Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Robin, and I'd like to welcome you to this RE lesson today on different religious views about the uses of wealth.

In today's lesson, you will be able to explain Christian views on wealth, stewardship, and giving.

Three keywords we'll be using today are poverty, tithe, and wealth.

Poverty is the state of being without the things needed for a reasonable quality of life, so that day-to-day living is a struggle.

A tithe is the practise of giving 10% of income to the church or charity based on biblical teachings.

And wealth is the money, possessions, resources, and opportunities a person has.

In today's lesson, we're going to be looking at the responsibilities of wealth and Christian perspectives on the uses of wealth.

So, let's get started on the responsibilities of wealth.

Wealth and its use is one of the most frequently discussed issues in the Bible.

Wealth in itself is not wrong, but greed is dangerous.

Wealth should be used to help those in need.

Wealth must be gained and used fairly.

And helping those living in poverty also means tackling the causes of poverty.

Let's have a look at Bible teachings as a source of wisdom and authority on the uses of wealth.

"A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord," Leviticus 27:30.

This suggests that a 10th or tithe of everything people earn or grow belongs to God and should be given back to Him as an act of worship and obedience.

It means setting aside a portion of one's income or harvest to support religious purposes, such as helping the community or maintaining places of worship.

"Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others," 1 Peter 4:10.

Wealth is given by God and so people have a duty to use it to help others.

"All the believers were together and had everything in common.

They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need." Early Christians shared their wealth to help others, emphasising communal support.

"Jesus teaches, 'Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.

'" This suggests Christians should focus on spiritual rather than material wealth.

"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God," Matthew 19:24.

This suggests that being wealthy can make it harder to follow God because the money can become more important than faith.

"The love of money is the root of all evil," 1 Timothy 6:10.

This suggests that loving money too much can lead to greed, selfishness, and wrongdoing.

Let's check your understanding.

Is this statement true or false? The Bible teaches that money is the root of all evil.

Take a moment to think about your answer.

Pause the video, think about why as well, and then come back when you are ready to see what you should have come up with.

So, well done if you put false, but why is this false? Well, it's because the Bible actually says, "The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil." It does not say money itself is evil, so it's the unhealthy desire for wealth that can lead to wrongdoing.

So, well done if you spotted the missing words love of before that word money.

Wealth is one of the most common themes of Jesus' parables.

An example of this is the Parable of the Talents found in Matthew 25:14-30.

In this story, a wealthy master was going on a journey and entrusted his servants with different amounts of money to look after whilst he was away.

He gave one servant five talents, another two talents, and the last one talent.

In Biblical times, one talent amounted to about 20 years wages for a worker and today will be worth over 500,000 pounds.

This means that the servant with five talents had the equivalent of millions of pounds.

The first two servants invested and doubled their money, earning praise and rewards from their master.

"Well done, good and faithful servant." The third servant, out of fear, hid his talent and did nothing with it.

The master condemned him as lazy and gave his talent to the servant with 10.

The parable suggests that wealth should be used wisely, not hoarded or wasted.

It emphasises that resources are a trust from God, meant to be invested for good.

Those who use wealth responsibly will be rewarded, while those who do nothing out of fear or laziness will face consequences.

What does the master's reaction to the third servant in the Parable of the Talents suggest about the use of wealth? I'd like you to choose two answers.

A, fear is a good reason to avoid using our wealth.

B, failing to use wealth wisely can lead to consequences.

C, people should save all their money for the future.

D, doing nothing with wealth is a wasted opportunity.

Take a moment to have a think about which two answers you think are correct.

Then come back when you're ready to check.

Well done if you spotted that it was B and D, failing to use wealth wisely can lead to consequences, and doing nothing with wealth is a wasted opportunity.

Another example of a parable told by Jesus about the use of wealth is The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus found in Luke 16:19-31.

Here we can see a painting called The Rich Man and Lazarus by Casper van den Hoecke.

A rich man lives in luxury, while Lazarus, a poor beggar, suffers outside his gates.

The rich man and Lazarus both die.

Lazarus is taken to Abraham's side, heaven, while the rich man is tormented in Hades, hell.

The rich man begs for relief and asks Abraham to warn his family, but Abraham says they already have Moses and the prophets to guide them.

The parable warns about ignoring the suffering of others and teaches that wealth should be used with compassion.

Let's check your understanding.

Why did the rich man suffer after his death in The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus? Was it, A, because he was wealthy? B, because he ignored Lazarus' needs? C, because he did not believe in an afterlife? Or, D, because he did not work hard enough? Take a moment to think about your answer.

Pause if you need to.

And then, come back when you're ready to move on.

Well done if you put B, because he ignored Lazarus' needs.

For task A, for each of the statements below, I'd like you to decide whether it is taught in the Bible or not, and suggest what it says about the responsibilities of wealth.

One, Christians should prioritise generosity over material gain.

Two, excessive wealth can be a spiritual obstacle.

In other words, get in the way of someone's relationship with God.

Three, money itself is not evil, but greed is dangerous.

Four, wealth is a measure of status and accomplishment.

Five, wealth should be kept for personal security.

Six, wealth should be used to help others.

