James 2:5 Santiago 2:5
“Escuchen, mis queridos hermanos: ¿No ha escogido Dios a los que son pobres según el mundo para que sean ricos in la fe y hereden el reino que prometió a quienes lo aman?
“Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?”
Materialism is the most synchronized part of American Christianity. I remember reflecting back a few months ago and being appalled that our church invited Dave Ramsey to speak one night. Dave Ramsey is a powerful speaker on getting out of debt financially--which is a biblical principle. However, his methods of doing so are, unfortunately not biblical. There’s nothing inherently wrong about his methods, but his strategy is to build up treasures on Earth. For the secular would his teachings are wise, the debt in the United States is debilitating and everyone should be striving to avoid it and free themselves from it.
However, Matthew 6:19 states plainly, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth….” The poor of this world very well could be the ones being obedient to God. Those are the ones who will be rich in the next life--who are we to judge them?
I need to be more careful of syncretism in my life. I need to make sure that my beliefs are based in the Word and not in the culture I grew up in.
****Update****
Okay, so I do hear, now, that Dave Ramsey does also talk a lot about giving to the Kingdom. That’s not something I had heard from him before, and now I must take back some of what I said and/or implied about his ministry. However I decided not to rewrite this because the application is still something I want to practice.
No comments:
Post a Comment