The topic was should pastors have private jets?
My thoughts.
Brother, the average Christian is not drawing negative attention to them buying a car. All I ever heard when I first got saved was that all preachers are in it for the money. I have striven to never have that said of me. I have most likely spent more money to minister than I have received from ministry.
Having lived frugally, I do not buy expensive cars and only bought the house I needed, not what the real estate agent said I could afford. Hence, I have retired early with a modest home, cheap cars and no debt.
How do you teach people to be content with what they have when you lead a lavish lifestyle? It brings reproach to the Body and the working slug preachers who have to hear about fat cat preachers who are only in it for the money.
Yes, if the money comes from their books or investments they are free to spend it as they wish, but should they? Yet, many ask for money for jets so it is going to be with "church" money. When you have the entire world looking at you and not happy about the lifestyles of the rich and famous preachers causing them to blaspheme God and steer away from the Church you are not building the Kingdom, but indeed diminishing it.
Paul said in Romans 14 and 15 that we should not put a stumbling block in the path of the weaker brother even if it meant never eating meat again. If you have both the unbelievers and the believers stumbling by your lifestyle than you need to regroup. It is no longer can I, but should I? I am free to eat a ham sandwich, but I am not to shove it under the nose of my non-pork eating brother.
Sometimes we have to give up our liberty for the love of Christ and someone he died for, but we are Americans and we have our rights and bluntly we do not give a damn about the damned or the tender Christian. That is the main problem. We demand our rights when as being people who were bought with a price and we are not our own we have no rights. We have many privileges and gifts that we abuse, but really no rights. We are Americans, but we are also Ambassadors of a kingdom that does not share many of the cultural values.
1 Corinthians 8:8 But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse.
9 But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak.
10 For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols;
11 And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?
12 But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.
13 Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.
If Paul was willing to give up meat completely to do away with possibly being associated with pagans or to make a brother to offend then it is not too hard to suggest a brother to avoid the appearance of evil by controlling his lifestyle. There are those who gave up their wealth to serve. Again, not saying you have to give your book money away, but spend wisely knowing you are in the limelight. When you become a celebrity, privacy is basically gone. You can buy a great deal of first class tickets for $60 million and ask for security to get you on and off the plane somewhat incognito.
Romans 14:21 It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.
22 Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.
23 And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
Romans 15:1 We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
2 Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.
Your lifestyle can cause someone to stumble or fall into the trap of the prosperity gospel and when you can't get your own jet or a Lamborghini then you feel like God lied or you are not loved and
then you fall away. These men do great damage to the Gospel by promoting a wrong view of Christianity.
Everyone looks to one side of the Hall of Faith, but forgets the other.
Hebrews 11:35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
More Christians from 33 AD until now identify with these passages than the first 34. These preachers are just as bad as lottery tickets that give false hope to the poor. Yes, none of us are absolutely perfect in our spending, but then we are not ridiculed by the world because we bought the 10 oz rib eye instead of the 8 oz while they ponder who we fleeced to get the extra dollars. Yes, we should expect better from preachers as we will stand the stricter judgment. Maranatha!!
