Can You Be Rich And A Christian?

Most Xns I know are not prosperity gospel devotees. But, they will say things like "there's nothing in the bible that says you can't be rich and a Xn". I got to thinking recently is that true?

Firstly what is rich? Most people I know wouldn't consider me rich. Mainly because they live in a better suburb have higher incomes and drive nicer cars than me. But compared to people through out time I am friggin’ loaded and compared to people round the world I am also friggin’ loaded. Purely by having running water a flushing toilets more clothing than I can wear in a week, a perfectly functioning mode of transport that will get anywhere around the city I live, a telephone, Internet connection, food that is so cheap and plentiful it only takes up 20% of the family budget and stable housing that I will one day own outright... means I am extremely rich. This is far far more than almost anyone in the world past or present could even imagine being possible.

None the less most people I know would not consider me rich. So one of the problems is that the average westerner understands rich as simply having more than most of those around you. So for someone with more than average in a poor suburb might feel richer than someone less than average in a rich suburb even though the first person might have less than the second person.

None the less lets look at some of the texts...

Mathew 19:21 The Rich Young Man

Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."

Proverbs 23:4

Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to desist.

Luke 16:13

No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." God The Pharisees, who were lovers of money , heard all this, and they ridiculed him.

Acts 5:1-5

But a man named Ananias, with the consent of his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property; with his wife's knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds, and brought only a part and laid it at the apostles' feet. "Ananias," Peter asked, "why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, were not the proceeds at your disposal? How is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You did not lie to us but to God!" Now when Ananias heard these words, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard of it.

The first Xns to be chucked out of church is a couple who die because they sold their own property and didn't share all proceeds with everyone. Can you imagine a church visitors card with...

[] I would like to find out more about becoming a member if this Church (N.B this will involve selling all you own and contributing that to a common pool)

Matthew 19:24

Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."

Here Jesus is comparing the biggest known object with smallest known hole. Although I've often heard people say this just means it's harder not impossible. I don't think could be right. Surely the point is that this is something that is physically impossible.

Psalm 49:1-9

Hear this, all you peoples; give ear, all inhabitants of the world, both low and high, rich and poor together. My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding. I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will solve my riddle to the music of the harp. Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me, those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches? Truly, no ransom avails for one's life, there is no price one can give to God for it. For the ransom of life is costly, and can never suffice, that one should live on forever and never see the grave.
rich to grave rest of us restored

1 Timothy 6:10

Money is the root of all evil

The list goes on and on... Especially from Jesus. Here are some of Jesus sayings about money. (Care of www.pcusa.org/stewardship/bigtent/jesusmary.pdf)

Money and Possessions

• The Rich Fool—Luke 12:16-21
• The Shrewd Manager 16:1-8
• The Talents—Matthew 25:14-30; Luke 19:11-27

God’s Ownership

• The Cost of Discipleship—Luke 14:28-33
• The Faithful and Wise Servant—Matthew 24:45-51; Luke 12:42-48
• The Great Banquet—Luke 14:16-24
• The Master and his Servant—Luke 17:7-10
• The Shepherd and his Flock—John 10:1-18
• The Tenants—Matthew 21:33-44; Mark 12:1-11; Luke 20:9-18
• The Thief—Matthew 24:42-44; Luke 12:39-40
• The Two Sons—Matthew 21:28-32
• The Unfruitful Fig Tree—Luke 13:6-9
• The Unmerciful Servant—Matthew 18:23-35
• The Watchful Servants—Mark 13:34-37; Luke 12:35-40
• The Wedding Banquet—Matthew 22:2-14
• Human Prosperity and Poverty
• The Lost Sheep—Matthew 18:12-14; Luke 15:4-7
• The Rich Man and Lazarus—Luke 16:19-31
• The Widow’s Mite—Mark 12:43-44
• Bigger Barns—Luke 12:16-21

Gratitude

• The Workers in the Vineyard—Matthew 20:1-16
• The Pharisee and the Tax Collector—Luke 18:9-14
• Woman Anointing Jesus—Luke 7:36-49
• Following God in Finances
• Two Masters—Matthew 6:24
• Deny Self and Follow Me—Matthew 16:24-26
• Don’t Worry About Life—Luke 12:22-34
• Good Measure will be Given Back—Luke 6:37-38
• Much Given, Much Required—Luke 12:48

Eternal Reward

• The Hidden Treasure—Matthew 13:44
• The Lowest Seat at the Feast—Luke 14:7-14
• The Sheep and the Goats—Matthew 25:31-46
• The Valuable Pearl—Matthew 13:45-46
• The Wise and Foolish Builders—Matthew 7:24-27; Luke 6:46-49

And, it's all through the law and the prophets too. One of the things that marks the God’s people being how they care for the poor. This was taken up by the early church who were well known for how they looked after the poor.

