Heaven Forbid

While on vacation this past week, I had the opportunity to engage in simple pleasures like browsing Borders and reading USA Today. Last Friday, a little graphic on the lower front page of USA Today showed the results of a poll:


Results of people age 50 or older who say they believe in heaven, by household income:
Less than $25,000 - 90%

$25K - $49,999 - 88%
$50K - $74,999 - 84%
$75,000 or more - 78%


The trend seems to be that the more money you have, the less likely it is that you'll believe in heaven.


Any poll like this has questionable reliability, but it's hard not to think of the reliable words of Jesus Christ: "It is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." (ESV: "How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!")


God has saved many rich people - the patriarchs weren't so bad off, Job was doing well there for a while, and both David and Solomon had every conceivable advantage. Of course, David and Solomon saw injury to their souls based on those advantages. But in any case, God does not say you have to be poor to be a Christian.


However.


The Bible does make it clear that we must expect wealth to pull at our souls. And in many other ways, our physical and outward life will affect our spiritual and inward life. We must guard against anything that "wages war against the soul" as Peter says, and for every American the issue of wealth is one of the biggest.

The Best of Times

My friends and I used to discuss what time period we wish we'd been born into. The formative 1500s? The puritanical 1600s? The revolutionary 1700s? The dapper 1800s?

As for me, I always felt like I was best off right where I am. Not only because I can't imagine a childhood without Star Wars and Atari, but because as a Christian I believe we live in exciting, pivotal times. In spite of this, we don't always count our blessings - or spend our treasure wisely. Those who are born into royalty know from their earliest days that they must be wise stewards of their privileges. Don't they? Well, maybe they don't... but should!

What about us? As a Christian, do you recognize the times you live in? Consider the following:

1. We have the advantage of living on this side of the cross and resurrection. Our understanding of God's redemption and care for his people is exponentially greater than even that of John the Baptist.

2. We have the advantage of living on this side of the church's formative years. We have the example of the martyrs and the heritage of the creeds. We have the entire New Testament.

3. We have the advantage of living on this side of the Reformation. While not perfect or complete, the Reformation was a great recovery of biblical doctrine, preaching, and living.

4. We have the advantage of living in the information age, with the wisdom of the ages at our disposal. With a few clicks, you have access to libraries of writings by church fathers of all kinds. You can read Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, and listen to sermons spanning the globe, all for the cost of an internet connection - or for free, if you use the library's computers.

5. We live in an age when the church is growing all around the globe.

6. We live at a time when all kinds of gifts are welcomed in the church. I don't think they had "spiritual gift inventories" in the good old days - and it seems that in many eras of church history, a variety of gifts went without recognition or proper appreciation.

Much more could be said, but let me conclude with the most important advantage of all:

7. We live on this side of Pentecost. Jesus said "greater works than these shall you do" for a reason. Jesus said "you shall receive power to be my witnesses" for a reason. Jesus said "your joy will be complete" for a reason. Jesus said "this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached to all nations" for a reason. The reason is the Holy Spirit. In this sense it doesn't matter if you were born in 70 AD or 2007 AD.

Some might say that we also live in an age of unparalleled temptation or distraction. I would argue the advantages far outweigh the challenges, at least when compared to other historical moments. But ultimately, the difference does not lie outside but inside - God has given us unending resources to know Him, grow in Him, and serve Him, and what matters most is recognizing these vast privileges.