The following is from the Asbury Collegian, written by their editorial board, February 2, 2007. “Christians And Wealth: If you’ve got it, don’t flaunt it”
Do you ever sit in a location, say a shopping mall or boardwalk, marveling at all the different sorts of people that happen by? We all people-watch from time to time, taking note of an angst-filled teen moping by, his countenance riddled with piercings, or a Chanel-suited lady, her high-heels clicking as she struts past with the gate of a Lipizzaner stallion.
What opinions do people form about us as we walk by? Will the first thing they notice be our Louis Vuitton handbags? Designer jeans or shoes? A key ring studded with the logo of a sports car, dancing and dangling from our fingertips?
People will make lots of assumptions about us based on the way we outfit ourselves – whether simply and frugally or flashily and expensively. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with earning a lot of money or being affluent, or even owning nice things, there comes a point when excess is unacceptable.
Even if one might feel justified in purchasing a new luxury car by having given a great deal of money away for good purposes, what purpose does the purchase serve? What do we have to prove that we must clothe ourselves with the clothing of kings and drive automobiles favored by heads of state?
Christ had a lot to say on this matter; in fact money is one of the most frequently discussed topics of the Gospels. Jesus said: “No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
As Christians we are to have a burden for the poor, not a burden for a Bimmer and certainly not a burden for both. Even with abundant resources in our lives, overindulgence to support a wealthy image has nothing to do with Christ and everything to do with ourselves.
