J. I. Packer on Wealth in the Christian Life
I have been mulling over this passage from Packer’s classic, Knowing God, and considering to what extent my own life ought to reflect the willful simplicity of the early church. What do you think?
You are called to go through this world as a pilgrim, a mere temporary resident, traveling light. You are to be willing, as Christ directs, to give up material wealth and the security it provides and live in a way that involves you in poverty and loss of possessions. Having your treasure in heaven, you are not to budget for treasure on earth, nor for a high standard of living—you may well be required to forgo both. You are called to follow Christ, carrying your cross.
“My God will meet all your needs according, to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” [Phil. 4:19]
We are unlike the Christians of New Testament times. The thought of “safety first” was not a drag on their enterprise as it is on ours. By being exuberant, unconventional and uninhibited in living by the gospel, they turned their world upside down. You could not accuse us twenty-first-century Christians of doing anything like that.
Why are we so different? Whence comes the nervous, dithery, take-no-risks mood that mars so much of our discipleship? Why are we not free enough from fear and anxiety to allow ourselves to go full stretch in following Christ? Now let us call a spade a spade. The name of the game we are playing is unbelief, and Paul’s “he will give us all things” (Romans 8:32) stands as an everlasting rebuke to us. Paul is telling us that there is no ultimate loss or irreparable impoverishment to be feared. If God denies us something, it is only in order to make room for one or another of the things he has in mind. Are we, perhaps, still assuming that a person’s life consists (partly, at any rate) in the things he possesses?
(Pages 312-313)
Best to live poor until wealth you have grown,
than play rich until stripped to the penniless bone.
That man gains better peace of mind, strength of character, and satisfaction in his labor, who disciplines himself to be content with fewer material goods, so that he might more greatly abound in charity toward others.
The Apostle Paul was capable of being content with “food and clothing,” and exhorted us to be likewise. I pray never to become discontent with giving sacrificially for the help of others in real need.