For most of us we don't think as ourselves as being greedy when we are accumulating wealth. We usually talk about being good stewards of our money. Saving it for a rainy day but Jesus even challenges this kind of thinking.

Luke 12:22-34

He said to his disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. "Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

When it comes to stewardship I'm pretty sure that most of what is talked about as good stewardship is how we handle other peoples money not how we handle our own So it's more like how we handle the company expense account or how charities handle monies donated in grants. Not whether we buy a share portfolio or invest in property.

Obviously the prosperity gospel is about a neat a fit with the text as Satan worshipping random acts violence gospel. When it comes to the question can you be rich and a Xn. I reckon the answer just has to be no.

A few years ago I went to what I'd describe as a Xn money scam seminar. Kind of a "God wants you to get rich quick and here's how". The question was asked can you handle the responsibility of looking after huge amounts of cash for God? I could feel the whole room itching to yell out "yes!!!" In a moment of quiet introspection I thought you know what I don't think I could be appropriately generous if I had loads of cash. I'd live in a better suburb drive a better car and buy a real nice guitar. Years later I''m still living in a suburb that is synonymous with unemployment or at best blue collar but not trade qualified. So, it was quite a surprise to see one of the seminar lecturers living in the same suburb as me. I wondered did everything fall flat for him or is he earning huge dollars but choosing to slum it. I just wasn't brave enough to ask.

Daddy's Cheap Arse Recpies

As a stay at home dad I decided to make as much of my own stuff as possible. To start with that's Dishwashing powder and washing powder. It's heaps cheaper and good for the environment. I was asked by a friend "are the recipes on your blog?" well now they are...

Clothes Washing Powder

5 cups shaved soap or Lux flakes
2 cups washing soda
2 cups bicarbonate of soda
2 cups of borax

Mix & Use 2 tablespoons per wash.

Dishwashing Powder

50% Borax
50% Washing Soda

2 Table spoons per wash

White Vinegar in the rinse aid part of the machine

2 teaspoons per wash

To Mobile Or Not To Mobile

I have never owned my own mobile phone every job I’ve had for the last 10 years has always come with one now as I move to home dad full time I have to work out if I want to get a phone of my own. I'm lucky enough to own an old palm pilot that I can around religiously and use to blog write thoughts and lists. I love everything about it except that people call me on it. Quiet possibly the reason I wince every time I hear my ringtone is because the call will most likely be work related.

I Want To Build An Earthship

Last week I watched the film Garbage Warrior. The story of Michael Reynolds, an architect who builds self sufficient homes made out of garbage. The houses are made out of tiyes, bottles & cans. all the power is solar and wind, all the water is collected, recycled including grey water through a vegetable growing green house at front of the house. with angled glass at the sun facing side of the house and a huge thermal mass in the back of the house.

I want to build one.

Apart from the obvious difficulty of building your own house finding a council that will let you build a house out of tyres that is not connected to any services will be all but impossible.

Below are a couple of clips to get you acquainted with Earthship buildings.

Roadside Chuck Out

Every year or so each council in Perth has a roadside chuck out. That's where people throw onto their verge all the junk that has been sitting in their garage that they are no longer going to use. In reality it's a chance for neighbours to swap junk with each other. In previous years I've picked up rugs, wardrobes and a groovy old retro fan. This year I scored big time, with a wooden crate that soon became a coffee table and...

... a fully functioning 2 in 1 DVD and player and video recorder.

Making "Make Affluence History"

With the arrival of a new child blogging has become a bit slow. None the less I have continued to have a life outside of blogging and changing nappies at 2am. I've recently been inspired by the idea of Make Affluence History as a necessary shadow of the Make Poverty History campaign. I decided to make some Make Affluence History clothing. Sticking with spirit of the Making Affluence History the jumper is an old work jumper that is no longer used and some old brown tracksuit material and some old thread.

Front Before

Back Before

Front After

Back After

Luke 18:22, for those of you who have never learnt it as a memory verse says...

When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."

Chickens Ahoy!

We now have chickens. Three to be exact.

two of the three walking through the vegie patch

Scarlett does an egg inspection

the vegie patch, chicken run and compost heap

An inspiring atheist's call to appreciate how lucky we are

Cameron Reilly's a hardcore atheist and a great thinker with a big heart.

Reply on Seesmic.

This is a mantra that we all need to be saying to ourselves everyday, people sometimes shriek at the idea that I support a family on less than 50k a year and live in arguably Perth’s most bogan suburb. It’s so easy to start thinking I need a new car rather than one that’s 10 years old, I need to live in a nicer suburb, I need to regular go on interstate or even overseas holidays. This is all a meaningless chasing of the wind. The reality is I’m living the high life it’s just that I spend my time comparing myself to the people richer than me.

