The Bible in The Upside Down Kingdom by Donald B. Kraybill Essay

If a person or a company is wealthy and has earned their money, they are automatically labelled a “big business” and are brutally criticized for not allowing others to have a chance in the “game of life”. In this view, having money makes a person a monster, only focusing on themselves and what they can do to get even bigger. Another popular view of money is that if a person or a business is not making enough money that they are either not skilled enough to get a high paying job or they are too lazy to get a better one. There are flaws in both views. Acts 20:35 says, “In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” God wants us to help those who need aren’t making enough money to make ends meet; however, He does not discourage against people being rewarded for their hard work and labor. Nonetheless, putting all happiness, faith, and dependence in money is dangerous and can lead to greed and selfishness because that is all the person has to look for. Instead of looking for happiness in money and wealth, people can start choosing the eternity of happiness that is found in Jesus

According to the parables worksheet done in class, the parable of the rich fool is another example of how Jesus instructed us to not live a life focused on money. Luke 12:16-21 is about a life rich in possessions versus a life rich in God. The rich fool built a bigger

Money brings the inequality of possessions, also called “the haves and the have not’s.” We may all be equal in the eyes of God, but here on earth some eyes grow green with envy. Children come home from daycare complaining that Little Jimmy’s truck was bigger than his, husbands and fathers are forever eying the Jones; new corvette, and entire wars have erupted over the “you have it and I’m gonna get it” mentality. Inequality of possessions is not bad though many passages in the Bible teach that even in heaven there are different degrees of rewards. Even God’s spiritual gifts are not given equally to each of us, but this does not mean He loves one person more than the other. It is what we do with

Luke’s Gospel greatly emphasizes the social justice aspect of Christian living. Throughout the third book in the New Testament, the story and history of Jesus Christ is written, and Luke preserves the many sayings of Jesus warning that those with material possessions have a

Chapter one, Down is Up, Kraybill emphasizes that the Kingdom of God, down is up. The people that think they are top of the food chain in the world like the wealthy and other powerful people are going to be in the completely opposite part of the world in God’s

According to the preface in Kraybills The Upside Down Kingdom the main thesis of the book was “ The Kingdom of God announced by Jesus was a new order of things that looked upside down in the midst of Palestinian culture in the first century. More over the Kingdom of God continues to have upside down features as it breaks into diverse cultures around the world today.” The core message in “The Upside Down Kingdom” was not to seek the kingdom of Heaven from above but to also help find salvation of Christ by performing activities that involve compassion/empathy for those who are less fortunate.

Furthermore, when considering this case against what we find in the Holy Bible, we discover that God is warning us not to set our hearts and minds on what we can get for ourselves. But rather, He is telling us that we need to be “rich toward God” (Luke 12:21, New International Version). In addition, when we examine another area of the Bible, we find that we cannot serve God and money concurrently; we can either serve one or the other (Matthew 6:24). The idea is that we follow the second commandment; and that is to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:39). Therefore, the overarching theme here in this case is yes, there is a lot of money at stake; however, we must examine our motives and determine whether or not taking that money is in the best interest of everyone. I believe that this approach pleases the Lord.

They, while in pursued of wealth have lost their health, friends, wives, relatives, partners, and children; even their own salvation. The price they paid for their wealth is much more than wealth itself, for money cannot buy any of the things they have lost. It is only by walking with God that the wealth given unto us is approved by God. He rewards those who seek his will first. Jeremiah 29:11King

The main point or thesis of The Upside Down Kingdom is that there are social and political views that are confusing for many people back when Jesus taught the people, but even now when we read the Bible and Jesus’ stories. A major sub point to this is that Jesus did things that were upside down and that many did not understand. For example, Donald B. Kraybill uses the story of the women using her expensive perfume on Jesus in chapter seven. He says "All writers (except Luke) report that the onlookers condemned this waste of a year's wages" (pg. 124). They wondered why she was not selling it for money, but Jesus tells them that there will always be poor people around them. Yet He will not always be with them. Jesus turns their minds to a different

Within the bible, Jesus many times over admonishes the covetous feeling towards material wealth. The passages of Matthew 6:19 through 6:34 exemplify Jesus’ teachings on living a life without lusting for material power, and pointing out the pointlessness of amassing worldly treasures. The Old Master, Lao Tzu was a figure similar to Jesus in both his style of teaching and his message of living a life for the divine, he would certainly find agreement in Jesus’ admonishment of desire.

When we see how the homeless live, it helps us to show compassion with a genuine concern. Acknowledging and overlooking the difference between the poor and the rich can help us overcome discrimination. Looking past our societies distorted images of being poor also improves how we care for the poor. However, while looking after the physical needs of the less fortunate is very important, what truly makes someone rich or poor is whether or not they have the radiant light of Jesus abiding in their life. 1 John 3:17-18 says, “But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth.” Only identifying a need is not enough, we must act upon that need to properly show the love of Jesus Christ and shine a light into a darkening

This passage relates the to Jesus’ mission to the poor because his origins and how he was born shows a humble beginning and shows that even someone as great as Jesus was not privileged from the start. His birth shows us that since he wasn't born in a palace or inn, he can relate to the struggles of the ordinary people. Jesus came from heaven, surrounded by all the power and glory that were rightfully his, and left all of that behind in order to get a comprehension on our lives and give an insight of the compassion of God for everyone, both rich and poor. Another passage from Luke’s Gospel that illustrates this theme of is a verse from Luke that states “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” (Luke 6:20). This verse illustrates

Response: “In Matthew 19: 21 our Lord exposed the man’s failure to love his neighbor as himself by telling him to sell all his possessions and give to the money to the poor (NKJV). Ronald J. Sider (1977) said Jesus invited him to join a community of sharing and love, where his security would not be based on individual property holdings, but on openness to the Spirit and on the loving care of new-found brothers and sisters. But we have to know that when God is working in power, Satan is also on hand to counterfeit; Ananias and Sapphira were also moved by others but they were obliged and failed to give

(Mark 10: 21-22) Jesus told the rich man to sell everything he had and give it to the poor. But the rich man went away sad because he had great wealth. He was not willing to be last and servant of all. 7. This is contrasted to the widow’s offering. (Mark 12: 41-44)

I do not think that this message is directly to say that money is bad and you should avoid money. Rather I believe that this is a cautionary tale of how quickly the love of money can overpower the love for another and one’s admiration to God. Jesus is highlighting, even in that ancient time, that you do not need as much as you think you need in order to be content and flourish. As humans, we are not capable of this by our own, yet luckily, God is willing to