So, take some time to think about whether they are taught in the Bible, and then to suggest what they say about the responsibility of wealth.

Pause the video and come back when you are ready to review your work.

You could have said, one, Christians should prioritise generosity over material gain.

This is taught in the Bible.

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven." Two, excessive wealth can be a spiritual obstacle.

This is taught in the Bible, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." Three, money itself is not evil, but greed is dangerous.

This is taught in the Bible, "The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil." Four, wealth is a measure of status and accomplishment, not taught in the Bible.

The Bible does not teach that wealth determines a person's value or success.

Five, wealth should be kept for a personal security.

Again, not taught in the Bible.

In fact, the Bible teaches that wealth should be stored up in heaven and not on earth.

And six, wealth should be used to help others.

This is taught in the Bible.

"They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need." This is describing some of the very first Christians' behaviour.

Well done if you managed to spot which ones express messages that can be found in the Bible.

For the second half of our lesson, we are going to be looking at Christian perspectives on the uses of wealth.

Andeep, Sofia, Lucas, and Aisha are discussing why religious people are more likely to give to charity.

Andeep says, "Their religion teaches it." Sofia says, "Everyone at their place of worship does it." Lucas says, "They think God will reward them for it." Aisha says, "It makes them feel good." What matters more, whether someone gives to charity or why they give? I'd like you to take a moment to think about the answer to that question.

If you can turn and talk to someone nearby, please do.

Pause the video and come back when you're ready to move on.

Online interviews conducted in 2020 and 2021 asked people in the UK about how likely it was that they would donate to charity in the next three months.

And we have in the darker green colour religious people and in the lighter colour irreligious or people that don't practise a religion.

And you can see the results ranging from very likely through to not likely at all.

I'd like you to have a look at the data and complete this sentence.

People who give to charity are more likely to be.

So, pause the video.

Take a moment to really study the data and the figures on that chart.

Come back when you are ready to check your answer.

So, well done if you finish the sentence with the word religious.

We can see that in most cases, on the likely to very likely scale, it was more likely to be someone who was religious who was saying that they would be giving to charity in the next three months.

People were also asked about which causes they would be most likely to give to, and this chart shows the percentage of religious people who donated to different causes in the previous three months.

We have children and young people, health and medicine, poverty relief, faith-based causes, and animals.

So, what do you notice about the top three causes that religious people donate to? Take a moment to think about what those causes might have in common.

Pause the video and come back when you're ready to see what you might have come up with.

So, well done if you noticed that they all focus on people.

So, it seems that religious people are more likely to give to charity and perhaps when they do, they're more likely to give to charity that is working with causes that focus on people and their wellbeing.

Let's check your understanding.

True or false.

The data suggests that religious people are more likely to give to charity than people who are not religious.

Look carefully at the data in the chart.

Have a think about whether it's true or false and the reason why.

Pause the video if you need to, and then come back when you are ready to check.

So, well done if you spotted that that is true.

The data does suggest that religious people are more likely to give to charity than people who are not religious.

Let's have a think about why.

While 76% of religious people said they were likely to give to charity compared with 56% of non-religious people.

As well as the Bible, there are other sources of wisdom and authority that Christians might use when answering questions such as, how should we use our wealth? These could include church teachings or tradition, their conscience and reason, and Christian ethical theories.

They may interpret these sources differently or emphasise one more than another, and they might also consider non-religious arguments.

Danielle is a Roman Catholic Christian and she has been asked about how she uses her wealth.

She says, "The church teaches that our wealth should be used to help those living in poverty.

The Catechism says, 'Love for the poor is incompatible with a moderate love of riches,' meaning we should not be too focused on money.

I give regularly to CAFOD, which fights poverty worldwide, and the St.

Vincent de Paul Society, which helps locally.

St.

Francis gave up everything for God, and Mother Teresa lives simply to serve the poor.

True wealth is love and service." So, what does a Catechism say about people who love wealth? Look carefully at Danielle's statement.

Pause if you need to.

You can turn and talk to someone nearby, and come back when you're ready to move on.

So, well done if you spotted that it suggests they cannot love people living in poverty.

John is a Quaker, and he's been asked about how he uses his wealth.

John says, "I believe that wealth should be used responsibly.

Quakers believe in living simply and avoiding materialism, in the Testimony of Simplicity, so I try not to focus too much on money.

Instead, I use what I have to promote peace, equality, and justice.

Quakers have a history of ethical business and philanthropy.

I support charities like Quaker Peace & Social Witness, which works for peace and human rights.

True wealth isn't about how much you have, but how you use it to help others." So, what kind of lifestyle do Quakers advocate? Look carefully at John's statement.

Pause the video if you need to, and then come back when you are ready to see what you might have come up with.

So, well done if you spotted that they live simply.

Asher is a Pentecostal Christian who attends a Free Church, and he has been asked about how he uses his wealth.

Asher says, "Wealth is a blessing from God, but it should be used wisely.

The Bible teaches us to tithe, giving 10% of our income to the church to support its work and help those in need.

I also give to Tearfund, which helps communities overcome poverty, and Compassion UK, which supports children in need.

Generosity is part of my faith and I trust God to provide.

