The Jew: A Modern Marvel

One of the most compelling arguments for the existence of God is the existence of the Jew. Nations larger than Israel are now extinct. Tribes that were at one time greater in number than the nation of Israel are currently either extinct or endangered. At present, Russia contains more than twenty tribes of indigenous peoples that are endangered. There are more than 1,800 tribes in Brazil that are currently extinct. Where are the descendents of the Biblical “Nineveh”? They are non-existent. Where is the nation of the Philistines? There is no such nation. Where are the kingdoms of Tyre and Sidon? They are gone. Where is the Grecian empire? It is all but forgotten. What about the Roman empire? The Roman Catholic church is all that remains of it.

These nations, tribes, and people groups were far bigger than the nation of Israel. Yet, against all odds, the Jews cannot be destroyed. Geographically, they are small and completely surrounded by their enemies. Ethnically, they are a small minority. Politically, they are globally insignificant. Demographically, they scarcely register as even a statistic. Yet no one can deny that they have left an impression upon the world about which no other group can boast. Repeatedly throughout history, world leaders have vowed to destroy the Jews. Those leaders are dead. The Jew remains.

The First Marvel – Jewish Identity

The Jews were scattered from the land of Israel in Old Testament times as they were carried off into Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. They remained in Babylon for seventy years. After that time, Cyrus, king of Persia, allowed the Jews to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild the city and the wall. Although many Jews returned to their homeland, many did not. Many Jews remained scattered throughout the known world during Alexander's empire, and even to New Testament times. In the inter-testamental period, the Grecian empire was in full force. Jews were scattered, many of them in Chaldea, some in Greece, others in Syria. Though the Greeks influenced the Jews greatly, the Jews remained faithful to the tenets of Judaism. Jews that were influenced greatly by the Greeks became known as “Hellenistic Jews.” Many of these Jews spoke Greek rather than Hebrew. Because Solomon's temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, the Jewish synagogue was born. Throughout the known world, the Jew, separated from the temple of his homeland, worshiped in the synagogue in whatever region he may have been. Even in a polytheistic Grecian world, the Jews remained true to their monotheistic values.

The Second Marvel – Jewish Perseverance

The Jews were further scattered in 70 AD when the Romans destroyed Herod's temple and the city of Jerusalem. The Jews were a people without a home. For over two millennia, the Jews were driven from their land. Although they were once a nation with definite borders, ruled by their own kings, protected by their own military, spoke a common Hebrew language, unified under a monotheistic system of worship, and participated in their own unique customs and culture, the Jews have been homeless. They have dwelt in nations that would receive them – some as friends, others as enemies. Many nations viewed the Jew as the problem in their failing economy. Because of this, Jews have throughout the centuries been the object of persecution. Haman tried to commit genocide against the Jews during the time of the Medo-Persian empire. Adolf Hitler blamed the Jews (primarily, though not exclusively) on the economic woes that faced Germany after the first world war. It seemed that no matter how bad the economy was in Germany, German Jews prospered. Germans cannot prosper, Hitler argued, while the Jews are prospering. With this reasoning as the basis, many Jews throughout Europe faced extermination during World War II. In more recent times, former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad infamously stated that Israel should be wiped off the map. Of course, Haman did not exterminate the Jews; Hitler could not rid the world of Jewish presence; and Ahmadinejad was incapable of destroying the nation of Israel. No matter what attack is launched against the Jews, no plan to extinguish their influence from the face of the earth has ever been, or will ever be, successful.

The Third Marvel – Jewish Wealth

In his best-selling book Thou Shall Prosper, Rabbi Daniel Lapin demonstrates that the Jews are disproportionately wealthy. The Jews make up less than 2% of the US population, less than 1% of the world's population, but they make up 15-25% of Forbes 400 list of billionaires in any given year. The Jews, in spite of all that has come against them, prosper! This is an undeniable fact. Absolutely no one can deny that the Jews prosper to a degree that is against all odds. There are many indicators that point to the fact that the Jew should not even be in existence, let alone prosper! It is entertaining for Christians to watch journalists present their best articles attempting to explain the immense wealth of the Jewish people. Once in a while, I will read a news article about the latest study that presents some new insight on why the Jews are incredibly wealthy. It is hilarious to read some of their explanations.

