My MennoNerd friends have been talking a lot about wealth and poverty in our vlogging relay race recently, something I also contributed with in my video about community of goods. In today’s video I bring up four prooftexts that brothers and sisters who have quite a lot of money often point to when I explain to them why I’m convinced that Christians should not be rich.
The prooftexts are:
- People in the Old Testament being rich (Gen 13:2, 2 Chron. 9:22 and others)
- Jesus being fine with expensive alabaster being poured upon Him (Mark 14:1-9)
- Paul saying that he is content both when he has plenty and when he is needy (Phil 4:12)
- Jesus possessing a seamless undergarment (John 19:23)
For more Bible studies on why Christians shouldn’t be rich, check out my God vs Wealth series.
Charismactivism 
What about Job? He was incredibly rich, lost it all, and got it all back. Seemed to be OK with God. Abraham was rich. The Temple was built and
decorated in the wealthiest possible way. Jesus recommended that the rich who were ruled by their wealth….get rid of the money that would bring them
doom. It its the LOVE of money….not money that is the root of all evil.
If a millionaire gives $150,000 a year to his church…why is that bad?
Hello brother! Didn’t you watch the video? I start talking about rich people in the Old Testament just one minute in. If you want to read more, you can check out https://holyspiritactivism.wordpress.com/2013/03/01/god-vs-wealth-part-6-the-old-testament/
As you say, Jesus commanded not just the rich but all His disciples to sell what they have and give to the poor (Lk 12:33) and practice community of goods, which they did (Acts 2:44-45). The problem with wealth is not just that it rules you, which Jesus said that it inevitably will do (Matt 6:19, thus all rich people who keep their wealth love money) but also that the poor don’t get anything. The problem is not what a millionaire gives away but what he keeps. As Jesus said, a poor widow giving all she has is more generous than a Roch person just sharing some percent of his abundance
Blessings!