Matthew 8:20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
If your favorite bible teacher is living a lavish lifestyle, how do you square that with Jesus, the Apostles and most Christian leaders since the 1st Century?
I know of a pastor who kept the same salary from his church for several decades. Yes, he wrote books and spoke at other places, but he always turned down a raise from his pastorate. Many pastors are underpaid and work a job. Depending on what pay scale site you go to, the average salary of a pastor ranges from $50K to 99K. There are pastors that would think they were rich if they had a $50K salary. In college, I was told that pastor's salary should be the median salary of the congregation. That might be huge in a church of millionaires.
That does mean that most do not have private jets, multi-million dollar homes or wear expensive clothes and accouterments. The pastor who led me to the Lord was driving a twelve year old station wagon raising three kids on what my father-in-law paid in taxes. Yet, all I ever heard from folks is that pastors are in it for the money.
If their lavishness comes from money that they earned through books and meetings, they have the right to spend it as they wish from a human aspect, but you have to wonder how the Lord feels about it. Just because you can, does not mean you should. Seeing how it reflects poorly on the ministry and causes some to stumble in the church and people outside to have disdain for the church because of such lavish living it is not a wise decision.
Some might say I am jealous. I have no idea what I would do with such wealth. My wife and I worked and she is frugal. God opened up jobs for me that I was not really qualified for and we are fine. I have turned down money and always minister for free.
If I were called to preach in a large city or overseas, I would request that my needs and travel would be covered, but I would travel coach and be happy to stay in someone's home eating beans and cornbread or spaghetti. If they knew me and loved me, I would be given a Limburger cheese sandwich on rye with hot mustard and a slice of Vidalia onion, some Middleswarth chips and a Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper. Few would love me that much. The chips and drink they might provide, but I suspect they would give an alternative entree. 😉
According to one pay site, I should be given $1700 an hour. Maybe that is why some people think I am weird to serve for free. Hey, if it bothers you give the $1700 to a homeless shelter and bring the Dr. Pepper and chips.
I salute the pastors that could live in a huge home and choose to live in a modest home, drive an average vehicle and do not flaunt wealth if they have it. They do not bring disdain to the ministry and teach both their rich and poorer members to seek godliness with contentment, not lusting after that which will one day be burned up or will breakdown and rust before that leaving them in a position to be a blessing to others. The rat race for the American dream has destroyed many.
If your pastor flaunts his wealth and especially if he/she is a prosperity gospel preacher, you need to leave as that is not biblical and there are probably other teachings that are not what they should be as well.
If you are staying away from church because you see all of those rich preachers, they are not the norm. Most ministry around the world is done by pastors and missionaries who make less than 50K. Think of it, even factoring in the millionaires the average is still under $100K. That took quite a few poor preachers to offset the rich ones to make the average that low.
There are good pastors and churches out there that are not "in it for the money" nor do they always talk about it. Ask God to lead you to one of those and turn off the TV. Read your bible and ask God to teach you and to lead you to a good local teacher. Your local church will likely have a much lower overhead than ministries that need jets and such. Besides, when you are sick, need guidance or whatever, your local pastor will be there and you can also have a congregation that will love and support you. They will likely be able to relate to your needs as they have been there. The TV preacher will not jet into your town for all that. Maranatha!