Of course we Christians know positively why the Jews are incredibly prosperous. The God of the Bible has blessed them! When Hitler tried to destroy the Jews, it was not a battle between Hitler and the Jews; it was a battle between Hitler and God! And God won! You will have to exterminate God before you can exterminate the Jews. The atheist thinks he has already destroyed God, but the incredible wealth of the Jew says otherwise. The Jew is blessed because, in Genesis 12, God declared that they would be blessed. God has stacked the odds against the Jews and then blessed them against those odds. Behind the prosperous nation of Israel stands the God who prospered them. You either see that truth, or you refuse to see it. Either way, it is there.

Money and the Christian

Having recently written about goal-setting in the life of a Christian, I expressed how sad it is to watch a Christian, especially a young Christian, set his first and foremost goals that center around his net worth. In my last post, I discussed the impossibility of a wealthy person coming to salvation in Christ. Thankfully, some of them do come to Christ, but only because God is a miracle worker.

In this post, however, our attention is not upon the lost man who is wealthy, but rather the Christian who sets his eyes on the glamour and the glitter of this present world, desiring to become wealthy.

There is No Sin in a Christian Becoming Wealthy

I am an avid listener of Dave Ramsey, and I recommend him to Christians who desire to serve God with all of their being, including their money. Dave Ramsey spends a good deal of time emphasizing the fact that it is noble and good to make money. I agree. Dave uses the many scriptures in the Old and New Testaments that speak positively concerning making money. Rabbi Daniel Lapin, in his book Business Secrets from the Bible, stresses the same point – that it is a noble undertaking to make money. He, being a Jewish rabbi, uses the Old Testament scriptures exclusively to bring about this point. I agree with the assessment that making money is a noble and just cause.

Some indicate that making money, or at least making a substantial amount of it, is a sinful practice. This argument is counterproductive. To say it is acceptable to be lower or middle class, but it is sinful to be wealthy is absurd. Who employs lower and middle class people? The wealthy. When the wealthy become unsuccessful in their business endeavors, the lower and middle class people lose their jobs. Furthermore, do you really wish to participate in an economy where the only business owners, managers, and salespeople are those with no Christian values? Do you really want Christians to vacate those positions, leaving them open only to those who do not know Christ and have no Christian virtues whatsoever? In my view, this does not seem like a logical argument for a Christian to make.

New Testament Warnings against the Rich

While it is certain that the Bible speaks in a positive manner concerning wealth, an honest student of the Bible will readily admit that the same Bible gives many warnings to those who either are presently wealthy, or wish to become wealthy. Dave Ramsey, though I love his radio show and listen often, seldom (if ever) quotes a Bible verse that warns against being rich. Although there are many such verses in both testaments, I will quote and discuss only one. Let us look at the first part of I Timothy 6:9 –

But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare…

Note that this verse is not speaking to rich people. Here, Paul is addressing “they that will be rich.” The word “will” in this verse indicates those who are exercising their will to become rich – they desire to be rich. They have goals of becoming wealthy. When a Christian sets goals that involve increasing their net worth – they will absolutely, positively, and certainly be tempted. It is not a matter of if temptation comes; it is a matter of when temptation comes.

A Christian does not live for money; A Christian lives for God. When a Christian begins to make it a goal to earn more money, this person will be tempted to let their walk with God go by the wayside. Sadly, I have seen it repeatedly in my twenty-plus years in ministry. I can almost write it in a mathematical formula. The more money a person takes in, the more their fire for God is snuffed out. There are exceptions, but they are incredibly few and far between.

As a Christian, your heart should beat for God and His kingdom. As a Christian, impacting people’s lives for the gospel should be your motive for placing your feet on the floor each morning. As a Christian, your children’s salvation and spirituality should be far more important than your goal of quadrupling your income by the end of this year. Unfortunately, many Christians suffer spiritually as they excel financially. You, fellow Christian, should guard against this with everything within you.

Three Temptations Wealthy Christians Face

The reason that it is nearly impossible for a Christian to prosper financially and spiritually simultaneously is because, as we saw in I Timothy 6:9, those who set out to become wealthy always fall into temptation. If you are a Christian who is in a position to make a substantial amount of money, I can think of three immense temptations that you are sure to face. These temptations are tests. If you fail them, your heart is not right with God. Sadly, most Christians fail them. If you are going to make money and be spiritual, you must pass these tests 100% of the time. They are not optional. They are not easy. They measure clearly your spiritual condition. You will either pass these tests or suffer spiritually.

