Books & Movies: The Doctrine of Non-Accumulation
Douglas Jacoby Podcast
English - June 30, 2023 06:00 - 31 minutes - 28.4 MB - ★★★★★ - 64 ratingsChristianity Religion & Spirituality Education Courses bible education society bible teaching history spirituality characters jesus teaching christianity Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
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The book critiqued in this podcast is Through the Eye of the Needle: The Doctrine of Non-Accumulation, by Roger Hertzler.
The basic idea
What's helpful:
Indeed, the Bible teaches that we are to provide financially for the generation behind us, not the generation following. (That is, we are to take care of our elderly parents, not leave an inheritance for our [often] adult children.) The greatest legacy we can leave them is spiritual, and in fact we may be hurting them if the most significant thing we leave them is our money (56). However, see Proverbs 13:22 and 2 Corinthians 12:14.Older people will have no problem giving away their money and possessions when they know that the rest of the church will provide for them.The teaching of the church in the Patristic era, for example: "How can they follow Christ, who are held back by the chain of their wealth? . . . They think that they possess, but they are possessed instead. They are the bondslaves of their money, not the lords of their money. They are slaves of their profit" [Cyprian, c. 250 AD). While some of the views of the 2nd and 3rd century church go beyond the teachings of Jesus (usually in the direction of strictness), the spirit of their radical discipleship is evident.From Hertzler's chapter entitled "An Exchange of Values":"... [The] enemy is “a wrong value system.” It is a value system that tells us the things of this world have genuine value (as opposed to being worthless). It tells us that having much of this world’s wealth is somehow better than having little of it. None of us are exempt from the effects of this erroneous value system... The world says that stocks, bonds, gold coins, land, and savings accounts have real value. Christ says that nothing on earth has any real value except that which can be converted into Heavenly treasure before we die. The world says that financial security is something we all should strive to achieve. Christ says that financial security is something that will destroy our faith and steal our love. The world says that it is honorable to leave your children financially well off. Christ says that such a move would endanger their souls, because a rich person will hardly enter the kingdom of God... If you can completely internalize this upside-down value system, it will revolutionize your life. That which you used to think was important will now seem trivial. Your passion will become the kingdom of God..."There is not doubt that Jesus warned us in the strongest possible terms of the potential of wealth to blind, numb, and choke us (Luke 8:7,14; Revelation 3:14-19).
What seems off-base:
Conclusion
The book serves a valuable purpose: making us think about the biblical teaching on possessions.Yet it is simplistic, ill-suited to the real world. Moreover, it over-interprets the teachings of Christ.Perhaps rather than focusing on the negative (non-accumulation), we should emphasize the positive qualities I am sure are behind Hertzler's thesis: generosity, hospitality, sacrifice, mercy. For God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:6).No one on his death-bed laments, "How I wished I had made more money." Death, the great leveler, confronts all of us with the truth (see Psalm 49). Rather, people say, "How I wished I'd spent more time with my loved ones... I should have lived my life in the light of eternity." For reminding us of the worthlessness of human wealth in the light of eternity, Hertzler does us a great service.