Live Rich & Die Poor — Rick Warren on Filthy Lucre

Rick Warren, best-selling author of The Purpose Driven Life, was quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald about being a Christian and being rich:

“I don’t think it is a sin to be rich, it’s a sin to die rich, I want people to make as much money as they can as long as they give it away as much as they can.”

I think he is wrong. It is not a sin to either to be or to die rich. It is the same problem people have with the passage “The love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Tim 6:10) - It is not the money that is the problem. That is too simple. Poor people can love money just as much or more than the rich.

“Where your treasure is, there your heart is also.” I am working hard to provide for my family. By most of the world’s standard we are rich. But at this point I am sure that I will not have enough saved for retirement. What am I to do?

Warren’s message (if he was quoted correctly) is a message of guilt. I don’t care how much money a person has — what are they doing with the talents God has given them? That is the question. I may not measure up on that standard either, but it has nothing to do with the amount of money in my bank account.

Source: Scott Yang’s Playground