Bah Humbug

Christmas is rapidly approaching and i am feeling completely underwhelmed by it all. There are a couple of things that I have real trouble trying to shake off. The first is that Christmas is a celebration of the winter solstice which is why we have fake fruit (Christmas decorations) on fruitless trees and all those snow images which feels quite disconcerting when it's approaching 40 degrees outside. The second things is that the Bible and I suspect the early church didn't talk much about Christmas. Paul never mentions Xmas and only two of the gospel writers even talk about Jesus birth. Finally, aside from these two things, there is what Xmas is today, an orgy of indulgent consumption. It's a chance for our society to buy ourselves all those things we don't really need and, for people we don't know well, a chance to buy them something they don't even want. next year I'm putting my foot down and only accept receipts from charities as a Xmas gift. My first recommendation for any gift giving friend will be to go to Tear's Really useful gift catalog.

Critical Child Rearing Mistake No. 6 - Food doesn't come from the Supermarket

With a now thriving veggie patch and fruit trees I thought it would be a great way to teach my daughter that food doesn't come from the supermarket.

Only problem is that I think that she now doesn't think twice about trying to eat anything in anyones backyard. A small price to pay for having a daughter who loves the taste of lettuce. Here's a picture of the whole veggie patch.

It's an improvement since last year.

Leunig by my Front Door

I've put an edited version of a Leunig Poem I stumbled upon at a toy shop next to my front door.


The poem reminds me of my path to finding God's door. A path that is a path within and is as much the result of joy as sorrow. Here's how it appears next to my door.

The path to your door
Is the path within
Is lined by flowers
Is lined by thorns.
Is stained with wine
Is washed with joy
is swept by grief.
Is known by heart.
Is known by prayer.
Is lost and found.
Is always strange.
The path to your door......Leunig

This is ths original poem...

The path to your door
Is the path within: is made by animals.
Is lined by flowers. Is lined by thorns.
Is stained with wine. Is lit by the lamp of sorrowful dreams:
Is washed with joy, is swept by grief.
Is blessed by the lonely traffic of art:
Is known by heart.
Is known by prayer.
Is lost and found.
Is always strange.
The path to your door......Leunig

Tomatoes!

For the few who are keen to know how the veggie patch is going. The answer is some good and some bad. Things are looking promising but self sustainability is a long way off unless I can learn to live solely on Tomatoes. They've been great, even growing in a bed where we hadn't put any seeds (with much thanks to the compost heap that has fertilised the veggie patch). This is the latest haul.


We'll eat some and dry the rest.

Five Blades are here

Only a month ago I joked that surely no razor producing company would try to produce a five blade razor (I thought 4 was silly enough). Well, they have and what's more it can be battery powered (I still don't know what the batteries do). Another triumph for pointless over engineering. Stay tuned for six blades!

Time Budget

A while ago I posted about getting into a rhythm as much as I'd love to be able to draft a timetable for the week that's just not going to happen. Some weeks are really hectic and other weeks are more relaxed some weeks I work nights and some weeks I work weekends. None the less I've decided that in average I can set aside 21 hours of time a week (2 hrs per night and 6 hours per weekend) with which to do stuff that isn't work, sleep, cleaning, eating and hanging out with the family.

So, each week I've allocated time to do different things, these are...

• 2 hrs for a Date with wife
• 2 hrs for time with extended family
• 2 hrs for time with Friends
• 2 hrs for walking
• 3 hrs for blogging and emailing
• 2 hrs for guitar playing
• 3 hrs for house and garden maintenance
  
• 2 hrs for TV
• 2 hrs for Church
• 2 hrs for Xn Study or Action (like writing letters for Amnesty)

Some of these things are things I tend to not enough of like having a date with the wife or playing guitar. So the times kind of act as a bare minimum. Other things like blogging or watching TV are thing that I tend to do too much so these act like maximums.

On top of this I'm also either doing a meditation or going for a run and then read part of the Bible each morning. Finally I'm having a cup of tea each day with my wife.

I know this all sounds kind of complicated but I tend to use my time like a teenager with a credit card, focusing on one thing to detriment of everything else. The idea is that this will keep me accountable and I won't be blogging without hanging out with my wife or watching TV instead playing guitar. That in the same way that having a budget has freed me up to spend money more wisely that having a time budget might free me up to spend my time more wisely.

