Wesley often taught on money and materialism:
1 Timothy 6-9: 6Of course, there is great gain in
godliness combined with contentment; 7for we brought
nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; 8but if we have food
and clothing, we will be content with these. 9But those
who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into
ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is a root
of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves
with many pains.
Wesley felt the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 19-24) gave practical advice on
wealth:
19 ‘Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume
and where thieves break in and steal 20but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will
be also. 22‘The eye is the lamp of the body. So,
if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; 23but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 24‘No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either
hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
Wesley asked: Why does Christianity do so little good?
Answer: Materialism is the major cause of “inefficiency in Christianity.”
Wesley stated: “It is no more sinful to rich than poor. But it is dangerous
beyond expression.”
Wesley believed that a rich person could get to heaven, but it was much harder.
One of Wesley’s best knows sermons is the “Trilateral Sermon.”
GAIN ALL YOU CAN
Wesley had no problem with making money.
Argument for industriousness, hard work, and cleverness
Christians should work long and hard and gain as much money as they could.
Wesley followed his own advice: In his best year he earned
today’s equivalent of 1.4 million in a single year.
Yet, there were some ways of gaining money that were wrong:
Do not gain
money at the expense of life and health. Wesley was somewhat of an amateur physician – encouraged those that worked
with lead to find other work.
Abstain from
anything that included lying, cheating, avoiding paying taxes.
Do not gain
all you can by hurting your neighbor. Example: pawnbroker, gaming enterprises (gambling), or selling good below market value.
Avoid lucrative
improper medicine.
Do not gain
money at the expense of a soul by running taverns, “playhouses,” or anything that lower the state of human nature.
Use your time – be industrious –work hard – make money!
SAVE ALL YOU CAN
Most Christians miss the meaning of this leg of the Trilateral.
Carefully
spend and be frugal.
Christians
spend too much on the sensuous
Warned against
extravagant tastes, fine food, etc.
Warned against
appealing to the eye: expensive and gaudy clothing, elaborate homes, fancy gardens, extraordinary decoration, expensive paintings,
and other showy things that appeal to sense of sight.
Chided Christians
for saying: “I can afford it.”
Simplicity
and plainness
GIVE ALL YOU CAN
This was Wesley’s motivation for earning money.
Wesley gave a list:
Give to yourself
all you need in basics (food, clothing, shelter.)
Give to your
family and employees fair share, or else you are nothing but “an infidel”
Give to the
“Household of Faith” – other Christians which includes the “organized work of the Lord” in the
church
Give all
you can to those in need: the poor, the needy (even if they are not believers)
In other words: “You made it, you saved it, now you can give it!”
Wesley lived it too. In the year he earned 1.4 million, he lived on 2% ($28,000)
of this income and gave 98%. ($1,372,000).
- How does this challenge us
today?
- How can we live the Wesleyan
legacy?
- How much do we really need?
