But why do you call me 'Lord, Lord' and do not do the things which I say? --Jesus (Matthew 6:12) Do not worry about your life, what you will eat; --Jesus Christ (Luke 12:22, 30-31)
"No servant can serve two masters,
for either he will hate the one and love the other,
or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.
You cannot work for both God and money."
The Pharisees, who were lovers of money,
heard all these things, and they ridiculed Jesus.
(Luke 16:13-14)
So likewise, whoever of you
does not forsake all that he owns
cannot be My disciple.
--Jesus (Luke 14:33)
Blessed are you poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God. . . . . But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your credit. --Jesus (Luke 6:24) Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. And just as you want people to do to you, you also do to them likewise. . . . . And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners [debtors] lend to sinners [debtors] to receive as much back. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be Sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. --Jesus (Luke 6:30-31, 34-35) Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but One God. You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honor your father and your mother.'" And he answered and said to Him, "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth." Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me." But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!" And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, "Who then can be saved?" But Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible." Then Peter began to say to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You." So Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time--houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions--and in the age to come, eternal life. (Mark 10:17-30) Listen, my beloved brethren: Has not God chosen the poor of this world
to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom
which he promised to those who love him?
But you have dishonored the poor man.
Do not the rich oppress you
and drag you into the courts?
Do they not blaspheme
that Noble Name by which you are called?
(James 2:5-7)
He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly,
and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully -- each one as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or from obligation; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, -- Apostle Paul (2Corinthians 9:6-8)
Come now, you rich, weep and howl Your riches are corrupted, Your gold and silver are corroded, Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; You have condemned, (James 5:1-6) Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, giving Credit to God and having Grace with all the people. (Act 2:44-47)
Now the multitude of those who believed (Acts 4:32)
...persons who are depraved in mind and bereft of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. There is great gain in godliness with contentment; for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world; but if we have food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and hurtful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evil; it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs. --Apostle Paul (1 Timothy 6:5-10) Then Peter said,
"Silver and gold I do not have,
but what I do have I give you
(Acts 3:6)
For who makes you special? And what do you have that was not gifted you? Now if you, indeed, were gifted it, why do you boast as if it weren't a gift? (1 Corinthians 4:7) We must learn to remove from all God's gifts to us
the sense of our own self, to possess nothing of our own and to seek nothing, neither advantage nor pleasure nor inwardness nor sweetness nor reward nor heaven itself nor our own will. God never has entered, nor ever does enter someone through their own will, but only through his own will. And so whereever he finds his own will, there he gives himself and enters in with all that is his. The more we strip ourselves of ourselves, the more we become Him. Therefore it is not enough that we should give up ourselves and all that we possess and all of which we are capable on one occasion alone; Rather, we must renew this act frequently and thus make ourselves simple and free in all things. --Meister Eckhart, Talks of Instruction As far as you depart from all things, thus far, no less and no more, does God enter into you, with all that is his... --Meister Eckhart, Talks of Instruction You might just be surprised what the early Church Fathers implored, unanimously: Those who wish to make room for the Lord must find pleasure not in private, but in common property…. Redouble your charity. For, on account of the things which each one of us possesses singly, wars exist, hatreds, discords, strifes among human beings, tumults, dissensions, scandals, sins, injustices, and murders. On what account? On account of those things which each of us possesses singly. Do we fight over the things we possess in common? We inhale this air in common with others, we all see the sun in common. Blessed therefore are those who make room for the Lord, so as not to take pleasure in private property. Let us therefore abstain from the possessions of private property—or from the love of it, if we cannot abstain from possession—and let us make room for the Lord.
--Augustine (354–430 CE)
I now come to the accusation that most of us are said to be poor; that is not to our shame, it is to our great credit. Men’s characters are strengthened by stringent circumstances, just as they are dissipated by luxurious living. Besides, can a man be poor if he is free from want, if he does not covet the belongings of others, if he is rich in the possession of God? Rather, he is poor who possesses much but still craves for more. And so it is that when a man walks along a road, the lighter he travels, the happier he is; equally, on this journey of life, a man is more blessed if he does not pant beneath a burden of riches but lightens his load by poverty. Nevertheless, we would ask God for material goods if we considered them to be of use; without a doubt, He to whom the whole belongs would be able to concede us a portion. But we prefer to hold possessions in contempt than to hoard them: it is rather innocence that is our aspiration, it is rather patience that is our entreaty; our preference is goodness, not extravagance. -- Tertullian (c. 160–c.220 CE) You are like one occupying a place in a theater, who should prohibit others from entering, treating that as one’s own which was designed for the common use of all. Such are the rich. Because they were first to occupy common goods, they take these goods as their own. If each one would take that which is sufficient for one’s needs, leaving what is in excess to those in distress, no one would be rich, no one poor. --Basil (329–379 CE) At his departure the apostle must receive nothing except food to last till the next night's lodging; but if he asks for money, he is a false prophet.
(The Didache: Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, 11:3-7; writings of the early church fathers.) | See also:
I Am Who I Am, the Way, the Truth, and the Life: Name Above All Names
The Seven-Headed Dragon: World Commerce See what the Old Testament says about greed, money and possessions.
 Jesus the Christ & desert rat
John the Baptizer & desert rat
Ethiopian monk
 St Francis in the Desert
by Bellini, 1525
St Francis hanging out at his cave |
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"Jesus said, 'don't lie, and don't do what you hate.'" (Gospel of Thomas 6) If you doubt what's in this website, follow this saying, then you'll know whether or not it is true. Aren't lying and doing what you hate one in the same? |
I Know It Is Possible To Live With Zero Money, Abundantly > Here's the One Point We Know the World's Religions Agree Upon (in Word) >
The Way of Christianity, Judaism's Estranged Daughter |