True blessing isn't about having lots of money, but about living faithfully, helping others, and using what I have to serve God's purpose." So, what do Pentecostals believe about wealth? Take a moment to think.

You can turn and talk to someone nearby if there's someone available, or you can talk to me.

Pause the video if you need to, and then come back when you're ready to move on.

Well done if you noticed that he started with saying, "Wealth is a blessing from God." Danielle and Sarah have been asked about whether their religions require them to give a certain amount to charity.

Danielle is a Roman Catholic Christian and Sarah is a Sunni Muslim.

Danielle says, "In Christianity, although some churches encourage tithing, there is no rule about having to give a certain amount.

For most, how much you give as a personal choice." Sarah says, "Zakat is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, so it is compulsory.

I give 2.

5% of my savings to help the poor.

I also give Sadaqah, which is a voluntary charity, to support those in need." So, are there benefits to having rules about how much to give to charity? I'd like you to take a moment to turn and talk to somebody nearby.

Pause the video if you need to.

Come back when you're ready to move on.

Let's check your understanding.

What is the missing word? Is the practise where a Christian gives 10% of their income to the church or charity.

Take a moment, pause if you need to, and come back when you are ready to find out the answer.

So, well done if you put the word tithing.

This is giving 10% of income to church or charity, and it's practised by some Christians, although not all.

Some Christians have different attitudes to the uses of wealth.

"Give, and it will be given to you," is from Luke 6:38.

Now, there is a movement known as the Prosperity Gospel movement, and they see this verse as a promise of material blessings, showing that generosity leads to financial prosperity and success.

On the other hand, other Christians would see this more as encouraging simple living, a call to generous giving, which leads to spiritual blessings rather than material rewards.

Alex is asking Asher about the Prosperity Gospel movement.

Alex says, "I've heard the Prosperity Gospel movement was begun by Pentecostals in America in the 1950s." Asher says, "That's right, preachers like Oral Roberts, began to teach that if you have enough faith and give money, often to a church or preacher, God will make you wealthy." Alex responds, "Do most Pentecostals follow the Prosperity Gospel?" Asher says, "No, not really, especially not here in the UK.

Some, mainly in big US megachurches and TV ministries, follow it, but many of us reject it.

Groups like the Assemblies of God warn that it's misleading.

I believe that God provides for us, but not that He guarantees us wealth." Which of these best describes why some Pentecostals reject the Prosperity Gospel? So, we're gonna check your understanding.

Is it, A, they believe it misrepresents Christian teachings about wealth? B, they think giving money to the church is wrong? C, they do not believe in miracles or blessings? Or, D, they think only Catholics should donate to churches? So, take a moment, pause and think about what Asher's just explained to Alex, check your answer when you are ready.

So, well done if you spotted that it was A.

Many Pentecostals believe it's a misrepresentation of teachings in the Bible.

For part one of task B, I'd like you to explain two similar religious beliefs about the uses of wealth.

In your answer, you must refer to one or more religious traditions.

To answer this question, you might want to use the suggestions below.

Point, one Christian belief about the use of wealth is.

And then, develop, this means.

And for your second point, another a Christian belief about the use of wealth is.

And then, develop with this means.

Pause the video, take your time, and come back when you're ready to see what you could have written.

You could have said, Catholic Christians believe wealth should be used to help others.

The Catechism says, "Love for the poor is incompatible with a moderate love of riches." And Jesus taught that helping people living in poverty is important.

Figures like Mother Teresa dedicated their lives to serving those in need.

Pentecostal Christians also believe they should use their wealth responsibly.

Leviticus 27:30 teaches that a tithe of everything people earn or grow belongs to God.

Many Pentecostal Christians give a 10th of their wealth to charity or their church.

There were lots of things you could have said here, but well done if you managed to pick out two beliefs that are similar about the use of wealth.

For part two of our task, Christians should use their wealth to help others.

I'd like you to complete the table by developing each point into an argument for the statement.

So, we have, wealth is a gift which comes with responsibility.

Christians, such as the Quakers, advocates simple living.

And the Bible teaches that early Christians use their wealth to help others.

So, take your time to think about how to develop each of those points.

Pause and come back when you're ready to review your work.

You could have said for the first point that many Christians believe that wealth should be used wisely to help others rather than just for personal gain.

This reflects Biblical teachings such as the Parable of The Rich Man and Lazarus.

Quakers believe that focusing on wealth and possessions can distract from spiritual life, so they emphasise modesty, fairness, and using resources to help others.

Acts 2:44-45 says of the early Christians, "They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need." Most Christians would act on this by giving to charity.

In today's lesson, we have learned that most Christians see wealth as a gift from God that must be used responsibly, following the principle of stewardship.

The Bible warns against greed and the dangers of wealth leading to neglect of those living in poverty.

Early Christians practise communal sharing and valued spiritual wealth over material riches.

There are different views on how much Christians should give from tithing 10% to radical generosity.

Christianity and Islam both emphasised charity, but Christianity has no fixed requirement like Zakah in Islam.

Thank you for all your hard work for today and your efforts to learn about Christian views on the uses of wealth.

Well done.