about my stuff. God has blessed me tremendously with a great income that has allowed me to have those things. We also give away a significant portion of our income, and we strive to give away more every year.
I think you’re right in that how and what you earn is part of your purpose. We should be good stewards of that by giving, saving, and even enjoying the fruits of our labor without feeling guilty.
Thanks for the comment Julie!
I enjoyed this topic, and have felt all of those feelings. I know that many times God has provided a desire of our heart, that only He knew about. Therefore, He wanted me to have it. Say blue curtains for kitchen or whatever. I believe how we manage what He gives us and our stewardship regulates what He can trust us with. He is definitely the God of blessings. He does bless us with physical and spiritual gifts. We have to trust that He know us and what is best for us. He always gives good gifts. We are all blessed in His Love.
What shall profit a man to gain the whole world and lose Gods kingdom
God wants us to have earthly wealth, but you MUST put God above your wealth in order to truly succeed in gaining God’s kingdom.
I understand what you are saying but when you lose everything you worked for in a messy divorce you didn’t ask for, it is hard to believe God truly cares about material things. It has been 3 yrs now and my financial situation hasn’t changed and probably won’t for another 10 yrs. That will give me 7 yrs until retirement to try and rebuild my finances. Not a great prospect from my perspective. I do have a job and food to eat so I guess I should be satisfied with that.
Be content in the mountain tops and be content in the valleys. Learn to be content in the season that your in. Bloom where you are planted. Be content where God has you rite now. Try not to focus on what you lost but rather on what you have. God gives you the grace for every season. This to shall pass. God bless you.