Jesus ...his kingdom perspective on wealth

blog#23, Jesus... his kingdom perspective on wealth
(From an original blog made on Tuesday, September 16, 2008, edited, and spell checked on Thursday October 3, 2008, in this corrected blog.)

In Matthew 6:29, Jesus made reference to Solomon: “And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these”... In a previous verse he had commented; “consider the lilies of the field, they toil not, neither do they spin”. The reason he had mentioned Solomon’s wealth and glory, was his concern about treasure, wealth, or money, becoming the driving force behind everyday life and existence, among the people of God..

In Matthew 6:19-34 (15 verses), Jesus emphasized that God would provide for every necessity, of his children. He focused on teachings his students, to NOT allow mammon to become the master of life. He said; “You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). The term “mammon,” is a Chaldean loan word incorporated into Hebrew, and is yet in use today. It means “money.” In pursuit of the regular necessities for life (food, drink, shelter, clothing), Jesus had warned, no man can serve two masters. Keep every priority in order, is a true spiritual mantra.

He alluded to Solomon and all his glory with his kingly raiment. At the same time, without negating sensible preparation and planning, he asserted; “consider the lilies.” His comparative analysis of flowers of the fields with Solomon’s raiment, and glory, showed a concern of God even for nature itself. His words; “take therefore no thought for the morrow,” made in regard to eating, drinking or clothing; is reference to anxiousness, and not to sensible preparation. Jesus taught people to trust God and not to worry. If God clothed the grass of the fields in natural beauty, why would He not clothe the children of faith, who are far more important than fading flowers?

That formula is not inconsistent with the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). It was written in Proverbs 23:4, “Labor not to be rich; cease from thine own wisdom.” One’s total energies should be well concentrated to serve God first, and things can fall into place. But, as in everything else, we must have balance in our ambitions. Maybe that’s why the Tanakh also wrote in Ecclesiastes 10:19: “a feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry, but MONEY answereth all [things].” When people have money, it can be used to have a feast, throw a party, and thereby produce temporary joy and happiness. Proper use of money, does provide answers to some problems.

Folks often have said, that money is the root of all evil. That’s a falsehood! The Christian Bible wrote, “the love of money is the root of all evil” (1Timothy 6:10). To covet money is a form of idolatry. So, loving God with all the heart, soul, and strength, is the balance and understanding for how to apply the use and desire for money.

The author of Epistole Yakov (epistle of Jakob/James), in his letter to the twelve tribes scattered abroad, wrote: “Go to now you rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you”... (James 1:1 and James 5:1). He stressed that the long time wealth of the wicked (gold and silver), was accumulated by evil practices; fraud, dishonesty, and slaughter (Yakov 5:1-6). He reminds Christians who have been similarly oppressed by evil and rich masters, to be patient, and recall that the prophets had austerity and suffering heaped upon them, and to follow their example of enduring patience.


The example used in reference to Solomon and his glory, is not the only time Jesus alluded to him. In Matthew 12:42, Jesus shares his knowledge about Solomon, and the Queen of Sheba.

She came from the utmost part of the earth to investigate the rumored wisdom of Solomon. Thus, Jesus pointed to the glory of Solomon and the wisdom of Solomon. The biblical account of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba is given in 1Kings 10:1-9. The Tanakh wrote, that in the same year when the Queen of Sheba visited Solomon, his wealth was increased by 666 talents of gold, among other valued items. The Queen of Sheba gifted Solomon with 120 talents of gold herself. Now, 666 talents of gold, if weighing 113 pounds and 10 ounces per talent, equates 75, 324.6 pounds of gold. In today’s market value, we guestimate $700.00 per ounce: that represents 52 million, 727 thousand, and 220 dollars (52, 727, 220.00 ). Wowee! Only one year of personal wealth?

The wisdom of Solomon given by God, brought revenue beyond belief to the king. We can only imagine the value and purchasing power of such gold three thousand years ago. Mind boggling indeed.

The Queen of Sheba came to Israel to investigate the rumored wisdom of Solomon. She was more than pleased when discovering the reports were true. The great woman was happy to hear, see, and learn from Solomon. So happy, that she gave him 120 talents of gold, and other valuable items. Her journey from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon was mentioned in Matthew 12:42, where Jesus contrasted it to a lack of Israeli interest by his generation, in his ministry and message of the kingdom of God.

His comments and comparisons were strikingly bold: “behold, a greater than Solomon is here.” He had also said; “the Queen of the South shall rise up in the judgment with this generation; and shall condemn it.” Was it proper for Jesus to view himself greater than Solomon? Was Jesus an egotist as a Rabbi friend once told me? Was it appropriate to say, that this generation would be condemned in the judgment? Or was he on a Divine mission, knowing who he was, and who had sent him to the Israelis?

It should be noted that in Matthew 12:24-39, Jesus’ detractors were present, and had became so verbally abusive and vociferous they had accused him of practicing demonic matters. Jesus considered them blasphemers, since they did not credit the finger of God with healing and deliverance in his ministry. Rather, those Pharisees accused him of demonic activity. Maybe that’s why Jesus reacted so strongly against what he considered a generation of hypocritical Pharisee’s. He felt that denial of God’s work among His people, and attribution of such to Satan, was indeed blasphemy. Whenever religious people attribute healing, deliverance, and miracles, among the people of God, to the work of demons, it is a very serious charge, and is not to be taken lightly. Jesus labelled such vocal hypocrisy to blasphemy of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:32).

Jesus also dealt somewhat with the subject of “riches” in his parable or proverb about the “rich man” in Luke 12:16, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man, brought forth plentifully:

And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do , because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, this will I do: I will pull down my barns; and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and all my goods. And I will say unto my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?”

Jesus assesses his own parable with certain and clear comprehension, saying; “so is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:21). Riches cannot detract from those who are “rich” toward God. Thus, ignoring soul preparation while in pursuit of wealth is unwise.

In other gospel verses Jesus advises followers to, “sell that you have and give alms; provide for yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Because Jesus knew that some people would allow money or riches to master them, he warned sternly against riches; saying in Mark 10:23: “How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!” A similar warning is given in Mark 10:24: “Children, how hard it is for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God.” In other passages Jesus refers to the deceitfulness of riches which choke the word of God in ones life (Matthew 13:22).

Then in Luke 16:11, he says; “If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?” Those words imply that people who handle money properly in worldly matters, can also be trusted with accounting for spiritual matters.

I firmly believe that God desires his children to be blessed and happy. He wants every necessity of life to be provided for them. And, the biblical concept of working for pay when possible, so that one may enjoy the fruits of his labors, is a certain principle.