Materialismo
O materialismo é uma armadilha espiritual. A Bíblia alerta que o amor ao dinheiro é raiz de todos os males e nos chama a buscar tesouros no céu, não na terra.
O perigo das riquezas
Que aproveita ao homem ganhar o mundo inteiro e perder a sua alma? O materialismo engana e afasta do que realmente importa.
Will you gain anything if you win the whole world but lose your life? Of course not! There is nothing you can give to regain your life.
Do you gain anything if you win the whole world but lose your life? Of course not!
But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and are caught in the trap of many foolish and harmful desires, which pull them down to ruin and destruction.
What did we bring into the world? Nothing! What can we take out of the world? Nothing! So then, if we have food and clothes, that should be enough for us.
What did we bring into the world? Nothing! What can we take out of the world? Nothing! So then, if we have food and clothes, that should be enough for us.
Tesouros no céu
Ajuntai tesouros no céu, onde traça e ferrugem não consomem. O bom nome vale mais que muitas riquezas, e a sabedoria supera o ouro.
Riches in Heaven
"Do not store up riches for yourselves here on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and robbers break in and steal. Instead, store up riches for yourselves in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and robbers cannot break in and steal.
For your heart will always be where your riches are.
Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come and follow me."
If you have to choose between a good reputation and great wealth, choose a good reputation.
It is better—much better—to have wisdom and knowledge than gold and silver.
Better to be poor and fear the Lord than to be rich and in trouble.
Contentamento e generosidade
Grande ganho é a piedade com contentamento. A cobiça é idolatria, mas a generosidade traz alegria e bênção.
Well, religion does make us very rich, if we are satisfied with what we have.
Command those who are rich in the things of this life not to be proud, but to place their hope, not in such an uncertain thing as riches, but in God, who generously gives us everything for our enjoyment.
Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, "I will never leave you; I will never abandon you."
The Old Life and the New
You must put to death, then, the earthly desires at work in you, such as sexual immorality, indecency, lust, evil passions, and greed (for greed is a form of idolatry).
And he went on to say to them all, "Watch out and guard yourselves from every kind of greed; because your true life is not made up of the things you own, no matter how rich you may be."
If you love money, you will never be satisfied; if you long to be rich, you will never get all you want. It is useless.
We leave this world just as we entered it—with nothing. In spite of all our work there is nothing we can take with us.
O invisível acima do visível
As coisas que se veem são temporais; as que não se veem são eternas. Devemos fixar os olhos no que é permanente e verdadeiro.
For we fix our attention, not on things that are seen, but on things that are unseen. What can be seen lasts only for a time, but what cannot be seen lasts forever.
Rich people, however, imagine that their wealth protects them like high, strong walls around a city.
Riches will do you no good on the day you face death, but honesty can save your life.
Your money can be gone in a flash, as if it had grown wings and flown away like an eagle.
all they do is think about what they would like to have. The righteous, however, can give, and give generously.
keep me from lying, and let me be neither rich nor poor. So give me only as much food as I need.
I also want the women to be modest and sensible about their clothes and to dress properly; not with fancy hair styles or with gold ornaments or pearls or expensive dresses, but with good deeds, as is proper for women who claim to be religious.
The Believers Share Their Possessions
The group of believers was one in mind and heart. None of them said that any of their belongings were their own, but they all shared with one another everything they had.