There is no such thing as “Financial Independence.”

There is no such thing as “Financial Independence”.

We dream of the day no boss can tell us what to do.
We want to reclaim our most valuable resource, our time.
We want the freedom to choose to do as we please when we would like to do it.
This is a modern myth as a Christian.
Even if God financially blesses you to the point you don’t need from people wealthier than you, you never break free from the requirement to help those who have less than you.
There is no financial independence as a Christian.
Looking at the text below it appears it may be eternally riskier to be wealthy.

Matthew 25:31–46.

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Matthew 19:23-30 ESV

23 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 27 Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

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Mike & Leslie Colaw

Husband, father, pastor. I work here www.encountertrinity.com. Wrestle through ideas here www.luke117.com. I don't have all the answers, but I love the journey searching for them!

2 thoughts on “There is no such thing as “Financial Independence.”

  1. WOW! You have raised a whole bunch of questions regarding this post. This reads like you think Christians should never retire. Also that financial independence equal to wealthy and financial independence is equal to uncharitable. I never thought of it in those terms. Very risky.

  2. Love it Dan! Good questions. Idk… Like many things I think these are tensions to manage. Should a Christian never retire? I guess it depends on what you mean by retire. If you mean stop working for a company because of wise investments, I see no problem with that. You might even have greater freedom to live a charitable life, but a charitable life MUST be lived. (Matthew text) If by retire you mean turning off and waiting on a beach to die for 30 years. Yeah, I think that’s a bad idea. Be productive! Engage in the Christian life. There is so much need in the world. Don’t turn off, be a part of the solution. The church could absolulty use an army of retired passionate Christians. Christians that are not independent (cut all ties from responsibility) but very dependable. 🙂
    You also said:
    “Also that financial independence equal to wealthy and financial independence is equal to uncharitable.” I am not sure how you got here? I don’t think I said that at all. Maybe read/watch the above again?

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