Jesus, Money and Pop Culture by Myra Kahn Adams for Town Hall
Thanks for joining us today! Before we study what the Bible says about money, let’s review pop culture’s prevailing influence:
“I’ve Been Poor, and I’ve Been Rich. Rich Is Better!” – attributed to many entertainers.
A more obnoxious version: “I’ve been rich, and I’ve been super-rich. Super-rich is better” – 2006 cartoon in The New Yorker.
Now is your chance to support Gospel News Network.
We love helping others and believe that’s one of the reasons we are chosen as Ambassadors of the Kingdom, to serve God’s children. We look to the Greatest Commandment as our Powering force.
“Money Can’t Buy Me Love” (1964) –The Beatles song title.
“Buy Me A Boat” (2015) – Country singer Chris Janson’s song has 144 million YouTube views. His opening lyrics reflect mainstream American attitudes:
“I ain’t rich, but I damn sure wanna be
Workin’ like a dog all day ain’t workin’ for me
I wish I had a rich uncle that’d kick the bucket
And I was sittin’ on a pile like Warren Buffett
I know everybody says money can’t buy happiness – but it could buy me a boat.
It could buy me a truck to pull it…”
Biblical references appear in the third stanza:
“They call me redneck, white trash, and blue-collar
But I could change all that if I had a couple million dollars
I keep hearing that money is the root of all evil
And you can’t fit a camel through the eye of a needle
I’m sure that’s probably true
But it still sounds pretty cool – ’cause it could buy me a boat…”
What Chris Janson “keeps hearing” are the Apostle Paul’s words:
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Timothy 6-10).
Janson also references Jesus’s warning recorded in three of the four gospels, Matthew 19:23 – 26, Mark 10:23 – 27, and in Luke:
“‘How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God. ’ Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus replied, ‘What is impossible with man is possible with God’” (Luke 18: 24-27).
