1. Leaving family and employment
Christ is reported to have told his disciples that the follower must "take up his cross and follow me" (Matt 10:38, 16;24), and lose his life for Christ's sake (Matt 10:39, 16:25).
Luke 14:26 has Christ saying that "if anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children...he cannot be my disciple."
Luke 14:26 has Christians at their most desperate and/or and imaginative as they attempt to soften the word 'hate' (Greek = misei) that Luke has placed into the mouth of Jesus. Various 'interpretations' have been offered to argue that the word should not be 'hate' but something which is not as hard as this.
But this simply will not work. Firstly, the Greek word rendered 'hate' here means 'to hate, usually implying ill-will in words and conduct or a persecuting spirit' (Bullinger). Secondly, to show that the word is correctly rendered 'hate' and it is meant to convey that, the following verses which include exactly the same word, clearly show that it means hate and only that (I have included the full verse in each case). One of the claims made (and there is no shortage of them) is that it is the 'older translations' that wrongly render the word 'hate'. However, as the following examples show, this is not so. I have included not only the King James Version (KJV), but the New American Standard (NAS) version and the New International Version (NIV).
Luke 14:26.
NIV. "If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters - yes, even their own life - such a person cannot be my disciple." KJV. "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." ASV. "If any man cometh unto me, and hateth not his own father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." John 3:20. NIV. "Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed." KJV. "For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." ASV. "For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, and cometh not to the light, lest his works should be reproved."
John 7:7. NIV. "The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil." KJV. "The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil." ASV. "The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that its works are evil."
John 15:18,19. NIV. "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you." KJV. "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." ASV. "If the world hateth you, ye know that it hath hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love its own: but because ye are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you."
John 15:23 NIV. "Whoever hates me hates my Father as well." KJV. "He that hateth me hateth my Father also." ASV. "He that hateth me hateth my Father also."
1 John 3:13 NIV. "Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you." KJV. "Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you." ASV. "Marvel not, brethren, if the world hateth you."
In Luke 14:33, Jesus is reported to have said: "Therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions."
Some Christians attempt to argue for their right to work and earn from one solitary verse in Acts related to just one of the apostles, i.e., Paul, when he was staying in Corinth with Aquila and Priscilla, "...because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and worked; for by occupation they were tentmakers" (Acts 18:1-3 NKJV).
In view of his extensive travels, the area he is supposed to have covered, and the work undertaken, it is obvious that if there is any accuracy in this tale, he must have only worked temporarily in order to produce basic funding for his travelling costs for full-time preaching and evangelizing (although even when working he was still preaching - 18:4). Therefore 18:3 offers no support for Christians being in full-time employment, apart from the fact that it is obvious that Paul had little time or opportunity for regular work or full-time employment. In fact this may be an attempt of Acts' author to link the story with 2 Cor 12:13 when Paul comments to the church at Corinth that he had not been a 'a financial burden on you' (Common English Bible), i.e, for the time he was there, he supported himself. Moreover, in 18:5 (Common English Bible), it is stated that when "Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself fully to the word," indicating that the reference to work is meant to be understood as a temporary measure until his two fellow-missionaries arrived to begin the next stage of evangelizing.
The Gospels state that Peter, Andrew, James, and John all forsook their work as fisherman when they became followers of Jesus (Matthew 4:18-22): another example is Matthew who stopped his work as a tax collector (Luke 5:28).
2. Wealth
In respect of possessing money, the New Testament teaches that the possession of excess wealth disqualifies a person from being 'saved'. It does not say that 'money can be a problem', or 'wealth can be an obstacle unless used correctly', or that a Christian can buy himself out of this dilemma by contributing a proportion of his wealth/income to the church or mission. It simply says that God will reject those who are wealthy.
In Matt 19:24/Luke 18:25, Christ is reported as warning: "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
Despite attempts to give this a 'symbolic' or 'allegorical' meaning, the statement is absolutely clear: the 'rich' cannot enter heaven (Luke 16:19-23 emphasises this point. Note how the faith or lack of faith of either man is not even mentioned: all we are told is that the rich man went to hell and the poor man/beggar to paradise). 'Rich' in first century Palestine would normally be understood as those who had wealth which far exceeded their basic day-to-day needs, i.e., basic clothing, food, rent, taxes.
However, on looking at the lifestyle of many or most Christians in the West (particularly fundamentalists), such people certainly satisfy the term 'rich' by owning their own home (or homes), the size of which far exceeds their actual need, many owning a car, or several cars, and having a plethora of material goods. Many also have savings, investment portfolios, pension schemes, and so on (Ironically, such people are usually the first to proclaim 'moral' judgements on others).
Luke reports:
"Looking at his disciples, he said:The Bible repeatedly makes it clear that God will have nothing to do with the wealthy, e.g., God "has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty" (Luke 1:53).
Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied...
But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep".
(Luke 6:20,21,24,25).
The demand to no longer consider the security of the future is made clear in Matt 6:25,31,32: "Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?.... O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'."
And this point is re-emphasised in Matt 6:33,34: "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself."
This naturally means that items relating to the future such as life insurance, or indeed any insurances, savings, investments, and pension plans, or providing for children in the future are not permitted.
The command to leave everything is repeated in Luke 14:33: "None of you can be my disciple who does not give up all his own possessions."
Christ is reported to have also stated: 'Sell your possessions and give to the poor' (Luke 12:33). From what I have repeatedly witnessed, Christians do the very opposite, i.e, they work, save and amass wealth and material possessions And this is despite, "Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." (Luke18:15)
And Hebrews saying: "...be content with what you have; for he has said, "I will never fail you nor forsake you"' (13:5).
How many Christians comply with this and are content with what they have? The average Christian, as everyone else, works to acquire more property or property of a greater value, increased savings and assets, and so on.
Indeed, how many churches and Christian congregations follow the example of the apostles and first Christians, pictured as: "All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need" (Acts 2:44-45): 'No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had." (Acts 4:32).
We are also informed that the members of the early church counted it a blessing when they lost their property: "You joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions" (Heb 10:34). How many Christians now would welcome this?
In Matt 5:42, Jesus is reported to have instructed: "Give to him who begs from you, and do not refuse him who would borrow from you." Again, how many Christians do this?
In reality, virtually all Christians 'customize' their faith and beliefs to accord with their desired lifestyle. They 'believe' as long as this does not cause any major inconvenience to how they want to live. Many people, myself included, consider such double-standards and hypocrisy to be grossly offensive, and wholly invalidating the religious belief-claims being made.
Finally, the condemnation of the wealthy and wealth is made abundantly clear in James, the authorship of which is traditionally assigned to the human brother of Jesus:
"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world...
What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don't show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, "Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well" - but then you don't give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?...
Look here, you rich people: Weep and groan with anguish because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you. Your wealth is rotting away, and your fine clothes are moth-eaten rags. Your gold and silver have become worthless. The very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh like fire. This treasure you have accumulated will stand as evidence against you on the day of judgment...You have spent your years on earth in luxury, satisfying your every desire. You have fattened yourselves for the day of slaughter". (1:27, 2:14-16, 5;1-5).
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