HATE MONEY!!!!!!!

[gardner]

Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

That verse says you will either hate God or hate money. No inbetween.

Luke 16:11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true [riches]?

Money is unrighteous!

1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

That verse speaks for itself. Matthew 6:24 says ya either love it or hate. There is no "LIKING" money, yet not loving it. Why would you like (love) money anyway?? Look what it has done to the world. It is the reason why there is poverty! It's the reason why so many poor people cannot even attain the most basic of physical care. Money breaks up marriages, it comes between people, tears relationships apart, and perverts justice.

[Genesis]

And yet without money, we cannot live.

It's all about priorities. We need money to live, we have to buy food, and we have to buy clothes, and we have to pay for the roof over our heads. The problem is, money often becomes an idol, something to be attained at any cost. Some people lose sight of the fact that money is merely a means to an end. To some people, money becomes the end, and this is where the problems begin.

There is nothing wrong with money, per se, but if it comes between us and God, then we have a problem, just like anything else.

We can even take it a step further, if we're going to look into the idea of idolatry.

Family can become an idol if it comes between us and God.

Church can even become an idol, where religion becomes more important than God Himself.

We really need to continually assess our situation and make sure that we are not putting too much importance on anything or anyone save the Lord Himself. If you are married, you need to be careful not to idolise your spouse, or your kids. Love them dearly, but the Lord must always come first.

[gardner]

And yet without money, we cannot live.

You can't live without money? Who needs money when you have God? God doesn't need this worlds money. Jesus Christ God Himself was homeless.

This is the way it should be:

Acts 2:44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.

Matthew 6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

There is nothing wrong with money, per say

Bible says it's unrighteous.

[gardner]

Yes, you're supposed to support your family.

1 Timothy 5:8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

But the money you make does not belong to you, it belongs to God. Be faithful in the unrighteous mammon. Don't store it up for yourself, don't hoard up riches, and do pay your taxes. Use it to help those in need and ministries called by God.

Luke 16:11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?

Matthew 19:21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

Luke 14:13 But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:
14 And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.

There is no problem too large for God

John 6:5 When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?
6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.
7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.
8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him,
9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?
10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.
11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.
12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.

[Genesis]

You can't live without money? Who needs money when you have God? God doesn't need this worlds money. Jesus Christ God Himself was homeless.

Even the food eaten at the last supper was paid for with money. It didn't just magically appear.

There are instances of the Lord providing for the needs of His people miraculously, but lets face it, the majority of the food eaten in the Bible, the houses lived in, the clothes worn... They were all paid for with money.

Bible says it's unrighteous.

No, the Bible says that the love of money is unrighteous, not money itself. There's a big difference.

Yes, you're supposed to support your family.

Zigzackly! Provision takes many forms, many of which involve money.

But the money you make does not belong to you, it belongs to God. Be faithful in the unrighteous mammon. Don't store it up for yourself, don't hoard up riches, and do pay your taxes. Use it to help those in need and ministries called by God.

Nothing really belongs to us, everything we have is a gift. Still, it is given for our use, and storing it is not necessarily an evil or unwise course of action. Can't buy a house with peanuts my friend.

I'm not really sure if this thread was aimed at someone in particular, but before we start crusading against something, I think we should spend a bit more time discussing what the Bible really says about it.

Some Christians say sex is sinful, but that's entirely untrue and absolutely preposterous. Money, like sex, can be used for both good and evil, and it's the purpose for which it is used that makes it good or evil.

[gardner]

A Wealthy Affair (God vs. Money)
http://omarcarter.com/2010/03/25/a-weal ... -vs-money/

This is an excellent blog by Omar Carter about how people are justifying money.

1 Tim 6:10 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.

The way we negate this scripture from our own heart is focusing on the word LOVE. We hear people say that it is the LOVE of money that is the root of evil but not MONEY all together. We don’t focus on the word ALL which is very important. It is telling us that if we have any evil in our hearts that the root of it is the love of MONEY.

