Is It Wrong to Be Rich?

Where your treasure is,
there your heart will be also.
     —Matthew 6:21

Jesus warned about the dangers of wealth but didn’t condemn everyone who had it.

Mary, John Mark’s mother, was apparently well-heeled. She owned a spacious house, large enough to accommodate Christians who gathered there for worship (Acts 12:12).

Zacchaeus, a rich tax collector, promised to cough up a significant chunk of his stash to make things right with those he’d wronged. Jesus didn’t even hint that it was insufficient; he said, “Today salvation has come to this house” (Lk 19:8-9).

Joseph, “a rich man from Arimathea,” donated his pre-paid burial plot to Jesus (Mt 27:57-60).

But what about Ananias and Sapphira? you ask. They weren’t zapped because they withheld some of the money from the property they sold. They were zapped because they lied about it, saying they gave it all when they didn’t (Acts 5:1-10).

Money is a convenience,
but not worthy of worship.

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