NEITHER RICHES NOR POVERTY
A biblical theology of possessions
By Craig L. Blomberg. IVP/Apollos. 300 pages. £12.99
ISBN 9 780851 115160
Between the wealth of godly Abraham and the notoriety of 'the rich man' in our Lord's parables, lies a chasm of understanding of the Christian's right relationship to property.
The job of the 'prosperity' theologians at one extreme and the false ascetics at the other, is the simple one of quoting favourite Scriptures and ignoring those that do not suit their argument. Blomberg has set himself the far more difficult task of working with the whole of Scripture to bring the 'full counsel of God' to bear on this critical subject. The results are extremely helpful.
After surveying various contemporary approaches to the subject and their tendencies to use guilt or greed to persuade the reader, Blomberg embarks on a remarkable tour of Scripture. In successive chapters the reader can grapple with the approach to material possessions found in The Law, History, Wisdom, Psalms, Gospels, Paul, John and the rest of the NT. The author has the ability to summarise large and complex matters pithily and concisely, enabling the reader to gather up the main points from each chapter and apply them to succeeding ones. The final chapter is an excellent summary of the whole work, and is well worth reading in and of itself, even if time does not allow you to study the whole book. It is only in the last few pages of the book that Blomberg makes any personal references, and his own testimony of how he has sought to outwork what he has learnt is both helpful and challenging.
In a few places the book fails in its stated aim of being accessible to the interested lay reader as opposed to the trained theologian, but never to the extent that the main lines of argument would be lost. A helpful addition to the book would be an appendix giving UK equivalents for some of the statistics quoted which uniformly relate to the American economy, church and giving.
We live in an era of unrivalled materialism and wealth. Responsible handling of such provision requires serious study of God's Word as we seek to determine godly priorities for living. For this, Blomberg's book is an excellent place to start.
Reading Neither Riches nor Poverty has made me newly aware of how much more grateful to God I should be for the money and possessions he has allowed me to have and enjoy. However, it has also made me deeply ashamed as it exposed the extent to which my spending priorities have been formed by the 'spirit of the age' and not the values of the Kingdom of God. Here is careful and balanced biblical theology that demands an urgent, practical response!