Over Engineering

I am constantly amazed at the over engineering of products which have pretty much reached the pinnacle of their design. The shaving razor and tooth brush are two great examples. I can't imagine anyone wishing either of these two things had a few extra features. Alas, that doesn't sell new products or switch brand loyalty. Once razors came as a single blade but now you can buy them with double, triple or even quadruple blades. With it being highly unlikely that five blades will get people changing brands designers have to come up with other selling points, the most recent ridiculous one I have seen is the battery powered razor. This is not an electric shaver but manual razor with a battery in it. What the battery does I have no idea and the advertising doesn't tell you either. Similarly the latest toothbrush advert I have seen advertises a tooth brush with an on board computer. Again the advertising does not say what the computer does and again I cannot imagine what it could possibly do.

That someone could think of these ideas is one thing. That someone could think of them, someone else could make them and profit from them and that we buy them is another thing. Whilst so many around the world and in our own country suffer from lack of even basic health care it is a poor reflection on our society that we would consider a battery powered razor or tooth brush with an on board computer as a worth while item.

Happiness is a Warm Hut

Last month The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Vanuatu one of the worlds poorest nations is in fact the happiest.

This is not a consumer-driven society. Life here is about community and family and goodwill to other people. It's a place where you don't worry too much.

Maybe we have a lot to learn from these people.

Shirt Fetish

Last weekend my wife pointed out to me that I have a shirt fetish. I had bought 4 new shirts that weekend (two brand new from target for $4.86 each! I'm wearing one of them in the picture) this made a total of 28 shirts she felt that this was not quite in keeping with our Live Simply philosophy, and since she quite adequately argued that I hadn't worn many of them for years and there are other people who might like to wear them I agreed it was time for a cull - I'm glad three velvet jackets or two pairs of velvet pants does not constitute a fetish. The shirt cull was very painful because for most of my life I have lived without a camera instead I have kept my memories in shirts (velvet jackets and the occasional pair of terry toweling shorts).

I culled only a handful from of my collection (this is a before the cull picture) . The wedding shirt, first date shirt all had to stay, the shirt I wore the day I moved into the house where I met my wife had to go. My first groovy opshop shirt had to go (as much as I hate to admit it now, it's not actually that groovy). The first groovy opshop shirt my wife bought me had to stay. As hard as the culling of my cotton and occasionally polyester memory banks was I'll have to trust that my memories have gone to a better place, and that there will be more and better empty memory banks for me to find hanging on discount racks and at opshops.

Veggie Explosion

Well it was 6 months ago that I built some veggie boxes and now they have stuff growing in them. What's more some of that stuff is edible!

This is the snow peas and pumpkins, As you can see we underestimated how big the snowpeas would get and we killed the pumpkins, hence half the box is empty. I have no idea how they seemed to grow like weeds last time I tried.

This is the carrots and broccoli. Way more than we expected.

This is the cauliflower and spinach. Way more than we expected.

This is the herbs - more to plant later.

This is the strawberries - only planted recently.

All in all I'm pretty happy with our first stab we should have enough carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and spinach to feed the entire street. The spinach tastes great as does the herbs we are yet to eat anything else. I can recommend Eden Seeds if you like the idea of 98% of your seeds turning into plants. I have an aim to be growing at least 50% of everything we eat. We also have apples, peach, plums, grapes, avocado, mango, fig, pear, apricot, lime and mandarin trees. We got to eat a hand full of delicious plums this year. I think we could be on our way to 50%. Hopefully we can prove that sustainable living in a regular suburb with regular off the shelf house is possible.

My future sustainability projects include setting up a water tank and solar power. Solar will be for the unpowered shed to start and eventually I'd like to do the whole house but have no idea who to get help from. I need someone who will let me DIY most of it (it's way expensive if you get someone to set the whole thing up for you).

Living comfortably with not much

In my quest to try and live simply, I am always try to remind myself that although most of the time most of us feel poor we are actually really rich and I was heartend to hear 70 year old Hugh Stretton say this on Counterpoint.

You may think it's a fanciful idea but I would like to report that I just happen to have had a happy middle class childhood some way out of Melbourne in an outer suburb where's there's plenty of space. I had a brother and a sister and we had an old motor car, the family did, and we went for an annual holiday about 100 miles away, and we did a lot of things that kids want to do now and greatly enjoyed them. There's a great deal of stuff we didn't have and do, but if I cost that happy childhood as it would cost now, if that's all you had now, it wouldn't cost too much, it would be open to nearly everybody. But then there would have to have been, I suppose, better education for more parents, things like that, but those again don't have to cost too much.

This was a life, I suspect, with out $3000 stainless steel BBQ's, plasma screen TV's, ensuites on bedrooms, overseas or interstate holidays, dishwashers, new cars, iPods, mobile phones, etc... But everything someone needs to make them happy.

Vegies Ahoy!

Well after sweat tears and five stitches (see picture below) and lots of listening to Ross and Terri (season 1 website). I now have a vegie patch ready to fill with vegies.