Do I Have to Be Poor to Be a Good Christian?

How we can avoid the pitfalls of wealth

Before my partner became a Christian, he decided Christianity frowned on success. This was at odds with his desire to make a lot of money and get the most out of life.

But what does the Bible really say about success? Some people claim religion discourages wealth. To make their point, they quote Jesus’s words in Matthew 19:24: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.”

In another scriptural passage, Jesus told a wealthy man to sell all his possessions and give everything to the poor. “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (Matthew 19:21).

My partner read that passage and said, “Does this mean we need to give away everything we own if we want to be good Christians?”

Does faith require us to relinquish personal ambition? Does it conflict with being a successful executive, lawyer, mechanic, writer, or salesperson? Do we need to give away everything we own?

My answer, after studying what Jesus said, is not necessarily. Other scriptural passages indicate there is nothing wrong with attaining success and reaping financial rewards. The problem stems from our attitude toward wealth rather than the acquisition of wealth.

Too often, an emphasis on making money comes at the expense of a person’s spiritual life. Greed and the desire to be rich lead to dishonest business practices or to the abandonment of ethical behavior.

The hypocritical Christian

One of my friends, a business owner and entrepreneur, was excited to get a large contract with a Christian company. The company’s CEO was aggressive about proclaiming his faith, but his company was one of the worst my friend ever dealt with. She never was able to collect the full amount they owed her. The CEO claimed to be a Christian, but he was a cheater; the sort of person who gives Christians a bad name.

This Christian business leader’s refusal to pay what he owed is directly at odds with what scripture says about fair business practices.

“God cares about honesty in the workplace; your business is his business.” (Proverbs 16:11)

“All the workers you’ve exploited and cheated cry out for judgment. The groans of the workers you used and abused are a roar in the ears of God.” (James 5:4)

When we place materialistic pursuits first, we can’t place God and other people first. Christians are violating Jesus’ command to seek first the things of God’s kingdom.

If you read the Bible, you discover that many people who believed in God also possessed great wealth. Abraham became wealthy in livestock, silver, and gold. There was nobody as rich as King Solomon, and the ideal woman described in Proverbs was a shrewd businesswoman, wealthy enough to employ domestic help, buy land, give to the poor and wear fine clothes.

Why, then, if it is okay to be wealthy, would Jesus instruct a rich man to sell all his possessions? Isn’t this a contradiction? If it was okay for other men and women in the Bible to own property and fine clothes, why did Jesus single out one man and tell him to give away everything he owned?

The answer lies in this man’s attitude. He placed wealth above a relationship with God. He wanted to earn eternal life through his good works, so long as he was not required to give anything up. Material comfort and possessions came first.

Jesus wasn’t a socialist or a capitalist. He didn’t promote a particular system of government. He was an advocate for the downtrodden, the poor, the oppressed and the homeless, but he also visited a wealthy tax collector. He wanted everybody, rich and poor alike, to experience the hope and joy that come through faith. He knew wealth could be a stumbling block to total commitment.

Christians don’t have to be poor, but they do need to keep material things in perspective. Jesus seemed to know how hard it would be to place God first when making a lot of money becomes a primary objective. He knew riches and lavish living aren’t conducive to the development of humility and faith.

When my partner became a Christian, he still wanted to make money and be successful. But after reading what Jesus said about money and wealth, he felt he should give away a portion of what he earned. Together, we decided on a minimum of ten percent. This was to be a starting point, because we believed if God blessed us, we should try to bless other people.

Some years it was harder to give a portion of our earnings away. During one especially bad recession my partner lost his job and we lost our savings. But we had made a commitment, so we stuck with it. And gradually, when our fortunes turned back around, we were able to give more.

I don’t share this to brag or to indicate that anybody else should give away a certain amount of their income. That’s an individual decision. But I do want to share the lessons I learned from giving, since there were several unforeseen results.

What I learned

The first thing I discovered was that materialism and the pursuit of wealth become less important as you start to give some of your wealth away. There is no longer a competitive desire to drive the nicest car, own the biggest house, or wear the most expensive designer clothes. A spiritual transformation follows the act of giving. It’s true that “Where your treasure is, that’s where your heart will be.” (Matthew 6:21)

Another thing I discovered was that when my partner and I incurred financial losses, we were not as devastated as we might have been if our sole focus had been on making lots of money. Naturally, we were disappointed to see our income take a nosedive. But because this had not been our primary focus, it did not have the same impact as it might have. Giving money away had caused us to place less emphasis on money.

Finally, we were much happier than we had been when our focus was on money. There was satisfaction that came from knowing we were making a small difference in the world.

Living selfishly is never a lasting recipe for happiness. The spiritual laws of the universe are designed to reward us when we live generously. This is true in every arena. If we give away love, we gain more love. If we give away support and encouragement, we find ourselves being supported and encouraged. If we give away money, we are blessed in ways we never imagined.

The spiritual laws of the universe are designed to reward us when we live generously.

I don’t believe God rewards “good” people with money and punishes “bad” people with poverty. One look at the Bible disproves that. King Herod, the cruel, murderous despot who ordered the death of babies, was wealthy and powerful, whereas the poor widow who only had a few pennies to her name was praised by Jesus.

But I do believe when Christians or people of other faiths are fortunate enough to be blessed with wealth, we risk an opportunity for spiritual growth if we make that wealth the focal point of our lives. No one grows spiritually from living selfishly and self-indulgently. It is how we perceive and use money rather than money itself that is a stumbling block.

Christians don’t have to be poor to be good Christians, but it takes a concerted effort to avoid the pride, greed and selfishness that can so easily take over if we place wealth above everything else. Maybe that’s why God said it was hard for a rich man to get into the kingdom of heaven. It wasn’t because of wealth, but because of the attitude that grows along with the acquisition of wealth.

If we are blessed enough to become rich, the best ways to avoid the pitfalls of wealth are to be generous, stay humble and keep our focus not on the money itself, but on the good we can do with it.

The laws of the universe seem to indicate that Jesus was right when he said, “Give your life away; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back; given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity.” (Luke 6:39, The Message).