Thank you for sharing these thoughts, and welcoming mine. As fellow Christians, I believe we agree in the Spirit, but may not be connecting on where our political concerns lie. I am not familiar with the administrative memo to which you refer, but would be interested to see what it says. As I said, I am sympathetic to anyone who is h…
Thank you for sharing these thoughts, and welcoming mine. As fellow Christians, I believe we agree in the Spirit, but may not be connecting on where our political concerns lie. I am not familiar with the administrative memo to which you refer, but would be interested to see what it says. As I said, I am sympathetic to anyone who is here provisionally (to study). I am unsure how the change in immigration control policies may affect them. Things are changing daily (even hourly), no doubt.
I agree (of course) with what Apostle Paul said about the dangers of the LOVE OF money; and our nation (as one of the wealthiest on earth) is particularly susceptible to a single-minded pursuit of it. We are in an age of rampant materialism, and that is idolatry. This is a temptation in any culture, and any age; the more wealth, the greater the temptation. We are NOT a Christian nation, but the Church is still present and fighting in the USA. The devil uses every weapon at his disposal to stop her, and greed is at the top of his tool kit. I embrace your caution about the danger of the love of money.
My main point is that prosperity (wealth, or whatever one may call it), in and of itself, is not evil. There are many examples of God blessing people with prosperity in the Bible, so that they may bless others, and so their families may prosper and we may extend our families' tents:
“Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes." (Isaiah 54:2)
We also extend God's blessing, by opening our tent flaps, by welcoming the stranger and the foreigner. (Matthew 25:35)
As I stated, prosperity "is one of the signs" of God's blessing, but it is not always a sign, nor is it the only one. I started with "generally speaking," but was not saying that our nation's wealth is a sign of God's blessing. God has blessed us, not because we deserve it, but in spite of our national failures. I was speaking about individuals being blessed with financial security and how this blesses the family structure. A husband and wife should seek this as a goal to give their children the necessary things to ensure their security and well-being. If God blesses us beyond what we need, we are to share with others and take care of the widow and the orphan. This is my understanding of the proper role of "wealth" for Christians.
Jen,
Thank you for sharing these thoughts, and welcoming mine. As fellow Christians, I believe we agree in the Spirit, but may not be connecting on where our political concerns lie. I am not familiar with the administrative memo to which you refer, but would be interested to see what it says. As I said, I am sympathetic to anyone who is here provisionally (to study). I am unsure how the change in immigration control policies may affect them. Things are changing daily (even hourly), no doubt.
I agree (of course) with what Apostle Paul said about the dangers of the LOVE OF money; and our nation (as one of the wealthiest on earth) is particularly susceptible to a single-minded pursuit of it. We are in an age of rampant materialism, and that is idolatry. This is a temptation in any culture, and any age; the more wealth, the greater the temptation. We are NOT a Christian nation, but the Church is still present and fighting in the USA. The devil uses every weapon at his disposal to stop her, and greed is at the top of his tool kit. I embrace your caution about the danger of the love of money.
My main point is that prosperity (wealth, or whatever one may call it), in and of itself, is not evil. There are many examples of God blessing people with prosperity in the Bible, so that they may bless others, and so their families may prosper and we may extend our families' tents:
“Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes." (Isaiah 54:2)
We also extend God's blessing, by opening our tent flaps, by welcoming the stranger and the foreigner. (Matthew 25:35)
As I stated, prosperity "is one of the signs" of God's blessing, but it is not always a sign, nor is it the only one. I started with "generally speaking," but was not saying that our nation's wealth is a sign of God's blessing. God has blessed us, not because we deserve it, but in spite of our national failures. I was speaking about individuals being blessed with financial security and how this blesses the family structure. A husband and wife should seek this as a goal to give their children the necessary things to ensure their security and well-being. If God blesses us beyond what we need, we are to share with others and take care of the widow and the orphan. This is my understanding of the proper role of "wealth" for Christians.