Christian Ethics (Essay Sample)

Christian ethics
Name
Institution
Can Christians be billionaires?
Christians can indeed be billionaires especially at this modern time where creativity in terms of entrepreneurship, ground-breaking scientific and technological discoveries and smart investments seal the financial fate of people. When it comes to making it big, it is often said that hard work and consistent effort is the way. One should bear in mind though that working hard does not necessarily guarantee success rather working both hard and smart is key to financial and any other kind of success provided since it’s a good course. Among the fundamentals of Christian faith is the strength, mental and spiritual strength to be precise, for it enables the believers to have undoubtable faith in God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit (Blomberg, Craig & Carson, 1999). Thus to believe in the holy trinity is an absolute devotion to one’s faith in the almighty. Bearing in mind that God Himself worked for six days as per the book of Genesis in the Bible and rested on the seventh day only after completing His work of creation, Christians are bound to the morals of work ethics. Hence being lazy is out of option for a true Christian believer and that for one to achieve something total devotion, consistency, and persistence is mandatory to achieve an ultimate goal (Ferguson, 1990). So in the situation that a Christian acts in the accordance with the laws of Christ, while at the same time upholding the constitutional legislation of the country they are in, in pursuit of wealth then it justifies that a Christian can become a billionaire. To point out the fact that the primary subject matter is, in fact, possible and is happening a current study found out that more than two-thirds of the world’s millionaires are affiliated with a religion. Of that fraction, more than half were identified as Christians. The study was carried out by a research firm known as New World Wealth business, and it was discovered that of the 13.1 millionaires in the world 52.6% of them identified as Christians when asked about their religion. To add on it countries also played a role in the study of the richest countries turning out to be Christian-dominant. According to World Wealth’s report, seven out of the ten wealthiest countries are dominated by Christians. Pointing to the fact that Christians stand to be more diverse and aggressive when it comes to wealth creation compared to people associated with other religions. This study confirms that Christians are playing a large role in the global economy, and they are the one contributing the most based on their numbers. This is yet another revelation that they can indeed achieve the highest financial strengths possible despite where they come from or where they are situated. In simple terms, both Christians and non-Christians have an equal opportunity in terms of having potential to becoming financial gurus. The only difference being the latter is guided by the moral code of the Holy Scriptures, and doctrines written by people inspired by their faith in God. Inspiration is the first step towards pursuing a given goal that leads to achieving an individual vision, which, in this case, the perception of being a billionaire (Ferguson, 1990). For a Christian, the biggest inspiration is the Holy Spirit, which was brought down from heaven to the disciples after Christ’s ascension. For it is by the Holy Spirit that that the disciples and apostles ministered and carried out the work of Christ on earth up to date. An endeavor inspired by the Holy Spirit, which is God-given is possible for any Christian believer including being a billionaire. There are in fact well known Christian billionaires who have been listed in Forbes magazine richest in the world. They attribute their success to being a God-given kind out of working hard and dedicating themselves to their course. To be exact, there are three successful Christian billionaires who are founders of big brands in their respective industries. David Green is 70-year-old billionaire and the founder of Hobby Lobby, an arts, and crafts chain. His family own 70% percent shares of the company and he is ranked number 79 in the list of 400 richest Americans. His estimated net worth is around 4.5 billion dollars. Green is quoted saying "if you have anything or if I have anything, it’s because it’s been given to us by our Creator”, although he keeps the total amount of his giving private Forbes was able to estimate his total lifetime giving at above 500 million dollars making him the largest individual financier of evangelical causes in America. In a joint position with David Green is Jin Sook and her husband Do Won Chang. They are founders of the fashion retail outlet "Forever 21”. When they migrated from Korea in 1981, Do Won held three jobs to make it through the day as a janitor, pumping gas and working in a coffee shop. Today their total turnover is estimated at over 3 billion dollars annually. They make a point of printing John 3:16 on the bottom of every Forever 21 shopping bag. At position 89 the 91-year-old devout Baptist and CEO of the second-largest fried chicken chain in the country after KFC, Truett Cathy. His food outlet, Chick-fil-A, stores always close on Sundays so that employees can attend church services. Such examples are proof that all is possible with God for any Christian. The life of such extraordinary people is enough testament that Christians can be billionaires. Despite achieving so many financial successes, they are still humble and uphold the Scriptures of the Holy Bible which is itself the Gospel. Trusting God with one’s business just as the likes of David Green did leads to the financial success of such magnitudes while at the same time devoting yourself to Him and working hard. Apart from such inspiring individuals named above, there are various reverends and pastors whose labor and dedication to the ministry and spreading the Gospel, can attest to having financial success in addition to the spiritual nourishment they get. It is only logical that for someone who leads a bunch of fortunate believers be successful themselves otherwise one can’t preach water while drinking wine on the side. The likes of Rev. Joseph Prince, Bishop T.D Jakes, Evangelist Billy Graham, Dr. Creflo Dollar and Pastor Benny Hinn are estimated to be worth over five million dollars and are among the top richest pastors in the world. It goes without saying that Christians have the potential of achieving great financial success for both the clergy and non-clergy believers. The base of Christianity is strong faith that "can move mountains" faith comparable to the mustard seed is required. It is not easy to maintain such faith but in the end it is totally worth it. From bible stories in the Old Testament, one can draw inspiration from various individuals that believed and obeyed God all their lives. Their lives show that wealth comes from the Lord Almighty such as the case of Job who was loved by God and even after going through all the calamities brought upon him by the devil his faith remained intact and all the wealth he lost during that trying period was brought back to him in multiples by God. He ended up being richer than he was before. Among the greatest kings of Israel, King David, who was loved by God for his dedication and obedience to the Lord, was blessed with wealth and leadership from being a mere harder in his family. The same can be said about King Solomon whom God blessed with wisdom and enormous wealth. Abraham, the father of a whole nation, received abundant descendants and blessings for choosing to listen to God and follow His instructions for he had strong faith. It is important for a Christian to be able to differentiate between riches and wealth. More than often the pursuit of riches leads to a destructive life but as for wealth, which is created and encouraged, leads to a fulfilling life without doubts or any kind of blemish as long as it is attained in a manner acceptable to Christian ethics. Deontology, consequentialism and virtue ethics. Certain ethics binds Christians based on the scriptures in the bible that guide them in their duties to both God and fellow men. A Christian on a mission to acquiring wealth such as being a billionaire has to consider the ethics that are embedded in their religion, thus deontology, consequentialism and virtue ethics are aspects that have to spring out in such kind of endeavor (Countryman, 1980). Deontology approaches given values in such a way that a deontologist focuses on the rightness or wrongness of actions themselves. Consequentialism concentrates on the nature of consequences that result from an action either right or wrong. Virtue ethics is based on the character of the person who carries out the work. According to deontology, a situation is good or bad depending on the deeds that brought about the situation. If the response was right, then the result is good and vice versa. Hence, the choices one takes as a Christian that will eventually lead to them being a billionaire should be the right kind of decisions. A decision is good if it conforms to the moral norms of Christianity which are the cornerstones of the religion. These morals are what governs the believers’ actions and set them apart from non-believers. Actions are what separate a real Christian from a non-believer since actions speak louder than words as written by St Paul in the New Testament. Immanuel Kant, in modern deontological ethics, states that an imperative is any proposition that deems a particular action or inaction to be necessary. This translates to Christianity in such a way that the imperative refers to God. A requirement when being a Christian is accepting Jesus Christ, the...