You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. Revelation 3:17
“The region of Asia Minor (called simply Asia in Roman documentation) was rather wealthy, especially its western coast and the valleys of the Lido and Lico Rivers, where the churches mentioned in chapters 2 and 3 of the Apocalypse [a.k.a. the book of Revelation] are located. During a certain period of the first century, this region underwent a time of economic recession, which reduced its relative importance in the Roman empire, but it remained a prosperous region in general terms.
Cities such as Smyrna, Ephesus, and Pergamum were important centers for that era, and others of lesser demographic importance, such as Laodicea or Thyatira, were experiencing good economic development both through their rural surroundings and through certain prosperous regional industries.
These cities, mainly Greek in origin and certainly empowered during the Hellenistic period, had been integrated into the Roman save system. It could be said that, in general, they had been transformed into cities that followed the imperial economic scheme in terms of their social formation, stratification, and class division.
This means that the “urban prosperity” to which we refer is prosperity for the aristocratic sector, the decurions supported by the Roman system under the patronage of Caesar. It is no accident, then, that in this region of the empire the worship of the emperor became very powerful, with Smyrna, Sardis, and Ephesus as important centers for this practice.”
Néstor O. Miguez in “Economics in the New Testament Apocalypticism” in God’s Economy: Biblical Studies from Latin America edited by Ross and Gloria Kinsler (Maryknoll: Orbis, 2005) 229-230.
The idea of “urban prosperity” or that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer is not a new idea. It’s also the precursor to apocalyptic times for a society.
What does this have to do with generosity? Everything. As a society flourishes, it tends toward being less generous. From there it idolizes the economic system to preserve comfort and place.
What will we do? Live according to the system or live differently? The choice is up to us. God is watching. But know this. The system we serve shows whom we worship.
If you think I am trying to shake and wake you with this post, sit with Jesus to discern what He may be saying to you. I am not trying to rob you but help you.
Read for yourself the letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3. Which church are you? Some will be rich materially and yet poor because they followed the wrong system.