Damn, this could be a long-ass post. I'm only going to scratch the surface:
If you listen to Dave Ramsey, then you come to believe that building wealth should be your primary goal in life. I've repeatedly heard him tell callers to forget about EVERY other goal in life and focus on getting their wealth-accumulation in order first. One of Dave Ramsey’s core sayings is "live like no one else, so later you can live like no one else."
This is straight worship of wealth, suggesting the goal of life is to become richer than others and spend that money on yourself. He ignores Biblical commands such as
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth…for where your treasure will be, there your heart will be also”
or “the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful”
or “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
or “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
or "Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.”
or “Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
or “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
or "Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you."
or "So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
Do you think anyone could listen to Dave Ramsey and get that idea of the meaning of our money?
People who listen to Dave Ramsey want to get rich. They want to have an abundance of possessions. They would never stop thinking about how their money will accumulate tomorrow. They would never "sell everything they have" to follow Jesus instead. So they're straight missing the gospel. If you listen to Dave Ramsey.You don’t get warnings about wealth, you really believe that money can solve your problems and you SHOULD accumulate it if possible. He talks about his own wealth constantly to the point that it sounds like nothing less than bravado. He loves the fact that he has accumulated great wealth and sees zero descrepancy between that and the passages above, not to mention the lifestyle of Jesus and his disciples.
Absolutely grimy business.
.
