\u00a0<\/p>\n
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According to this video from Ed Young (a clip he posted), \u201cyou can\u2019t make an argument scripturally for anti-tangible stuff\u201d.<\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=mjjUUlOBwC8<\/a>\n<\/p> Well, nothing but love for Ed Young, but I thought I\u2019d take up the challenge.<\/p>\n We could look at the historical tradition of the church in which countless men and women, not least of all monks, priests, and nuns, lived lives of self-denial in order to be more like Jesus, but since Pastor Young wants to focus on the Bible we can do that.<\/p>\n Where to start?<\/p>\n How about the Psalms, they always have nice things to say. From Psalm 52\u2026.<\/p>\n \u00a01<\/sup>\u00a0Why do you boast of evil, you mighty hero?\u00a0<\/em> \u00a05<\/sup>\u00a0Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin:\u00a0<\/em> The book of Proverbs always has some good nuggets of wisdom, like for example this passage from Proverbs 13:7,<\/p>\n \u00a07<\/sup>\u00a0One person pretends to be rich, yet has nothing;\u00a0<\/em> Ecclesiastes can get a bit gloomy sometimes, but it\u2019s honest, which I like. There\u2019s raw honesty like this passage from Ecclesiastes 2,<\/p>\n 4<\/sup>\u00a0I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards.\u00a05<\/sup>\u00a0I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them.\u00a06<\/sup>\u00a0I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees.\u00a07<\/sup>\u00a0I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me.\u00a08<\/sup>\u00a0I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem[a<\/a>]<\/sup>\u00a0as well\u2014the delights of a man\u2019s heart.\u00a09<\/sup>\u00a0I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a010<\/sup>\u00a0I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;\u00a0<\/em> Then of course, you\u2019ve got that poor homeless preacher, who despite Ed\u2019s claim wasn\u2019t actually a \u201cmulti-billionare.\u201d This will probably comes as a bit of a shock, but Jesus had lots to say about money and stuff\u2026.<\/p>\n There\u2019s the Beatitudes\u2026.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cBlessed are you who are poor,\u00a0<\/em> And that other great passage from the Sermon on the Mount about having stuff\u2026<\/p>\n 19<\/sup>\u00a0\u201cDo not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.\u00a020<\/sup>\u00a0But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.\u00a021<\/sup>\u00a0For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.<\/em><\/p>\n Of course, you can\u2019t forget that infamous encounter with the rich guy\u2026.<\/p>\n 16<\/sup>\u00a0Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, \u201cTeacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?\u201d \u00a0<\/em>17<\/sup>\u00a0\u201cWhy do you ask me about what is good?\u201d\u00a0Jesus replied.\u00a0\u201cThere is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>18<\/sup>\u00a0\u201cWhich ones?\u201d he inquired.\u00a0<\/em>Jesus replied,\u00a0\u201c\u2018You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony,\u00a019<\/sup>\u00a0honor your father and mother,\u2019\u00a0and \u2018love your neighbor as yourself.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/em>20<\/sup>\u00a0\u201cAll these I have kept,\u201d the young man said. \u201cWhat do I still lack?\u201d\u00a0<\/em>21<\/sup>\u00a0Jesus answered,\u00a0\u201cIf you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>22<\/sup>\u00a0When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.\u00a023<\/sup>\u00a0Then Jesus said to his disciples,\u00a0\u201cTruly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.24<\/sup>\u00a0Again 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.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n And then there\u2019s that troublesome passage from Acts 4 describing the early church\u2019s thoughts on having stuff:<\/p>\n 32<\/sup>\u00a0All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.\u00a033<\/sup>\u00a0With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God\u2019s grace was so powerfully at work in them all\u00a034<\/sup>\u00a0that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales\u00a035<\/sup>\u00a0and put it at the apostles\u2019 feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.<\/em><\/p>\n Just like Jesus, Paul wasn\u2019t a big fan of stuff either. Here\u2019s his charge to Timothy in his first letter to the young disciple,<\/p>\n 6<\/sup>\u00a0But godliness with contentment is great gain.\u00a07<\/sup>\u00a0For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.\u00a08<\/sup>\u00a0But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.\u00a09<\/sup>\u00a0Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.\u00a010<\/sup>\u00a0For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.<\/em><\/p>\n And more thoughts from Paul on the lifestyle of Christians in his letter to the Corinthians\u2026.<\/p>\n 3<\/sup>\u00a0We put no stumbling block in anyone\u2019s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited.