Why is it that most if not all churches extol the fact the virtue of Jesus as the itinerant, son of a poor carpenter, who after overturning the money tables got himself killed in lieu of a murderer?
We are supposed to follow his example. Right?
Well, how much do you like the idea of getting yourself beaten to a bloody pulp and then nailed to a cross?
Doesn’t sound like such a great idea. And it seems like even Jesus wasn’t that excited about his prospects the night before his execution.
Now, I do believe that seeking to be as pure in spirit as possibly is a great goal and that for much of his life Jesus showed us how to do this.
But, if Jesus really went to the cross for our sins, past, present, and future, then for goodness sakes why the hell should we listen to all this crazy talk that we normally get from preachers that we are supposed to be financially poor just like Jesus.
If this whole bit about Jesus dying so we can live is really true, wouldn’t it be a much better interpretation that Jesus life allows us to live our own life as fully as possible and with that comes the blessing to be rich?
Do you really think that God wants you to be spiritually wealthy, but financially destitute?
This seems incomprehensible from a God filled with grace.
And if God is indifferent, well then we are on our own to make the best choice we can make.
So now really think. Why should it be that God would send down his only son so he could butcher him in front of everyone and proclaim that those who are poor are going to do the best in the afterlife.
And isn’t it interesting that despite talking down the importance of money, all churches are seeking to get money in the door from their petitioners?
I have come to the conclusion that this is either pure hypocritical nonsense or something quite entirely different than what is commonly preached is going on.
Now, pure hypocrisy is easy enough for anyone to sniff out, so let’s dwell on the later.
Here, I think what is really going on is that Jesus was seeking to get people who really didn’t understand much about life and who were almost exclusively focused on the material world to place much more focus on the spiritual world.
Hence his statement: “Man does not live by bread alone.”
But as we all know, notwithstanding the above: man still does need bread to live.
In essence, what Jesus did was to provide a complete counterweight to the focus on the material world by living a life which was virtually exclusively focused on spiritual life.
Well, I do believe that we are spiritual beings having a physical experience.
The result is that we can start at the spiritual level and form a picture in our mind of our ideal life and then through physical action – which will involve the changing of habits – we are able to bring that vision of reality into being.
In other words, abundance of spirit when flowing properly ultimately manifests itself in happiness, health, and (yes) wealth.
As far as I am concerned, any preacher that suggests that you should be poor in any shape or form is nothing more than a “false prophet.”
Or should I a “false profit!”
Have a great Sunday! It’s both a bit chilly and foggy this morning, but like the mystery of being a poor Christian, in a short time this weather will also clear.