Prosperity Gospel: After 10%, what is mine is mine.

 

Why is it that 90% of the world's wealth is in the hands of 5% of the people?

Why is it that, if all the world's wealth is put together and equally divided and given to each person, in 20 year's time, 90% will again be in the hands of 5% of the people?

Obviously, some people are better in accumulating wealth, by good luck, by in-born talent, by hook, or by crook.

Apart from the few who become rich through winning lottery and super talent, wealthy people generally work hard to become wealthy.  So it's fair and square.  It's okay.  "I work hard for my money.  I slog day and night for my salary.  I sacrifice my family time, my fun time, my personal time, just to accumulate more wealth.  I also budget 10%, 20% of my wealth for God and for charity. I deserve to spend the remaining 90% and splurge on myself.

Pope St Gregory the Great gave another view, “The rich man is only an administrator of what he possesses; giving what is required to the needy is a task that is to be performed with humility because the goods do not belong to the one who distributes them. He who retains riches only for himself is not innocent; giving to those in need means paying a debt.”

Dear Gregory, how can you be right?  I slog painstakingly, and I sacrifice much comfort, on my way to become rich.  So the riches belongs to me! I deserve the best rich food, the best cars and the best villas.  My neighbors laze around the whole day, their whole lifetime.  They have much less.  They have less expensive food, no car, no villas.  But they enjoy themselves throughout their lives, and all the same, they are happy too.

So Dear Gregory, what is mine is mine.  I readily do my duty of give some back to the world.  Don't begrudge me.  When I die, I will give all away, but while I am alive, what is mine is mine.  I am the owner, not just the administrator.

God help those who help themselves, to be wealthy. 

This is another logical perspective.

King Solomon and his Thousand Wives and Concubines

Those who read 1 Kings 11:3 must be amused by King Solomon.  Haha! One wife plus one career is enough to stress a man out.  How did King Solomon manage with 1000 wives?

In olden days Jewish culture, just like olden day Chinese culture, having many descendants was the foremost objective in life.  God bestowed the ultimate blessing on Abraham Gen 32:12 "I will...make your descendants as the sands of the sea which cannot be numbered for multitude." Wow, imagine how happy Abraham was !!

(By the way, Chinese culture under communist rule no longer cares about the number of descendants.  Husband and wife have to 'stop at one child'.  And recently 'stop at two'.)

There are many instances in the Bible where blessings were promised to the descendants when someone had achieved good deeds.  And conversely, punishments for one's wicked deeds were meted out to one's descendants. (Ps 37:28, 1 Kings 11:12, etc)

Hence in the Jewish culture and customs, one's descendants were an extension of oneself.  Blessings bestowed to one's descendants were considered as blessings for oneself.  And a curse on one's descendants was a curse on oneself.

And so King Solomon wanted a thousand wives and concubines.  He must be hoping to bring forth as many descendants as the number of stars on a starry night (Gen 15:5).

Today, even if the Jewish custom still advocates having large number of descendants, much of the world has changed.  Does it matter someone who is dead, if his/her descendants achieve great number, great honour, wealth and fame?  It does not matter, some would say.

Well, this change in custom has a profound effect.  It has resulted in a change in attitude.  Many couples have refused to marry and to have children;  and many married couples voluntarily choose not to have children.

Perhaps descendants should be part of oneself, after all.

Knowing our own Soul

All through the ages, humans instinctively know that they have a soul that lives on after the death of the physical body.  Hence many have attempted to research and learn more about the subject of soul.

Like many people, I have always believed that I have a soul.  Besides this, I know little, almost nothing. I do not know whether my soul will grow old like my physical body.  Nor whether my soul, since it is a non-physical entity, know the past and the future.

When I googled, I came across an article supposedly written by Witness Lee, a disciple of Watchman Nee.  It says the soul is of 3 parts, the mind, the will and the emotion.  You can read more about this in http://www.ministrysamples.org/excerpts/THE-SOUL-HAVING-THREE-PARTS.HTML 

Recently I found another description of soul.  Chinese tradition describes the soul as 3 entities ( 三魂七魄 ).  It struck me that this is quite similar to what Witness Lee wrote, except that, instead of 3 parts, it is now 3 separate entities.  Those of you who understand Chinese can read about it below. (The reference is at the end of the article.)

As for me, I am happy that, by dying on the cross and rising again on the third day, Jesus Christ has already promised my soul eternal peace.  Thank God for the Blessed Assurance.