Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
1 Timothy 6: 6-10 NKJV
I was glancing the other day at the net worth of some notable Americans and came upon something both interesting and upsetting. The section of the website worldsrichpeople.com has a list of a few of the worlds richest pastors. A few of these so called men of God I list here.
~ T.D. Jakes with a estimated worth at 18 Million!
~ Rick Warren with a estimated worth of 25 million!
~ Billy Graham has a estimated worth of 25 million!
~ Joel Osteen is the money bags of the group with a net worth of 40 million!
Why is this so upsetting? Well, first off, these are men of God! How can a man like Joel Osteen honestly pass a collection plate onn any given Sunday morning and ask people to give to his church? My first response to that would be, "ok, you give all that you have THEN come to me and ask!" If there was any honor left in pastors of our nations churches, it was lost on these four. It was in reference to men such as these that Jesus proclaimed it harder for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Why do you think that is? Well, because I believe that God is not the first love in men such as these. Our Lord does not want to be second place in our lives. It's either God or money, man cannot serve both! For the scriptures tell us, he will love one and hate the other. So, Pastor Jakes, Pastor Warren, Pastor Osteen, where is your heart? Is it in the millions of dollars you've accumulated from the collections of others? How many people have had to go without just to add to your pile of money?
Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell all you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. The Jesus said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it iis easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
Matthew 19: 21-24 NKJV
How do you think our Lord Jesus would react to men such as T.D Jakes, Rick Warren and Joel Osteen? Better yet, how would these rich men react if Jesus asked them to give all they owned and follow him? Now, I've never met any of these overpaid charlatans, but I'm guessing that it would be VERY difficult for any of them to part with their wealth. For if they truly believed in their hearts that their wealth was not more important than God, they would have given of their riches long before this! Now, to be fair, I don't know what charitable donations these self proclaimed men of God have made. What I do see is their extravagant wealth which conjures up images of Pharisees of old. Now, the bible definately warns us about the love of money, for God wants to be our true love. Others will argue that scripture does not warn against earning wealth, and from what I've seen I agree. However, it is how we treat our wealth that God may take issue. It is in 1 Timothy 6:6 that the wise old apostle Paul tells his young apprentice Timothy that it is indeed the LOVE of money that is the root of all sorts of evil! In fact, Paul goes so far as to suggest that others have "strayed from the faith in their greediness."
In the end, it is all about the heart of the individual. Some of the richest people in the world are also the most charitable. However, when it comes to the compensation one should receive from shepherding Gods flock, the price demanded by these few individuals seems too high. Obviously, as they oversee the offering from their congregations each Sunday, their conscience has taken a permanent vacation!
~Scott~
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