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I was at Church one day, and we were addressed by Bishop David Huskins, of the Assemblies of God. He brought this up, and with a definition that I'm *sort of* at an understanding with, but it's a bit vague.
He said that God doesn't mind people having nice things, but the bishop said that God doesn't see favor in a man of God having six cars, while his brother can't even afford a bicycle. That a man of God can have a closet full of expensive clothes when his brother doesn't have a pair of shoes. That it's not right that we give to those only our leftovers and our hand-me-downs, but to offer up our first fruits towards the happiness of others.
This has always been kind of a connundrum for me, and I think it has in part to do with my Catholic upbringing, I'm glad to see the responses here because I think that some of you may be trying to grasp at a truth here. Christianity, or religion as a whole, deals in absolute truths, and in this question, there really isn't one.
The problem with the religious versus secular mindsets from the very start, in fact, IS that mindset. Religious minds will only speak in absolute truth, while the secular mind will speak in perceived truth and thus will result in an endless argument because they are diametrically opposed from the start. But what's the absolute truth here?
Much emphasis in Christian faith reflects on tithing, the giving of the "first fruits" to His service, with the thought that the Lord will multiply what is offered, as in sowing seed. But does that justify evangelists in riches? I honestly don't know.
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