I have a friend that has found great wisdom in this topic, he says it basically like this: The idea of giving away one’s money in the story of the rich young rule is two fold. One, to stop the idolitry that he has toward his wealth. Two, to place him in a situation that he can see what wealth and poverty truly are and can stand against the opressive forces of wealth.
In this discussion we have left out the later part of what Jesus told the rich young rule, and that was to follow him. First braking the chains of his opressive forces and then following the one that is the one that died for the opressed. There are many warning signs given through out the bible that show how wealth is not bad, but it is how it is used in incorrectly and in an opressive ways that is wrong.
One of the practical ways to view this is, you can look at the clothes you wear. I am sure that all of us have clothes that we buy that were made by sweat shops where the people were greatly opressed. The question within this is thus are we to be fruggle with our spending of money or wise of where we spend it. Job was considered wise due to the way that he spent his money, not in his lacking or having.
I find that the idea of wealth is to remove the desire or the opressive force of it that we carry and then follow Jesus’s actions and enter into relationships with the least of these and standing along side them. (1 John 2:15-17, 3:17-20) First John, I have found as a book to continuously go to for guidance on my own wealth.
Giving his money away was only the begin to what Jesus told the Rich young ruler.
nalex
Aug 15 2002
04:03 pm
I have a friend that has found great wisdom in this topic, he says it basically like this: The idea of giving away one’s money in the story of the rich young rule is two fold. One, to stop the idolitry that he has toward his wealth. Two, to place him in a situation that he can see what wealth and poverty truly are and can stand against the opressive forces of wealth.
In this discussion we have left out the later part of what Jesus told the rich young rule, and that was to follow him. First braking the chains of his opressive forces and then following the one that is the one that died for the opressed. There are many warning signs given through out the bible that show how wealth is not bad, but it is how it is used in incorrectly and in an opressive ways that is wrong.
One of the practical ways to view this is, you can look at the clothes you wear. I am sure that all of us have clothes that we buy that were made by sweat shops where the people were greatly opressed. The question within this is thus are we to be fruggle with our spending of money or wise of where we spend it. Job was considered wise due to the way that he spent his money, not in his lacking or having.
I find that the idea of wealth is to remove the desire or the opressive force of it that we carry and then follow Jesus’s actions and enter into relationships with the least of these and standing along side them. (1 John 2:15-17, 3:17-20) First John, I have found as a book to continuously go to for guidance on my own wealth.
Giving his money away was only the begin to what Jesus told the Rich young ruler.