Jesus and the Wealthy With John Cortines (2024)

At the most recent Kingdom Advisors Conference, John shared an incredible story about some friends of his and an inheritance decision they made:

“I’ve got some friends who are a super sharp young couple in their 30s. His Father shared that he was about to give them a vast, multi-million-dollar inheritance. Amazing! But they had been reflecting carefully on money and faith for months.

They said, ‘We are so grateful for this, but we’re already OK. And if we got this money, we’d start to rely on the shifting sands of this money for our security, instead of the firm foundation of Christ.’

Long story short, they worked with his Dad to use that money to advance God’s Kingdom through giving. I was blown away by that decision.”

Three Ways That Jesus Interacted With Wealthy People

So, if we go through the four Gospels and find the times Jesus interacted with a wealthy person, it happened a lot. He had a pretty unique pattern, and it was three things:

Love
Invitation
Challenge

So for us, in our wealth today, Jesus loves us, invites us, and challenges us.

Jesus said You can’t serve God and money. Money promises us Pleasure, Possessions, Protection, and Position, but it can’t give us those things. We have to look for God to get them eternally and in truth.

Is Jesus challenging us to sell our possessions and give everything to the poor?

While he might ask us to do that, this is the only time Jesus tells anyone to sell it all in Scripture.

Zacchaeus gave away half of his wealth, Peter left his boats, and Nicodemus, after the crucifixion, spent a fortune on the burial spices for Jesus, gaoing public with his faith.

The beauty is that it will look different for each of us as we read Scripture carefully and listen for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. But we can be sure God will challenge us to mobilize our wealth in this world to bless people and to bring Him glory.

How can we use our wealth to honor God and bless others?

We want to invite them into a deeper, right relationship with God and others. There are four areas where we can do this:

Family: Caring for those we are responsible for is godly and right.
Generosity: Scripture is clear we’re called to invest money into God’s Kingdom work.
Hospitality: In today’s isolated culture, opening your home and sharing meals with people is a radical and good step.
Employment (if you own a business): God calls many of us to employ others in good jobs in healthy, God-honoring work environments.

When we use our wealth for the benefit of others, it makes us richer spiritually. God is with us in that.

How can people can learn more about biblical generosity?

There’s a great ministry that works closely with Kingdom Advisors. It's called Generous Giving, and its video stories of Christian givers could greatly encourage anyone. Going to GenerousGiving.org, you can find dozens of sermons, stories, and resources to encourage you.

On Today’s Program, Rob Answers Listener Questions:

I'm retired and have a 401(k) from a previous employer from about 15 years ago. Should I take that 401(k) and move it into an IRA to have more control over it?
I have about $50,000 with Vanguard in an IRA account and another $20,000 in a 401(k). Up until about three years ago, I made good money with Vanguard in my IRA account, but in the last three years, I've gone nowhere with my investments in a targeted retirement account. I would gain a little bit and lose a little, and that's all it would do. So I put it all into a money market account, but I wanted to know if you had any suggestions, like what type of account I could put it into to start making some gains.
I have a Social Security Question for my sister who turned 60 in December. Her husband passed away about eight years ago, but she's still working full-time. Can she collect on her husband's Social Security in whole or part where she's still working?
My husband passed in 2016 and at the time, we had an 18-year-old and a 25-year-old. A couple of years ago, before everything went crazy during the pandemic, I was able to refinance my house to get a lower rate. My house has a rate of 3.75%, and at the time, I thought I was helping my children by putting their names on the deed during the refi. However, I've been hearing a lot about capital gains taxes, what will happen to them, in the event of my passing, and if the house is evaluated at more than what we paid for. I just don’t want to put them in a situation where they will owe a lot of money. Was I wrong for doing that? If so, can I reverse it with little or no problem simply by paying to have it reversed?

Resources Mentioned:

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