They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:42-47
“The handling of possessions in the early church was motivated and influenced by its understanding of God’s intent for and absolute ownership of the created world. While early Christian authors in general affirmed the legitimacy of private property, they considered it a share of the common creation intended for the common good.
All material goods are God’s gracious gifts intended for sustenance of all humans, through common access to His grace. Therefore, human possession of earthly wealth is good when it fulfills God’s creative purpose — sufficient provision of our needs and the needs of others for common enjoyment and flourishing.
On the one hand, this understanding affirms the material dimension of human needs. It also shows the appropriateness and necessity of providing for needs following God’s design for life and the common enjoyment of earthly goods. On the other hand, it reveals that the needs of others must matter in human stewardship of God-given possessions. This should influence our decisions about money or property. Human stewardship is always conditional in light of God’s absolute ownership and creative purpose (the common good).
Beyond sufficient provision and common enjoyment, we do not have a natural right to hoard money, indulge in riches, and display wealth conspicuously. These are all symptoms of avarice and greed. Our possessions, even as the fruits of our hard work, are always contingent upon our broader social responsibility and our witness to God’s ultimate ownership. Moreover, while all wealth ultimately comes from God, wealth brings a real and powerful temptation and deceitfulness that easily leads to idolatry and injustice.”
Helen Rhee in her three-page essay “How might the practices of the early church inform our handling of
possessions in modern times?” in Purposeful Living: Financial Wisdom for All of Life compiled and edited by Gary G. Hoag and Tim Macready (Rhodes, NSW: Christian Super, 2018) 102-104. Click on the title to download this free ebook from the Global Generosity Roundtable 2018.
I’m turning my attention from the topic of ‘gratitude’ to sharing excerpts from Purposeful Living: Financial Wisdom for All of Life because it is filled with so many helpful thoughts worth contemplating and sharing.
Today’s thoughts come from Helen Rhee, a professor of History of Christianity at Westmont College and author of numerous books on the rich and poor in the early church. She helps us grasp the early church mindset regarding handling possessions, which helps explain the generosity we see in today’s Scripture passage. The operative word is ‘common’ both in the biblical text and her comments.
Material wealth was to be enjoyed and shared in a manner that made known common grace and preserved the common good. Expressions like ‘mine’ or ‘yours’ we not linked to possessions because everything belonged to God and was to be stewarded according to His purposes. For more on what that might look like today, download the free ebook and read her short essay. It’s absolutely brilliant!
Seeing the generous example of those who walked with Jesus inspires me and my family to continue to live simply, label as ‘common’ what possessions we steward, and share generously. In so doing, we limit temptations to sin associated with wealth, we are positioned to make available what we possess for ministering to others, and most importantly, we show God’s love to a watching world. Care to join us?