John Thornton. Jesus’ Terrible Financial Advice: Flipping the Tables on Peace, Prosperity, and the Pursuit of Happiness. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2017. See here to buy the book.
John Thornton is a licensed accountant, has a doctorate in Accounting
from Washington State University, and teaches Accounting Ethics at
Azuza Pacific University.
I’d like to talk briefly about the description of the book on the
back cover and on Amazon, then I will discuss whether the book conformed
to my expectations, and whether that was a good or a bad thing.
John and his wife experienced an 80 per cent reduction in income
because they were pursuing educational goals, yet they went on to have
kids, had freedom from debt, took vacations, and saw their net worth
double. John wanted to write a book about how they accomplished this,
sharing what he considered to be biblical principles. But a problem
arose: John looked at over 1,300 Bible verses on money, and they
challenged what he believed about money and ran contrary to the book
that he intended to write.
After providing this background information, the back cover goes on
to say about the book that John actually did write: “While it answers
many of the practical questions we have—-like does Jesus want me to be
rich or poor? Should I give to everybody who asks? Is it wrong to
save?—-it goes beyond these concerns. It asks bigger questions, gives
bolder answers, and offers a more comprehensive view of stewardship.”
After reading the book’s description, my expectation was that the
book would be about how Christians should not be trying to attain
financial success and comfort but rather should give more of their money
away, particularly to the poor. I was also hoping for insightful,
sensible, and yet faithful-to-the-biblical-text answers to perplexing
questions. Such questions include whether Jesus really expects us to
give to everyone who asks us for something, a la Matthew 5:42 and Luke
6:30, and whether Jesus in Matthew 6:19-21 forbids people to have a
savings account when he exhorts them not to lay up treasures on earth.
That’s the back cover! Here are some of my reactions to the book itself:
A. The book was sometimes disappointing in addressing perplexing
questions about biblical passages. On whether Jesus expects us to give
to whomever asks, Thornton essentially said that he did not know. Yet,
Thornton did well to raise additional considerations: he noted, for
example, that God does not give us everything that we request. While
there were disappointments in the book, there were also times when
Thornton offered a profound look at Scripture. Thornton interpreted
Jesus’ exhortation to the rich young ruler to sell all that he had and
give it to the poor in light of Job’s statement in Job 13:15 that, even
if God slays him, Job will trust in God. Job lost everything, yet he
still had God, and that was what mattered. Also, Thornton’s
interpretation of the Parable of the Unjust Steward (Luke 16:1-13) in
light of Jesus’ exhortation to the rich young ruler was masterful!
B. On the one hand, Thornton wants to take Jesus’ difficult
statements seriously. Thornton is critical of Christian attempts to
downplay Jesus’ “turn the other cheek” command, noting that Jesus took
that literally at his own trial and crucifixion. Thornton also
criticizes Christian attempts to downplay or soften Jesus’ statement to
the rich young ruler to sell everything and follow him. On the other
hand, Thornton says that wealth in Scripture is a blessing from God and
that is is all right for a Christian to be wealthy, as long as that
Christian does not idolize the wealth.
Thornton is integrating into his presentation a lot of Scriptural
teachings on wealth, and some of these teachings appear different from
one another. Proverbs, for example, has passages about how people can
gain wealth, and Thornton appeals to those. Yet, there are passages in
the New Testament that seem to be down on wealth. Overall, I think that
Thornton integrates these passages into a reasonable picture: that it
is acceptable to have money, yet we should look to God alone for our
provision and security, avoid greed, and give money to those in need
(i.e., the poor). One may think that Thornton is surrendering to a
comfortable suburban Christian mindset, but that would be unfair. The
back cover is accurate when it says that the book “asks bigger
questions, gives bolder answers, and offers a more comprehensive view of
stewardship.”
C. What about people who don’t have anything to give? On the one
hand, Thornton refers to Jesus’ statement in Luke 16:10 that those who
are faithful with little will be given more. Thornton states that those
who fail to give with the little that they have usually will not give
when they have a lot of money. On the other hand, Thornton says that
people who have nothing can give other things besides money, such as
forgiveness. The advice appears contradictory, but both ideas have
merit, and people can wrestle through these issues with reason and in
prayer.
D. Thornton recognizes that many people, and even many Christians,
do not rush to give. Thornton appeals to them with compassion and
empathy, encouraging them that they have so much to gain (and it is not
primarily financial) by following God’s principles on stewardship,
including the principle of giving. Thornton attempts to influence
people’s attitudes, while avoiding guilt-trips. The picture that he
painted was not only reasonable, but also compelling.
E. The book is not as neat as I expected it to be, but that was part
of its appeal. Thornton was engaging messy issues and different
Scriptural teachings, and I was eager to see what his conclusions would
be.
F. The book also had some funny stories. I think of Thornton’s
friend who asked awkward questions and went to Thornton’s dissertation
defense!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. My review is honest!