You need more money, and other false teaching

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Here is a quote from what I was reading on the bus yesterday.

I’m going to get straight to the point: YOU NEED MORE MONEY!

You may think this provocative, presumptuous, or prophetic coming from a pastor but the fact is that it is true. Whoever you are, you need more money.

I know that money is a highly sensitive subject … for anyone, but in this book I am going to tell you WHY you need more money and secondly HOW you can get more money (even if you won’t admit it, I bet you are interested in the latter). I don’t believe that we should be uncomfortable talking about something that plays such an enormous role in our day-to-day lives.

People love to quote the Bible when it comes to money, wealth and riches (and will sometimes do so out of context), but there is a fascinating verse in the book of Ecclesiastes that says it all:

A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes merry; but money answers everything(Ecclesiastes 10:19).

If that’s a shock to see a statement like that in the Bible—check it out for yourself. That is exactly what it says: MONEY ANSWERS EVERYTHING!

Now I believe the Bible has all the answers to life. It contains the wisdom of the ages, eternal principles and practical counsel for any situation. In fact, the more you read the Bible, the more truths you keeep discovering. It is a book that I have been reading continually over four decades now … and there is always something fresh and relevant to find every day.

MONEY ANSWERS EVERYTHING

I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest that the person who wrote these words is a false teacher. He remains influential in churches in Sydney; the book from which the quote was taken is out of print but has never been retracted or apologized for.

The sin he represents—greed—is popular but still not respectable. That may be why our younger and brighter theologians devote almost no attention to his teaching—that and the fact that he uses capital letters and appears to contradict himself not only from chapter to chapter, but page to page.

But give the man an extra 60 points of IQ, provide him with a doctorate, make him Archbishop of Canterbury and replace the somewhat embarrassing sin of greed with the infinitely more respectable sin of homosexuality, and it becomes a matter of serious academic and personal malpractice to label such a man a false teacher and a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

In the last month or so, Rowan Williams has again been exposed as a false teacher in the matter of what the Bible teaches about homosexual practice. His defenders have, predictably, labelled this as old news. But should he be treated with any more respect than the one who claims that the Bible’s teaching on wealth can be summarized with the capital letters “YOU NEED MORE MONEY”? Or does our deference to Rowan William’s undoubted genius and institutional authority mean that we won’t clearly label him for what he is?

6 thoughts on “You need more money, and other false teaching”

  1. Hey Gordo

    Its good to hear that you think you don’t need more money. Could you start forwarding your Matthias Media paycheque to my bank account? Much appreciated.

    But seriously, though I in no way wish to defend anyone who makes the assertion that God promises financial blessing in this life, nonetheless I think you have quoted Brian Houston out of context. The quote is from his Introduction, which is intentionally provocative. Part of his thesis (I haven’t read the entire book) is that, we need more money SO THAT we can be a blessing to others.

    For example he says,

    ‘Money can accomplish tremendous things for the Kingdom of God.’ (8)

    and

    ‘There are those who emphatically reject the notion that God could want them to be wealthy. They feel more comfortable serving God with nothing, but with this mentality, they limit their ability to bless anyone, and actually require others to resource them. They become part of the need instead of the answer.’ (9)

    In 1 Timothy 6, Paul calls for the rich not to embrace poverty, but to be generous and humble.

    I think labelling someone a ‘false teacher’ because they say ‘you need more money’ to be able to serve more people, is a little over the top. To label someone a ‘false teacher’, who claims to follow Christ, is an enormous thing, and should not be said without good reason and ample evidence.

    If you wanted to throw mud, you would be better throwing it at comments like, ‘Poverty is definitely not God’s will for His people. In fact, all His promises talk of blessing an prosperity.’ (9)

    But, if you still think you don’t need more money, my bank account is always open.

    Toby Neal

  2. Hard words, Gordon. Reminded me of a recent quote from Doug Wilson on confusing the Bible definition of ‘beast’ with ‘antichrist’:

    “In Scripture, a beast is a civil ruler, persecuting the Church. An antichrist is a false teacher from within, one infected with all the latest ideational leprosy. For a beast, think Stalin, Hitler, Nero. For an antichrist, think of a mild, soften-spoken Anglican bishop—one who denies that Jesus was God enfleshed.”

    It’s easier to deal with the speck in another denomination’s eye.

  3. Tobes,

    nice to have you commenting here!

    Unlike you, I have read the book (but thank you for your humility in admitting that you haven’t). I am very confident that the quote is in context. It is an introduction to the book intended to summarize the basic message*, and having read the entire book with increasing irritation, I find nothing to contradict what the introduction says, and much to reinforce it.

    *Note the first statement “I’m going to get straight to the point”. He does, and it really is.

  4. Gordon,

    Sometimes I wish you had a gentler tone, but on this point, as to content for the gospel truth, I wish I had as strong a conviction and courage as you do, no, even stronger and more courageous for both of us, I pray.

    Thank you, Gordon.

  5. Gordon,

    I do think this it very unjust to Rowan Williams to compare his view on homosexuality to the emphasis on money in the quotation from what you were reading on the bus. That quotation (whether in isolation it fairly represents the views of its author or not) virtually declares that making money is the central message of the Bible.

    Williams may be wrong about homosexuality and the Bible but it would be quite untrue to say that he gives the subject the sort of overpowering emphasis that is given to money in that passage. He does not read the entire Bible through the lens of homosexuality the way the passage you quote seems to do with money. He never suggests that homosexuality is “the answer to everything”.

    By all means challenge the A of C, or anyone else, on mistaken views. And sometimes it is necessary to call some people “wolfs in sheeps’ clothing”. But there is a real issue here about presuming to see inside others’ souls. In Williams’ case the wolf verdict is far wide of the mark.

    Andrew Gleeson

  6. Thanks for your comment Andrew.

    Doesn’t what you say here:

    <i>And sometimes it is necessary to call some people “wolfs in sheeps’ clothing”.</i>

    contradict what you say here?:

    <i>But there is a real issue here about presuming to see inside others’ souls.</i>

    And doesn’t that in turn undercut what you assert here?:

    <i>In Williams’ case the wolf verdict is far wide of the mark.</i>

    For if you are worried about the ability to see inside people’s souls, then you can’t possibly assert with any confidence that the ‘wolf’ verdict is wide of the mark—because you’ve already admitted that you can’t know.

    But if it is sometimes necessary to call people ‘wolfs in sheep’s clothing’ (as you say first off), then it can only be because you have some degree of confidence as to what is going on inside their souls.

    Which is it?

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