The First Test – The Test of Priority

Your priorities speak of those things in your life that are most important to you. It is an incredible temptation for a Christian who makes a good deal of money to put business before God and family. While making money is necessary to provide for your family and to be able to give to the work of God, it should never occupy first place in your life. If I were to ask you who make money whether money comes first or whether God comes first, of course you will tell me that God is first, because you know that is the right answer. But does God really come first? How many worship services do you miss because the worship service interferes with making money? You spend hours at a time making money, but when is the last time you spent hours of quality time with your family? Mary Kay Ash, the founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, identified her priorities as “God first, family second, business third.” I don’t know anything about the extent of her spirituality, but if she lived out her priorities in this order, she had her priorities straight.

Many Christians fail this test of priority for one simple reason. Sometimes, putting God before money will cost you. I wish I could say that if you always put God first, you will always gain financially. But that notion is simply not the truth. Sometimes it will cost you – in terms of dollars and cents – to put God first. You don’t mind paying money if you think it will yield more money later. Do you mind paying money to put God and family ahead of your bottom line? If you are right with God, you will take a pay cut to keep God and family ahead of your net worth.

I once knew a Christian who owned two businesses. He sold one of them, accounting for a decrease in his net worth in the long term. Why did he do it? To give more time to God and family. It cost him money to make such a move, but he did not lose. He won. He passed the test of priority.

The Second Test – The Test of Integrity

You don’t have to be in business long before you realize that it is easier to make money and keep money if you refrain from being completely honest. Dear Christian friend, it is always a sin to be dishonest to make or keep money. If you are right with God, you are honest in all – 100% - of your dealings with your fellow man. It is certainly a temptation for a Christian business person to slightly bend the truth to collect a dollar. You may be just a little dishonest. No one may ever find out. But God knows, and you are not right in His sight if you bend the truth just ever so slightly for financial gain. Being right with God in this area means that you are honest with your clients, with your vendors, with your employees, with the insurance companies with which you deal, and with the IRS. Making money and not claiming it on your tax return because “they paid in cash” is not morally right. Lying on an insurance claim to obtain more money is ungodly. In business, the Christian will have plenty of opportunities to bend the truth for the sake of making a buck.

In order for you to be a man or woman of integrity, you must be honest 100% of the time. Anybody can be honest only when it benefits them financially. If you are honest 75% of the time because in those times it benefits you to be honest, you are just like the atheist in business – he does the same thing. But Christians – Christians who are right with God – are honest in absolutely every transaction. The catch is this – sometimes being honest will cost you. Which would you rather have – an extra dollar gained by stretching the truth just slightly, or your integrity? Would you rather be able to brag because you pulled the wool over someone’s eyes in a business deal, or would you rather be able to lie down at night and look up to your Creator and say that you did the right thing even though it cost you? Your honest answer will show whether or not you pass this test. If you are not honest 100% of the time, you have failed. Sadly, many Christians when making money fail this test.

The Third Test – The Test of Contentment

I hate to hear a motivational speech given by a person in business. They tell different stories, outline their points differently, and speak with different styles, but they all say the same thing – “Be a millionaire;” “Get more;” “Don’t settle with where you are;” “Set goals and do whatever you have to do to accomplish them;” “Exert blood, sweat, and tears to strike it rich.” What is wrong with the connotation of many of these themes? They go against the entire spirit of the New Testament. While business leaders admonish you to “go higher” and “get rich,” how does that message contrast with the message of the New Testament? Look at Hebrews 13:5 –

Be content with such things as ye have.

As a Christian sets out in business to make money, it is a tremendous temptation to want more. Money is like sugar. Most people cannot eat just one Oreo cookie. When you taste one, you want another. When your hands handle a little money, you want more.

I cannot put in all the disclaimers here. I am not out of touch with business principles. I understand that, from a business standpoint, if a business doesn’t continue to grow, it starts to die. I understand that business owners must constantly calculate how to increase revenue, decrease expenses, and where to invest money to yield the most profitable gains possible. I may come across like I do not understand these things, but I do understand them. In a sense, business owners must never be content. They must always seek to improve.

