1 Corinthians 8:8
In the
course of explaining how 'strong' Christians should heed the problems of ‘weak’
Christians and avoid undermining their faith, Paul makes an aside that we ought
to spend at least one day reflecting on.
Given
that the Christians in Corinth had a right to eat food that had been sacrificed
to idols, what benefit was there in exercising that right? Would it commend
them to God? Paul says, No. Would they be worse off for not eating it? No. Would they be better off if they did eat it. Again, No. We could fairly ask, So why all
the bother?
When we
consider our career choices, salary status and spending decisions about everything from a new home
to a holiday to a makeover, we could ask ourselves these questions.
- Will it commend me to God? Will I be worse off not doing it? Will I be better off if I do?
When we
evaluate the marketing hype and persuasive sales talk, many of the things we are
asked to spend our money on are really of no consequence. They may reflect
fashion and fads, and some people will be impressed, but nothing more. They may
be legitimate, enjoyable distractions that involve neither greed, gluttony or
lust, but nevertheless be of no consequence.
Jesus
said that we should store up treasure in heaven, not on earth (see Matthew
13:44 & 19:21). It takes clarity and determination to do this, especially
living in a society that sees material acquisition as a virtue and attributes
to it so much social significance. After telling the parable of the dishonest
manager, Jesus told the pious Pharisees, who were lovers of money, something similar:
to use their ‘unrighteous wealth’ to make friends for eternity (see Luke 16). I assume Jesus did not mean to suggest they continued to accumulating
material wealth but to use what they already had with eternal purpose.
The wealth these Pharisees had accumulated was 'unrighteous' not because it had been obtained illegally, or even unethically, or because there is something inherently wrong with wealth, but because they had loved it for itself. It was the fruit of their covert love of money, not their public love of God.
The wealth these Pharisees had accumulated was 'unrighteous' not because it had been obtained illegally, or even unethically, or because there is something inherently wrong with wealth, but because they had loved it for itself. It was the fruit of their covert love of money, not their public love of God.
We need
to insert another important qualification. St Paul is concerned about ‘weak’ Christians,
not about those who simply want to impose their own standards on others.
Covering similar ground in Romans 14, Paul is clear that Christians are neither
to judge nor despise each other about these sorts of things but to be clear in their
own minds about what God wants and to live according to their own consciences.
Paul even goes so far as to suggest that sincerity and a good conscience are
more important that a correct understanding, although he does say that ‘each
one should be fully convinced in his own mind’, giving no excuse for shabby
thinking and false pretexts in trying to understand what is right.
_____________________________________________
You
have been sent this e-mail because you subscribed to Reflections on God & Money.
Copyright © All Souls Clubhouse Community Centre & Church and Philip Evans
2013. You are welcome to copy these Reflections for circulation to family and
friends on a non-profit basis.
Scripture
quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright
© 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by
permission. All rights reserved.
Handling
money and dealing with debt can be complicated and neither the author nor
anyone else involved in the production of these Reflections is responsible for
any action you take, or fail to take, based on what is written here.
