This article is a response to an article in the Business times, Sunday the 20th July 2008, duly entitled “Big mouth, big money”. In this article Business Times’s Abdul Milazi spoke to one of the celebrated businessman and author of the “Popular Rich Dad, Poor Dad series which sold more than 17 million copies” according to Business Times, (pg11,2008). I read this man’s Business views and found his business acumen and “financial IQ” (to use his own words) quite impressive.
However, there is one very important error in theological cognition (for lack of a better word) and comprehension that I particularly want to highlight and briefly allude to. I have taken the liberty and the audacity to shed some light to proponents of wealth like Mr. Kiyosaki here, in order to clear the air of misconceptions such people often find themselves engaged in for lack of real knowledge about Biblical issues or simply put, Biblical discourse.
Let me be quick to note that the said lack is mainly due to their erroneous propensity to purport to have certain understandings about certain issues such people have no literate authority over. I refer here particularly to matters whose bases are Biblical in nature. And I want to caution people who are not only given to sophistry in much of the cases but also who are grossly ignorant of; first the inerrancy of the Bible and secondly the infallibility of the same. It is very important for such a class of people to understand that the Bible is a ‘discipline’ in and of itself and it is more so, a one discipline that one should not attempt to engage ones intellect, except such a one is given that insight and such an ability to disclose or engage at a reputable level with its content and insights, by the Holy Spirit.
The Bible is not just a book, as most are given to thinking. It is the living word of God. And I am not saying this to amuse or to propagate any particular dogma or religious position. I am saying this to enlighten those who would like to engage themselves with its sayings and wisdom which is beyond any human intellect.
Unless the Bible is illuminated and its sayings broken down to man’s level by the same Holy Spirit, who by the way is the spokesperson of the trinity, then, all guys like Mr. Kiyosaki are doing is further propounding as it were the gross lack of insight and understanding that the Bible requires of its scholars- the Christians. Note that Christians here again I am referring not to that religious bunch, like Mr. Kiyosaki’s Sunday school teacher, who denied him (Mr. Kiyosaki) the opportunity to have his question (see Business Times, Pg 11, 20th, 2008) answered appropriately therefore, aiding him to avoid what is now transpiring through Mr. Kiyosaki’s understanding, with reference to 1 Timothy 6: 10, although Mr. Kiyosaki is not quoting the whole scripture because should he have done that, he would have understood its meaning even without his religious Sunday school teacher.
The following scripture is very simple and straight forward. It does not say be poor! It says do not covert or worship money. Money, to quote one of those many slogans about it, indeed “makes the world go round”. I am typing this on a computer, money was used to buy it, I am posting this article on the World Wide Web, and money played a role. I am in a house, I am using electricity, and money is needed for all these. But what the scripture is saying in part is: money is not the be-it-all, end-all of life. There is more to life than money. Have you ever seen a rich man die? Ever heard of one taking his money with into and beyond his grave? Ever asked yourself why? So if none does then what does that say about money and its value or importance in our lives as people?
Do you not realize there is a much larger cause than money or its pursuit that we are here now? Our lives are much more precious than money, and if that is the case then it means we live for something much more valuable than accruing wealth and money. We need money in order to aspire toward that noble purpose. And I want to be quick here and suggest that the reason why many people think money is evil while some think it is ‘life’s be-it-all’ is because both campuses are devoid of Biblical wisdom and are therefore LIFE-ILLITRATES. Ever heard of computer illiterates? Yeah that same concept is what I am referring to here. As much as some or most people are computer illiterates especially in Africa, it is also true that a huge majority of people, especially money lovers are totally LIFE-ILLITRATE, and this is sad.
I don’t want to go further explaining this scripture, beyond what I have already done. I want you to study this scripture believing that the Holy Spirit will give you revelation of what exactly this scripture is saying, especially about money. And I also pray that He (The Holy Spirit) will lead you into all Biblical truth, and also I pray that you will begin to take Biblical illiteracy, therefore LIFE-ILLITRACY as something not to be proud of but rather something to be shunned and condemned utterly.
International Standard Version (©2008)
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, in their eagerness to get rich, have wandered away from the faith and caused themselves a lot of pain.
GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
Certainly, the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people who have set their hearts on getting rich have wandered away from the Christian faith and have caused themselves a lot of grief.
King James Bible
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Bible in Basic English
For the love of money is a root of all evil: and some whose hearts were fixed on it have been turned away from the faith, and been wounded with unnumbered sorrows.
Darby Bible Translation
For the love of money is the root of every evil; which some having aspired after, have wandered from the faith, and pierced themselves with many sorrows.
English Revised Version
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil: which some reaching after have been led astray from the faith, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
2 comments:
Yes, God never rukes people for having money. He does however say many harsh things to the rich in terms of the way they use their money, but that is a seperate issue, which has to do with your responsibility to use what you have to the Glory of God. And we cannot deny the richness we see God promising the Isrealites and how God made it a very wealthy land during Solomon's reign. So God isnt against wealth, but as the quoted scripture indicates it is a temptation beceasue we put our trust in it instead of God and it becomes a root of many kinds of evil, but it is not an inherently evil thing to be rich.
exactly my point. But a lot of people especially those who have issues with the Bible have often misquoted this scripture so as to justify why they wont be Christians, I find this such a gross display of illiteracy because the claims such people often make a not founded on any falliabities of the Bible itself except on their inherent lack of understanding with reference to its (Biblical Priciples).
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