It is the same way with our spiritual lives. We should always seek ways to improve our devotional time with the Lord. We should always try to improve our time of worship, our level of giving, and the effectiveness of our witness to the world. In these ways Christians should never be content. Spiritually, we should always be growing.

However, Christians should at the same time be content with whatever monetary possessions we have. Have you ever thought of what made Satan fall from heaven? In one word, Satan fell from heaven because of discontentment. God gave Satan a great position, along with great wealth. Satan, however, was not satisfied. He said, “I will ascend;” “I will go higher;” “I will be like God.” Satan’s love for his wealth caused his fall. This is the meaning of I Timothy 6:10, which states that “the love of money is the root of all evil.” It was Satan’s love for his wealth and his discontentment that caused his fall, bringing about the evil in the world as we know it.

Jesus Christ, on the other hand, lived in heaven, being equal with God. But He was willing to forsake the splendor of heaven and come to earth to give his life as a sacrifice for your sins and mine. He forsook heaven to become a man. He was not only content with what He had; He was willing to take a demotion. He took an incredible step down to do what the Father wanted Him to do.

Business owners inevitably deal with other business owners. In doing so, you are constantly surrounded by people whose goals in life include more wealth, more money, more cars, more real estate, more boats, more toys, more vacations – more, more, more. It will be tempting for these goals to become your own. Sadly, many Christians fail the test of contentment.

A Christian who makes a good deal of money should, in a time of devotion, take their spouse’s hand, and ask themselves some serious questions, such as, “If we never make more money than we make right now, are we truly content?” Or, “If God calls us to sell everything and give the profit to a missionary, are we willing to do so?” The honest answer to such questions will speak volumes of your spiritual condition.

Are you more like Satan, demanding to “go higher” and “get more,” or are you more like Christ, willing to take a demotion? Do you desire more of the world, or more of Christ?

Can a Rich Person Go to Heaven?

“For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” -Luke 18:25

These strong words were uttered by none other than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. This statement immediately follows the account of a man whom we know as the “rich young ruler.” The ruler, perhaps a religious ruler, came to Jesus to inquire what it was he must do to inherit eternal life. Christ answered that he need only keep the commandments. To this, the ruler replied that he had kept all the commandments from his boyhood until the present. Christ then instructed him to sell everything he had and give to the poor. Upon this, his face expressed his sadness as he departed with his head bent as low as his spirit.

Upon the ruler's departure, Christ then turned to his disciples and remarked how hard it is for the wealthy to find a place in heaven. In our text of study, we see that Christ taught that it is not only hard for a rich man to be saved, it is actually impossible. Christ plainly stated that you will witness a camel entering through a needle's eye before you will witness a rich man entering heaven. Make no mistake about it – Christ was referring to a sewing needle. Some have tried to downplay the Lord's words by stating that the “Needle's Eye” was a gate in Jerusalem that was so small that camels found great difficulty when passing through it. There was a gate called the “Needle's Eye,” but it was not built until the middle ages and was non-existent in the time of Christ.

Some of you reading this post are stunned that the Lord's words are so strong. You are not alone; the disciples found themselves stunned by these words as well. When told of the impossibility of the rich finding salvation, the disciples replied, “Who then can be saved?” Note the Lord's answer:

“The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” -Luke 18:27

It is impossible for a rich man to be saved – but our God works the impossible. If you meet a wealthy Christian, then do not say you have never seen a miracle. Why is it described as impossible for a rich person to be saved? The simple answer is that the wealthy person needs nothing, so they think. The first step to finding salvation is the admission of your need for it. Until you see a need for salvation, you will remain lost. Consequently, the wealthy person sees no need for anything, including and especially Jesus Christ. Everything that Christ offers – the wealthy person feels that they can buy it. Because of this, it takes a divine miracle for God to save one who is rich.

In my next post, I will look at the Christian who desires to become wealthy. Are there wealthy Christians? Yes. Are there wealthy Christians who are living an abundant Christian life, making a tremendous impact for the kingdom of God? They are very few and far between. Why is this? We shall see in the immediate upcoming post.