| 10th
January, 2006
LLOYD HARKNESS
The
Eye of the Needle: Discipleship and Wealth
Jim
Reiher
Published by Urban Neighbours of Hope
ISBN
0 9580602 4 X
 |
"Written
as a response to a growing version of the 'prosperity
doctrine' (God wants every Christian to escape a poverty
mindset, be rich and prosper His kingdom) in Australia,
this book is a simple and thorough Biblical exposition
of God's New Testament, or new covenant, position
on money."
|
I will start
this review by drawing two quick portraits, of which there
could be a thousand variations, and setting you three questions
to consider.
Person A. Successful in business, I have always applied the
principle 'what you sow you reap'. I have tithed to my local
church and given extra to visiting ministries. God has prospered
me and my God's desire is to prosper you too.
Person B. I am a wage earner whose income doesn't always keep
pace with inflation. God provides for me but I'm never going
to own a house on a hill. I work at maintaining a generous
spirit so I can give to people and organisations that are
bringing honour to Jesus. God is my provider and He will be
your provider too.
Questions.
1. Which person do you identify with the most?
2. What do you identify with?
3. Who do you theologically agree with?
Whatever your response was to the three questions I daresay
it wasn't the first time you have thought about God and money.
Jim Reiher (who writes Sight's Life's Tough Questions column)
has pondered this issue long and hard too. The Eye of
the Needle is a substantive 140-page treatise of, as
the subtitle tells us, the question of discipleship and wealth.
Written as a response to a growing version of the 'prosperity
doctrine' (God wants every Christian to escape a poverty mindset,
be rich and prosper His kingdom) in Australia, this book is
a simple and thorough Biblical exposition of God's New Testament,
or new covenant, position on money.
Jim's stated purpose is to correct an error "that can
lead to self centredness, pride, envy and greed". In
a generation where people seem to be searching for a simple
formula so that everything in life works for me, the 'prosperity
doctrine' has found it's own niche.
However, life is about relationships. Life can also be messy
and incongruous with its share of anomalies. Looking for security
in a formula isn't going to help you live life. The 'prosperity
doctrine' is an empty promise and the problem with all empty
promises is the devastating effect on those who once believed
them. I am just warming up but I'll stop now and let Jim address
these and other money matters.
Hopefully this book will help everyone who reads it to put
wealth in its correct perspective and so be more effective
disciples.
Chapter eight helped to break up the book with its different
approach. The reader is asked to meditate on some key scriptures
dealing with money. You then read Jim's 'prosperity' version.
The sarcasm, while being a little sharper than an Adrian Plass,
certainly has a way of cutting through the pompous and the
ridiculous.
And that is what you get in The Eye of the Needle -
a good, Godly, scriptural, Australian, down-to-earth, matter-of-fact
discussion of prosperity.
FOR
MORE ON BOOKS, visit our books page here... |
