Faith, Discipleship, and Money
Aaron Miner is an active member of 938 church. He works in the investment industry in the area and he received his MDiv from Westminster Theological Seminary.
Matthew 19:16-30
Jesus frequently rocked the world of his hearers with his answers to questions. The story of the rich young man in Matthew 19 rocked everyone and caused them to ask some very important questions. We should also pause to ask them as well.
Picture the scene. A rich young man approaches Jesus and his disciples and asks an important question (v.16), “What good deed must I do to have eternal life?” After discussing what is good and the law, the young man insists he has kept these but he still acknowledges that he lacks something (vv.17-20). Jesus responds with two requests. To sell and give to the poor all that he has, and then to follow him (v. 21). Dejected by the request, the rich young man walks away because he had great wealth (v. 22).
Jesus turns to his disciples and explains the difficulty. It is hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven (v. 23). The disciples are rocked and ask, “How can anyone be saved?” Jesus points them to the author of their faith, that it is only through God that salvation is possible (v. 26). Peter, often impetuous, asks what their reward will be (v. 27). Instead of chastising Peter, Jesus gently answers Peter’s question by turning their hearts toward heaven and eternal life (vv. 28-30) rather than an earthly blessing.
Jesus rocked the boat along three major themes: faith, discipleship and money. The first theme of faith combines the ideas around eternal life (vv. 16, 29), kingdom of heaven (v. 21, 23, 24), and salvation (v. 25). It is only through faith in Jesus Christ that a person can be saved and enter into eternal life. Think the kingdom of heaven (John 11:25-26). Faith strongly connects to discipleship, which is seen frequently as a call to follow Jesus (v. 21). Faith without discipleship is meaningless and ineffective. Jesus called the rich young man to follow him and be a disciple. This included giving up what the young man truly trusted in—his wealth. Here the third theme of money comes into play.
In economics there is a phenomenon called the wealth effect, where when you feel that you are wealthier you spend more. You may feel wealthier when your house, investments or other assets increase in value. With regards to faith, it can work in the opposite direction of wealth. The less money or financial pressures you have the more you feel the need to turn to and trust God for what you have and need. This can take many forms.
Take a young family with a new baby may feel financial pressure due to the cost of diapers, baby needs, health care costs as well as possible college savings. This pressure can push you to pray more for your needs. Over time that pressure may wane for any number of reasons and you find yourself trusting in a higher income bracket or increased wealth. The need for God appears less apparent. Or take a single parent who feels more secure when the bills are being paid and there is money for extras. Or perhaps a retired couple feels comfortable when the retirement investments are growing and plentiful. Or perhaps, a job loss will bring stress, which may quickly vanish with a new job.
While we and probably most people, often live in the back and forth of the wealth effect, it is actually the wrong paradigm in which to live. Jesus’ statement that it easier for a camel to go thru the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven (v. 24), should terrify us a bit. Rather than thinking first about our needs, worries, and hopes, which God knows (Matthew 6:31-32), we are instead to think about Jesus first. We are to be different, to think differently and to have different priorities. Jesus calls us to a third way that is not just about praying for needs or hopes as they come.
Discipleship is radically different and requires a complete and total devotion to Jesus, whom we follow. While Jesus does not necessarily call us to sell everything to give to the poor, his call to follow him is no less total in its scope for us. Being a disciple of Christ is the essence of what the church is called to be (Matthew 28:19-20) and what it means to be a Christian. As disciples we have different gifts, callings and rolls both in and out of the church. Not every disciple will look the same and be called to live the same way. But it always entails listening and being open to how and where God is calling us to serve him. A great question to ask ourselves and God in prayer is simply, “How can I be a better disciple in the financial sphere of my life?” God’s answer may surprise, sadden, or terrify us, but it is far better to gain Christ. “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul (Mark 8:36)?”
-Aaron Miner
