Posted by Yong TM (202.172.43.132) on February 26, 2003 at 11:10:42:
In Reply to: Temptation posted by Johanes Wibowo on February 25, 2003 at 16:50:25:
Thank you for being honest with your question. Good news for you. I am also tempted on the same line... ha ha!
I don't know whether you know it or not, but I am not a full-time minister. I may be theologically trained, but I am actually an entreprenuer involved in the education business. So I understand where you are coming from.
I suppose my problem is not so much jealousy, but more bitterness at times. It is very difficult to witness ungodly people having a better life or material success than you do when you work as hard, or even harder than them. So one either get jealous, or bitter about things. I can of course quote you many scripture passages that tell you not to do these things, but let me share with you my personal experiences.
1. The Will
During one of the sermons I heard recently, I was astonished that the speaker said that 'forgiveness is a matter of the will, not of the heart'. In other words, one 'wills' himself to forgive, not to wait for one's heart to be forgiving first. That to me, was an interesting revelation. I find that to be true. If you harbour bitterness or jealousy in your heart and wait for it to 'naturally' disappear, it will almost never do so. So one needs to exercise one's will, and let it go. My own secret formula is to take a deep breath, and breathe it out, telling myself to let it go. Knowing that it is a matter of the will (i.e. a matter or choice) makes a lot of difference in my thinking process. I began to see that many things (like anger, resentment, forgiveness, jealousy) are indeed a matter of the will.
2. Thankfulness
During one of the Hebrews preaching, Dr Tong spoke about thankfulness being the key to contentment, peace and joy. He said that the person who is thankful is able to ALWAYS be joyful; but whenever a person complains, he is forcing himself to relive all the difficulties and hurt as he complains. I thought this is very good understanding. An Arabian saying that I always remeber is: "A man complains bitterly that he has no shoes... until he saw another person without any feet".
3. Lifestyle
Relating to point 2, I felt that lifestyle is important as well. One needs to live a lifestyle that is consistent to one'e belief, or everything will be theory only. For example, if we truly believe that marriage and family are the fundamental unit in God's design, then our lifestyle should reflect this. When I look at my family, I want to spend time and effort enjoying the presence of my wife and children by being with them and having fun. And fun is not necessarily material or expensive in nature. When I am contented and very happy with my family, I will naturally find no need to look over the fence at what my neighbour has. I personally believe that a Christian should live a simple lifestyle, and be clear as to our needs versus our wants. When one's lifestyle is naturally simple, one's wants are manageable, meaning less reason to feel bitter and jealous.
As an entreprenue, it is therefore interesting for me to comment on the second portion of your question.
1. Without a doubt, the words of Jesus Christ cannot be wrong. Christ said that it is difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God; harder than for a camel to enter through the eye of the needle. I think this has got to be the most neglected verse in the Bible today. One needs to think long and hard about what Christ meant when He used such stark illustration about wealt. I have no doubt whatsoever in my mind that wealth *is* a super stumbling block for Christians.
2. Having said that, it is clear from Scripture also that wealth per say is NOT a sin; as opposed to the Buddhist concept that it is but an illusion. The Bible has many wealthy people, including Abraham in the OT, and Lydia in the NT.
3. There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting wealth to better provide for your family and children, or enjoying the provision and fruits of your labour. What is very difficult is to NOT cross the line into arrogance and indulgence. This is a very huge topic and would take a long time to discuss and understand, let alone adhere in life.
4. So why am I an entreprenuer? One of the many reasons is that I take as model many western philantrophists, whose life-long mission is wealth-creation for the sake of the kingdom of God or the benefit of their society. I know every Christian says that this is what they want to do (and have the best of both worlds), but I honestly want to do this. People may think that there is no difference between this approach and all non-believers... everybody says that. But in reality, this is a very difficult task to do; as I believe a wealthy Christian has tonnes more responsibilities compared to a poor one (because of point 1). The problem is that wealthy Christians do not realise this... Beyond wanting wealth for the sake of the kingdom, I do not see wealth-creation as a noble task at all.
Having said all that, it is obvious that for most of us, life simply goes on and on. We get a job, hope for a promotion, save some money here and there... the question therefore is not in whether one is an entreprenuer aiming to make money; the question really is applicable to all Christians, since all Christians are already 'making money' in one form or another. The right response, businessmen or not, would be if one seeks God's will in his life, and is faithful to the particular calling of God. Each Christian must ask himself that question, and no one would know better than that individual if he is faithful to God's calling for him. As for this calling, I cannot accept that God calls a person to live a life of wealth for the sake of enjoyment alone, or that one is to live a simple lifestyle and enjoy his own life all for himself and his family. Scripture certainly does not say that. We are to be salt and light of the world. So in the end, rich or poor, everything must be done in accordance to doing it for the LORD. He is, afterall, LORD.