CHAPTER THREE
The Rich Man
The parable begins with the words ‘There was a certain rich man who had a steward…’ and the first question that needs to be answered for any business person or aspiring businessperson is – ‘Is it wrong to be rich?’ Is being rich, biblically incorrect? Does wealth exclude us from the kingdom of God and His eternal blessings, knowing that the essence of any business is the accumulation of wealth?
Those who consider poverty a virtue often quote the story of the rich young ruler in Matthew 19.
And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.(Matt.19:16-24)
Reading that last verse will send shivers down the spine of any believing rich man, which is not necessary. Looking back at verse 22 we see that the young man was ‘sorrowful’ when he heard that he must dispose of all he had. So sorrowful, in fact, that he was willing to disobey the Word of God, willing to ignore heavenly advice. It is obvious that his possessions were his problem. They had become his all and he had allowed his possessions to become his reason for living, he believed life was not worth living without them, even life eternal.
Looking back through the Bible at other great men of faith, we see a number of them were men of wealth, too. Abraham for one,
And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. (Gen.13:2)
But Abraham’s great attribute was that he never allowed his wealth to get between him and God.
And he believed in the LORD; and He counted it to him for righteousness. (Gen.15:6)
Not a word about the wrongs of being wealthy is mentioned, in fact, in the book of Chronicles Abraham is called God’s friend, something God would not allow if wealth was a sin or ungodly. Abraham was not judged because of his great wealth, but rather the state of his heart. He was more than willing to give it all away if it seemed that his relationship with God would at all be compromised by it.
And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.
And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,
That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:(Gen:14:21-23)
After Abraham came Isaac, Jacob, both immensely wealthy men, and Joseph, Prime Minister of Egypt.
David, as King of Israel had everything, power, status and wealth, but not once, even when he sinned or abused his power, did David allow it to get in the way of his personal relationship with God.
Peter, a poor fisherman:
Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.
And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.
And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.
And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.
When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:
And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.
And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.(Luke 5:4-11)
Fish represented wealth to Peter, and two boatloads full of fish must have been very tempting for a fisherman who had struggled all his life to make ends meet, but, even at that early stage of his discipleship, Peter realized that there was more to life than earthly treasures which moth and rust can destroy.
What of Matthew, the tax collector called by Jesus to be a disciple, he too had wealth as seen by the great feast he laid on for Jesus, but not once was he condemned for it. He was quite prepared to leave it all behind.
And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me.
And he left all, rose up, and followed him.
And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them. (Luke 5:27-29)
Faith, in God, was the criteria for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, for David and Matthew too. On the other end of the scale we have Elijah and John the Baptist, roaming the countryside in camel hair coats and leather belts, poor and penniless, eating wild honey and locusts.
How much less to him that accepteth not the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor? for they all are the work of his hands.(Job.34:19)
And again,
The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all.(Prov.22:2)
The Lord regards all equally, neither exalting one above the other. It is not the condition of your purse that matters, but rather the condition of your heart. Ask yourself this, ‘how would I feel if God told me to give away all my wealth, and everything I had?’
There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.(Prov.13:7)
Wealth in itself is neither good nor evil.
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.(1Tim.6:10)
The love of money tends to cloud our vision, compromise our faith and betray God and His precepts. Money must always be subordinate to the will of God.
On two occasions James seems to strike out against wealth:
Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted:
But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.
For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways. (Jam.1:9-11)
James is exhorting the rich to humility, not poverty, warning that he ‘will fade away’ if he follows the way of the world. We must not be caught up in the things of this world. Money has a way of taking our focus off God, but we must pursue Him in all that we do.
Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.
Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.(Jam.5:1-6)
It is not wealth that James is condemning, but the manner in which some have acquired their riches. These are terrible words of warning to those who enriched themselves at the expense of others. ‘Fraud, condemned, murdered’, words attributed to ill-gotten gains, injustices perpetrated by unscrupulous profiteers. We serve a righteous God, and we expect to be judged fairly. Therefore we must deal with others in fairness. Paul, in his letter to Timothy, describes a good attitude towards wealth:
Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;
That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; (1Tim.6:17-18)
Your approach to money, how you attain it, how you manage it, how you regard it, even how you spend it, reveals the condition of your heart. Being wealthy does not mean you are a sinner, being proud, arrogant, miserly, dishonest does.
