Christian Teachings on Poverty and Wealth Essay

“An obsession with possessions enslaves us to the demon of worry. Jesus invites us to change our priorities, focus on the kingdom, and share with the needy” (Kraybill, 2011, p.101). A man’s wealth will be measured by the love, kindness and empathy he has for the poor and the hungry in Gods kingdom. For this matter Jesus wants the wealthy to humble themselves and receive their blessing by offering opportunities to the poor instead of being greedy and celebrating their own wealth.

I also think the verse of the rich young man could be connected to how Jesus would spend his money. In Matthew 19:21-23, Jesus preached to a rich young man to sell his possessions and give to the poor, and then that young man would no longer be rich on earth but he would be rich in heaven. The young man did not want to sell his possessions, and I think that rich young man is the type of person who would spend money living in excess. The rich young man would spend his money on a concert, which is the complete opposite of what Jesus would do.

5. What is your basis of ethics? My basics of ethics was taught by my grandma she instilled a lot of her values and morals in my life giving me the teachings that made her a bright woman. She made sure to start on me early by getting me involved in church and helping me understand my religion and god and what he expects from his people. I was told to become a leader and not a follower use gods power that he using in my life to restore and help those who may be broken in life. I always ask god if I’m unsure I understand in this world of many temptations we may fall but our god isn’t a judging god and will be there with open ears and arms to help you get it right if you want change. I am not perfect but I pay attention I know right from wrong and know I am help accountable for my actions and faults. And have god move in my

Wayne Gerard Trotman once said, ¨Instead of loving people and using money, people often love money and use people.¨ This quote represents greed and ambition, two things that can be seen throughout the Shakespearean play Macbeth and the 1944 movie Double Indemnity. In the traditional Shakespearean play Macbeth, Lady Macbeth manipulates Macbeth's greed and ambition in order to make him king and her rich; likewise, in the 1944 movie Double Indemnity, Phyllis used the greed and ambition of Walter to convince him to kill her husband so they could be rich together.

He cites Preacher Daniel Garcia who at the time was preaching on the sacrifice of Isaac that is a Scripture from the perspective of poverty. The main point of this passage was that power always would find a convenient ram to be sacrificed at little cost to the ones with power. Even today the poor are considered the “convenient ram” and are sacrificed for the powerful. As stated in Romans and Corinthians the sharing both material and spiritual goods is called for by Paul, and is received by the Gentiles. If the immortal goods were shared, they also shared in mortal ones. Gonzalez separates the interpretation of poverty from marginality by explaining that for most poverty is the main reason why many left their lands to travel to a new land in which they would still be poor but possibly not in the same

“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (NIV Bible 1 Timothy 6:10)

The word “Christian” in Colorado Christian University is more than just a belief shared amongst the Faculty and Student Body. It is the foundation on which all aspects of the educational experience are built. Beginning with a strong Statement of Faith, which aligns with core beliefs of the National Association of Evangelicals, the University proclaims its belief “in the Bible as being the only authoritative Word of God, that God exists in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, as well as belief in the salvation and resurrection that is only found in Christ Jesus” (Statement of Faith at Colorado Christian University, n.d.).

The love of money is the root of all evil? How does the love of money have evil results for:

Christians do not think money is a bad thing. However, they believe the way money is earned and used is the issue. Most Christians believe that wealth is a gift from God to benefit others. Christians believe that all money belongs to God and he gives them stewardship of his money to use wisely. The Bible teaches, “You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matthew 6:24). For Christians this means that they must be careful not to replace their love for God with the love of money.

Christians believe that they have a responsibility for other people in the world. A responsibility towards those less fortunate is very important to Christians, they believe it is their duty to help the poor and those less fortunate. It is important for Christians to be responsible and care for the people in countries of poverty. God made people in his own image, as it stats in “Pacem in Terris,”: “God also created man in His own image and likeness, endowed him with the intelligence and freedom, and made him lord of creation, as the same psalmist declares in the words: Thou hast placed him only a little below the angels, crowning him with glory and honour and bidding him rule

your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the

Unfortunately, this fact is so true of our society today, but Yancey goes on to show how Jesus makes an extra effort to reach out to he poor. He gives a list, which he got from another writer, on the advantages of being poor. This list really made an impact on me. It showed me how I need to be more open to what God has to say, and not so involved with the materialistic and secular views of today. I need to focus on what God has planned for me, and not make my focus to be what other people think of me. “Strength, good looks, connections, and the competitive instinct may bring a person success in a society like ours, but those very qualities may block entrance to the kingdom of heaven” (Yancey 114).

As we go through our day by day lives in a very secular world, I believe it is very easy to question ourselves as Christian educators. We ask ourselves if we are doing our jobs exactly to God’s calling. Are we striving to teach the truth? And with that, what is truth? According to Gaebelein in his book The Pattern of God’s Truth, “All truth is God’s truth.” As educators we are called upon to cultivate “Christlike minds” (Moreland). This is quite the task, especially given our surrounding circumstances and constant secular environment. Not only are we, as educators surrounded by this secularism, but our young, adolescent students are as well. So, how do we accomplish such as task of guiding

In our modern society, religion can either promote positive, optimistic actions or negative, destructive ones. From Christianity to Daoism, each different religion shapes the lives of its followers. Christianity and Hinduism can propel their followers to achieve moral greatness, while Islam and _____ can cause people to do heinous, damaging acts of violence and self-destruction.

​Consequently, a man who is “poor” in material possessions many times is “rich” in character, which is spiritually defined as the nine fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control.  Having friends and family members who grew up poor and who worked hard to survive to obtain material possessions, their character was strengthened or made “rich” as a result of it. They had to do the jobs that many rich people would never do, such as being a maid, construction worker, janitor and many more domestic type jobs. Although they differ in terms of definition, being “rich” and being “poor” in character can be one of the same as “poor” in spirit or humble.  For example, my great grandmother was an Indian who was very poor, but you never would have known it because she was humble, kind, loving and a peaceful woman who always shared everything she had.