J. Alex Touchet

Christians have struggled for centuries over wealth; while the Bible teaches Christians should be selfless and charitable to the poor, it also teaches those who follow God will be blessed. At first, these two themes may appear to be contradictory. How may one be materially blessed (Deuteronomy 8:18), but avoid pursuing “treasures on earth” (Matthew 6:19)? Further investigation reveals these two themes are not a dichotomy but work together to provide a biblical foundation for a market-based economy through the biblical definitions of private property and stewardship. This synthesis is revealed by Augustine’s “ordering of love” in the Christian life.

Past and contemporary theologians, preachers, and others have leaned from one extreme to the other regarding the appropriate biblical perspective on individual wealth. Prosperity gospel preachers such as Joel Osteen and others are renowned for straying to one far side of the aisle, spouting proclamations such as, “God wants us to prosper financially, to have plenty of money, to fulfill the destiny He has laid out for us.” Some are not so vague: “Georgia-based preacher Creflo Dollar shockingly assured his congregation: ‘I own two Rolls-Royces and didn’t pay a dime for them. Why? Because while I’m pursuing the Lord those cars are pursuing me.’”¹ Those on the other side of the aisle might go as far as to proclaim the New Covenant has upended the Old Testament precepts of private property and trade and propose Jesus was essentially teaching a form of Communism, utilizing verses such as Acts 2:44-45 and James 5:1-6.

Augustine provides Christians with a solution to the apparent dichotomy between wealth and the Christian lifestyle. In his work On Christian Doctrine he presents the value of temperance in Christian living. Augustine explains how a Christian must objectively evaluate all things in his life and keep them in the proper hierarchy of importance:

…So that he neither loves what he ought not to love, nor fails to love what he ought to love, nor loves that more which ought to be loved less, nor loves that equally which ought to be loved either less or more, nor loves that less or more which ought to be loved equally.²

Accordingly, the Christian must love God before he loves material possessions. This understanding gives passages such as 1 Timothy 6:10 clarity: wealth does corrupt, but only when it is loved before God. If the Christian has properly ordered his loves, he is not required by his faith to abandon all individual belongings, though he should be aware of the danger of temptation. “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15, English Standard Version).

The synthesis Augustine provides also sheds light on the biblical foundations for a free-market system. Even though the market system enables, and even encourages, the accumulation of wealth, it is not inherently unbiblical; the Christian knows it is God “who gives [him] power to get wealth, that He may confirm his covenant…” (Deuteronomy 8:18). Hugh G. M. Williamson points out, specifically in the Old Testament context, that “possessions are thus not held for one’s own benefit but for the service of the God who gives in order to do his will in the care and protection of those with less or no means to represent themselves in society.”³ With the addition of Adam Smith’s conceptualization of the market’s “invisible hand,” the market system becomes a place where Christians can contribute to the distribution of wealth among society through free trade. Private property and the market system are not inherently sinful conventions; rather, they are gifts from God.

References

¹ Stephens, R. J. (2015). “Understanding the Prosperity Gospel.” Fides Et Historia, 47(2), 55-59.

² St. Augustine. On Christian Doctrine (p. 18). Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library.

³ Williamson, H. M. (2011). “A Christian view of wealth and possessions: an Old Testament perspective.” Ex Auditu, 271-19.