\u00a04<\/sup>\u00a0Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses;\u00a05<\/sup>\u00a0in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger;\u00a06<\/sup>\u00a0in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love;\u00a07<\/sup>\u00a0in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left;\u00a08<\/sup>\u00a0through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors;\u00a09<\/sup>\u00a0known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed;\u00a010<\/sup>\u00a0sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.<\/em><\/p>\n There\u2019s plenty of other passages I could list, but this is a blog, not a doctoral thesis.<\/p>\n At the risk of being accused and found guilty of proof texting, please allow me a brief defense.<\/p>\n With the exception of the passage from Proverbs and the section from the Beautitudes I have tried to present each Biblical passage in as much context as the brevity of a blog will allow. The verse from Proverbs is brief because unlike much of the rest of the Bible it is a collection of brief wisdom saying, which in most cases were meant to be \u201cone liners\u201d.<\/p>\n Likewise, the Beatitudes were meant to be brief nuggets of truth. The only reason I didn\u2019t include the rest is that I assume (perhaps incorrectly) that most people are familiar with the rest Beatitudes which follow the same tone as the ones mentioned above.<\/p>\n My purpose in listing these passages is not to make a definitive case against Ed Young and say \u201cYou\u2019re wrong and this, this, this, and this verse proves it.\u201d<\/p>\n Rather, in highlighting passages from both the Old and New Testaments, from wisdom literature, the gospels, and the epistles, I am trying to demonstrate that not only can a case be made against \u201cstuff\u201d, but that the case is not one which can only be made via selective proof-texting. It is made by examining the \u201cwhole sweep of scripture<\/a>\u201c. In doing so, I think we find a narrative which doesn\u2019t seem to look that favorably on accumulating wealth. At least not material wealth.<\/p>\n That being said, are there passages in which God blesses His people tangibly? Absolutely. There\u2019s several of those passages scattered throughout the Bible.<\/p>\n The point I\u2019m trying to make is that Ed isn\u2019t quite on the mark when he says an \u201canti-tangible\u201d stuff case can\u2019t me made from scripture.<\/p>\n It can.<\/p>\n And it should be to keep us from thinking that faith is something that will reward us materially.<\/p>\n After all, how many saints of the church can you think of that died wealthy? Or who lived lives of great material prosperity and comfort?<\/p>\n Now, I do acknowledge and appreciate Pastor Ed\u2019s comments that he does not support the \u201cprosperity gospel\u201d. But it seems like he\u2019s splitting hairs a bit. It seems like he\u2019s saying God doesn\u2019t want everybody to be rich, just some of us. Which I guess could be true. He is God after all and you could find some verses in the Bible to support that argument.<\/p>\n Lucky for Ed, he seems to be one of the people God has chosen to have lots of \u201cstuff\u201d.<\/p>\n Grace and peace,<\/p>\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Why do you boast all day long,\u00a0<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God?\u00a0<\/em>
\n2<\/sup>\u00a0You who practice deceit,\u00a0<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0your tongue plots destruction;\u00a0<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0it is like a sharpened razor.\u00a0<\/em>
\n3<\/sup>\u00a0You love evil rather than good,\u00a0<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0falsehood rather than speaking the truth.[c<\/a>]<\/sup>\u00a0<\/em>
\n4<\/sup>\u00a0You love every harmful word,\u00a0<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0you deceitful tongue!<\/em><\/p>\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He will snatch you up and pluck you from your tent;\u00a0<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0he will uproot you from the land of the living.\u00a0<\/em>
\n6<\/sup>\u00a0The righteous will see and fear;\u00a0<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0they will laugh at you, saying,\u00a0<\/em>
\n7<\/sup>\u00a0\u201cHere now is the man\u00a0<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0who did not make God his stronghold\u00a0<\/em>
\nbut trusted in his great wealth\u00a0<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and grew strong by destroying others!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.<\/em><\/p>\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I refused my heart no pleasure.\u00a0<\/em>
\nMy heart took delight in all my labor,\u00a0<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and this was the reward for all my toil.\u00a0<\/em>
\n11<\/sup>\u00a0Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done\u00a0<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and what I had toiled to achieve,\u00a0<\/em>
\neverything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;\u00a0<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0nothing was gained under the sun.<\/em><\/p>\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0for yours is the kingdom of God.\u00a0<\/em>
\n21<\/sup>\u00a0Blessed are you who hunger now,\u00a0<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0for you will be satisfied.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n