The crown of the wise is their riches:
(Prov. 14:24a)
Solomon, David’s successor, was asked by God what he desired most. He could have asked for wealth, fame, power, influence, but no, he chose wisdom so that he could rule God’s people wisely. This so impressed God, that the Lord gave him riches and honor as well.
In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.
And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.
And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.
And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.
Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?
And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.
And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment;
Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.
And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.
And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.
And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.(1Ki.3:5-15)
Later in life Solomon would forget his promise and travel another path, a road that would lead to the destruction of his nation. Godly wisdom was replaced by worldly intelligence, heavenly glory would succumb to the trappings of the flesh, and, as a result, his kingdom was divided in two shortly after his death, but the fact remains, God is not averse to one having or attaining great wealth.
The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it. (Prov.10:22)
In fact, the Lord has pleasure in those of His people who prosper.
Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant. (Psalm 35:27)
Let’s take a closer look at the lifestyle of Jesus, God’s chosen Servant. A number of commentators equate the Christian lifestyle as a life to be lived in poverty according to the example set by Jesus, and they all quote the same verse:
For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. (2Cor.8:9)
Then to this verse they add the fact that He was born in a stable and laid in a crib, and when He died, He was buried in a tomb that did not belong to Him. What these commentators fail to explain is the last part of 2Cor.8:9. If they want to apply financial economics to Jesus’ poverty, then the same must be applied to our being rich as a result of His poverty, and we are all certainly not rich.
At one time Jesus is quoted as saying:
And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. (Luke 9:58)
This suggests that He had no place to sleep, but we must keep in mind that Jesus was an itinerant preacher, in other words, He moved around from town to town to spread His message and there would be times when He had nowhere to sleep. Paul gives a much more accurate description of what he meant when he spoke of Jesus’ poverty in his letter to the Philippians:
Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
(Phil.2:6-8)
Paul tells us that Jesus made Himself poor for our sakes. Poor is relative as rich is relative. If you have nothing, a little will be a lot. If you have everything, a lot will be little. In heaven, Jesus had everything, including ‘the earth and all that is in it’. This He gave up for us, to help us and save us – but does this mean He lived in poverty here on earth?
In John 6, Jesus is faced with a multitude of people who were hungry.
When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?
And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.
Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. (John 6:5-7)
They had 200 pennies or denarii at their disposal to buy bread for the crowd. Let’s do the math and consider the fact that one penny or denarius was one day’s wages, 6 pennies or denarii a weeks, therefore 200 pennies or denarii amounts to more than 33 weeks’ worth of wages, or eight months’ salary. Consider your position if you had eight months’ salary in your purse or wallet, what we today would call ‘disposable income’. They certainly had enough, so much so, that according to John 12 and 13 they were able to use some of their money to help others.
At His crucifixion Jesus was stripped of all His clothes.
Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout.(Joh.19:23)
Not wanting to destroy the tunic, a woven, seamless garment, they cast lots to see who would get this most expensive item of clothing, what we would consider today, top of the range, designer wear. It is certain that if these were the clothes of a pauper the soldiers would not bicker over them.
Jewish law stated that as the eldest son of His earthly father, Joseph the carpenter, Jesus would have inherited two-thirds of Joseph’s possessions, with the rest going to His brothers. Amongst his inheritance would have been the house, any animals, workshop tools and valuables.
But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his. (Deut.21:17)
By heaven’s standard Jesus was poor, yes, but He lacked nothing, and of that which He had, He was not ashamed. He was, when the time came, prepared to part with it all, to do the will of His Father.
Wealth, its acquisition and possession, is not a sin, nor is it wrong, but care must be taken in the way it is acquired and the way it is possessed. God must always come first. Be prepared to set aside all you have at a moment’s notice.
For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. (Mat: 16:26-27)