So what have we seen in Luke’s Gospel? We’ve seen that the rich face unique dangers. They can be callous toward others, haughty, proud, cheats, swindlers, wrongly confident in themselves, and foolishly trusting in their wealth. If that is your life now, Luke says, you are in for a rude awakening at the end of the age, because everything will be turned upside down. The humble poor will be lifted up, and the arrogant rich will be cast down.
On the other hand, we see how the rich can be faithful with their wealth. They support Jesus and his ministry. They stand up for what is right. They use their money wisely for spiritual gain. The righteous rich in Luke are still rich, but they are also generous, repentant of any wrongs, and faithful to the cause of Christ.
In the book of Acts, just as in Luke, we see both kinds of examples. We see rich people at their worst, and we see how rich people can inherit the kingdom of God and live out its values.
[...]
So how can the rich enter the kingdom of heaven? What does it look like for rich Christians to “get it”? Importantly, “getting it” doesn’t mean to feel constant shame for being rich. It doesn’t mean trading places with the poor. And it doesn’t mean prophetic denunciations of material goods or income disparity.
But it does mean something. A lot, actually. According to Luke-Acts, to be a rich Christian who “gets it” means (at least) these seven things.
We believe. Christ is our everything, our all in all. We cannot serve two masters.
We repent. We turn from any cheating, swindling, or lying, and we make amends with those we have mistreated.
We put Jesus before profit.
We are generous. We give freely to help the poor and to further the cause of the gospel.
We are good stewards. We don’t try to be manipulate our way to God by lying, putting on a show, or trying to accrue power with our wealth. We are always shrewd but never power-hungry.
We do not trust in our money. There is no real security in dollars and cents. The righteous rich do not expect their earthly riches to last. They live for the heavenly riches that do.
We demonstrate humility. We consider everything we have to be a gift from God. We are meek before others and meek before God.
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevin-deyoung/luke-evangelist-rich/
On the other hand, we see how the rich can be faithful with their wealth. They support Jesus and his ministry. They stand up for what is right. They use their money wisely for spiritual gain. The righteous rich in Luke are still rich, but they are also generous, repentant of any wrongs, and faithful to the cause of Christ.
In the book of Acts, just as in Luke, we see both kinds of examples. We see rich people at their worst, and we see how rich people can inherit the kingdom of God and live out its values.
[...]
So how can the rich enter the kingdom of heaven? What does it look like for rich Christians to “get it”? Importantly, “getting it” doesn’t mean to feel constant shame for being rich. It doesn’t mean trading places with the poor. And it doesn’t mean prophetic denunciations of material goods or income disparity.
But it does mean something. A lot, actually. According to Luke-Acts, to be a rich Christian who “gets it” means (at least) these seven things.
We believe. Christ is our everything, our all in all. We cannot serve two masters.
We repent. We turn from any cheating, swindling, or lying, and we make amends with those we have mistreated.
We put Jesus before profit.
We are generous. We give freely to help the poor and to further the cause of the gospel.
We are good stewards. We don’t try to be manipulate our way to God by lying, putting on a show, or trying to accrue power with our wealth. We are always shrewd but never power-hungry.
We do not trust in our money. There is no real security in dollars and cents. The righteous rich do not expect their earthly riches to last. They live for the heavenly riches that do.
We demonstrate humility. We consider everything we have to be a gift from God. We are meek before others and meek before God.
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevin-deyoung/luke-evangelist-rich/
