[MENTION=19]skidadl[/MENTION] does make a good point, though.
What is the X number that would be suitable for people? There are people who have an issue with wealthy Christians or at least pastors of wealth (as do I, to an extent), but they can't tell you exactly what it is they think a pastor is entitled to in terms of exact income nor can they give you specifics on what he should make and what he should give. On that front, I totally get where Skid is coming from.
But there are some things that don't require specifics and I think this is one of them. As Townsend pointed out so well, there's just a general understanding and common sense that should apply in this instance. If you are a person of Christian faith, and you go to church and you read your bible and you follow the gospel, then you have a good understanding of who the Lord is and how he would operate and how he would want you to be as a person.
None of us, not even the most noble and pure-hearted Christian on the planet knows exactly how God works and how he thinks, but much how our beliefs are based on faith moreso than facts, so is our understanding of how the Lord would expect us to act and how he might view this or that scenario.
Do I think it's wrong for a Christian or even a pastor to be wealthy? Absolutely not, and I've explained why in previous posts so I won't go into all that detail again. But I do think there is a certain limit or a point that one reaches, that cannot be defined by exact numbers, where you should have the presence of mind to grasp the situation you're in and apply your knowledge and understanding of the faith towards it and ask yourself if you are living in a manner that the Lord would approve of.
For those of us who believe in the Lord, (skid, [MENTION=11]L.T. Fan[/MENTION]), we all have those moments in life where we talk to God. Only one of us is actually speaking, but we wholeheartedly feel that we are in a 2-way conversation with God. Sometimes, those conversations consist of asking God to lead us down the right path when we might be confused with what decision to make, or even if we're questioning our own decision-making in that situation we're in. And more to the point, we'll often stop ourselves from doing ABC or persuade ourselves to do XYZ because we've asked ourselves "What would God want me to do?? or "Would the Lord approve of this if he were physically here to see this?".......and what do we do? We make a decision based on what we believe God would want us to do and that decision is based on our understanding of him and how he works.
We don't actually KNOW, but we make our best guess based on what we've learned and what we believe.
I believe that this is exactly what should take place in the Joel Osteen situation. Is it ok for him to be wealthy? Absolutely. Is it ok for him to drive a Mercedes? Why not? Is it ok for him to have a big home in a private community? Of course, after all, God wants us to be happy and to live an enriched life in every way possible.
But do I see why people have a problem with him having a 10,000 sq ft compound? Yes. Is it a bit absurd and contradictory for him to have a private jet? No doubt about it.
At some point, Joel Osteen should realize that he's gone beyond the point of living well and is now living in excess. Once he's reached that point, I believe he is then living in a manner that the Lord would not approve of. Instead of spending money on a private jet, why not donate that money to cancer research? Why not provide tons of food to homeless people during the holiday season?
Do you really need a humongous house of that size? He'd be more than fine in a 4,000 sq ft home. I live pretty well off, and chances are I'll never live a 4,000 sq ft home, so I know he'd be just fine in one. I mean, not just anyone can afford or is fortunate enough to live in a home of that size or live in such a privileged state of luxury, so it's not like he'd be suffering living in a house like that.
Those are just a few examples of what I see wrong with the Joel Osteen picture and how I personally feel a man of Christian faith, especially one who is supposed to be preaching the gospel, should enjoy and use his wealth.