So what we have to do is allow God to judge if we LOVE money or not. Most say they don’t love money so this scripture does not apply to them. He is going to show us the difference of what we think and what God thinks. See we think that Money is VERY VERY GOOD when God says that money is EVIL.

[WayKnowledge]

Hi gardner,

Just for an analogy, we could say...

"A man will Love his food (eating as much as he can of the very richest delicacies) but Hate his Body (becoming fat and unhealthy and completely out of God's design). Another will Hate his food (eating only that which will sustain him to health and to be able to serve the Lord) but Love his body (that which is fearfully and wonderfully made by God himself)."

The first sees food as a means only to his own pleasure. Eating for this one is eating without True Love for God or his brothers. The second sees food as a necessary tool which must be utilized if he is to live. Eating, for him, if his heart is set on God, is an act of True Love so that he may continue to serve both God and his brothers and sisters.

There is no shame in eating but the motivations of the heart must be considered.

This, too, with money, as Genesis has so rightly explained (I think). When you are Of The Kingdom (while In This World) you will have to utilize the tool of money -- unless you can truly barter for what will support your family -- being, again, In the World but not Of it. The correct use of money, within God's guidelines, will show whether we are "gluttons" (always wanting MORE than is healthy), "confused" (like an anorexic who sees only fat in the mirror and refuses to eat) or, "healthy" (with just enough in to be satisfied, and any extra to use charitably).

I don't dismiss the scriptures you've given. This is, though, How I interpret them.

And one last point, Jesus wasn't "homeless." He was itinerant, always preaching, always on the move. As a carpenter, if He had needed a "home" He could have Built one.

Blessing,

Marc

[Genesis]

Gardner, can you please show me a portion of scripture that tells us that God hates money, and that money is evil?

Timothy tells us that the love of money is the root of all evil (or all kinds of evil), it doesn't tell us that money itself is evil. It is an inordinate love of riches (or of anything for that matter) that usurps the place of God as Lord of our lives. It is this inordinate love that is evil.

The Bible also tells us that we should hate our family, but only a fool would take it to mean that we should literally hate our family. The word hate is misunderstood in this context. Rather than despising our family, it means that we should love God first, far and above the love we have for our family. It means God should always come first, and in any conflict, we should choose the side that favours God.

In like manner, God should always come before money. If there is a choice, God should be it. That doesn't mean that money is inherently evil, only that it should be used simply for what it is, a means to an end. We need money to live, and trusting in the grace of God to provide our needs may well mean trusting Him to provide us with a stable job with which to earn money. It doesn't mean our roast chicken dinner will arrive promptly at 6:30pm with a knock on the door from an anonymous donor every night.

In a more general sense, Christianity is not an impractical religion. We do not believe God is going to miraculously materialise our every need just as we need it.

I came into possession of my apartment just at the right time. My car sold just at the right time to put a deposit on the apartment. My new job came just as our baby was born. None of these are what you would call supernatural events, but I am sure God had a hand in all of them. There's no way so many things could happen with such perfect timing unless someone had ordered them to be that way. I trust in God to provide my needs, but to me, that means I trust in Him to keep me in stable work. It means I trust in Him to open up doors or close doors according to my needs. I still have to work, I still have to earn money, I still have to walk through those doors that He has opened.

Hating money in a literal sense is what I would call impractical. It is necessary to buy food, clothing, housing... It is necessary for many things. It is even necessary to some degree for our own pleasure, and though you may disagree with me, I do not believe that we are banned by God from having fun on this Earth. I think that enjoying our lives on this Earth is part of living, and sometimes that requires money. I like to listen to music, and sometimes it costs me money. I like to read, and to do that I need to pay for the books, as I'm sure the Lord would be displeased with me stealing them. God needs to come first in all things, but there is no harm in taking a practical approach with this belief.

If you think you can live without money, you are more than welcome to try. I, for one, would prefer to have a steady income so I can pay for my needs.

[TristanCross]

And here, little children, we see a prime example of the baby being thrown out with the bath water...

[ServantOfJesus]

And here, little children, we see a prime example of the baby being thrown out with the bath water...

Haha, funny illustration.