The Dialog

The Pharisees caught Jesus' disciples eating with unwashed hands. That wasn't a sin. It was a tradition. Jesus answered, "You cancel the word of God in order to hand down your own tradition." (Mark 7:13)

Most of what we believe about money works the same way. We didn't get it from Scripture. We got it from our parents, our church, our culture, and every bad example we've watched. Then we see more evidence for what we believe than for what God actually said.

This episode is about the gap between what God says and what we believe about what God says. I talk about Epictetus and the high school breakup that felt like the end of the world. I talk about why praying "God's will" in a hospital room is often unbelief dressed up as something spiritual. And we look at Mark 6, when Jesus couldn't do miracles in his own hometown.

Jesus was amazed twice in the Gospels. Once at unbelief in Nazareth. Once at the faith of a Roman centurion. You get to decide which one He sees in you.

So does God want you to be rich? Yes. The only question left is whether you believe it.

This is part 3 of God and money, Season 2 of The Dialog: a search for what the Bible actually says about wealth.

Scriptures
Mark 7:1-13 · Isaiah 29:13 · Mark 6:1-6 · Matthew 8:5-13 · Romans 12:2 · Isaiah 55:8-9 · Hebrews 12:11

Thinkers and books referenced
Epictetus: it's not events that disturb us, it's our opinions about them (Enchiridion 5)
Ryan Holiday, The Obstacle Is the Way: objective events, subjective judgments
Seneca: regard all adversity as training (On Providence)
Søren Kierkegaard: life is understood backwards but lived forwards

Chapters
0:00 Cold open and show intro
0:50 God and money, part 3
2:06 The problem with God wanting you rich
3:57 Bad examples and godly people who don't prosper
5:21 Mark 7: unwashed hands and tradition
6:48 Isaiah 29:13: rules learned by rote
8:02 "You cancel the word of God" (Mark 7:13)
9:44 Money beliefs that don't come from Scripture
10:47 What God says vs. what you believe He says
12:40 Is anything more powerful than the Bible?
14:57 Poverty mentality: the traditions we inherit
16:57 Does your thinking about money match God's?
18:05 Experience vs. interpretation (Ryan Holiday)
20:40 When interpretation becomes "truth"
22:37 Adversity and a good God (Seneca, Hebrews 12)
26:20 Epictetus, Kierkegaard and the high school breakup
29:21 When their ideas became God's ideas
31:27 Modern-day Pharisees
33:19 Confirmation bias and green cars
34:05 Praying "God's will" in the hospital
36:04 Is it more spiritual to be poor?
37:34 Isn't God unlimited? (Isaiah 55)
38:49 Romans 12:2: changing the way you think
40:26 Mark 6: why Jesus couldn't do miracles
42:25 Matthew 8: the faith that amazed Jesus
44:51 So does God want you to be rich?
46:30 Next: wasn't Jesus poor?

God and money (season 2)
2.1 / Are God and money incompatible?
2.2 / Does God want me to be rich? What the Bible actually says
Next episode: wasn't Jesus poor? Coming soon.

New episodes most weeks. Follow the show, and send this to a friend who grew up hearing money is evil.

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What is The Dialog?

Ancient philosophers used the dialog to find answers to life’s greatest questions. The Dialog is a search for truth in modern life through the lens of ancient philosophy, history, and theology. This podcast will challenge your assumptions, change your thinking and show you how to master modern living.