In my opinion, I believe god would be most happy if we all joined the monkhood. Life is not setup for this idealistic way of life. You have to work to pay your bills, pay for heat and electricity, health insurance. Sometimes wealth is just a byproduct of working hard yet the bible finds a way to condemn man for such.
You can`t really compare our living standards in the west and Uk with poor countries like Africa. They don`t have our living costs. You can rarely get an apartment for under almost 1000 pounds here now, there are no bedsits for 5 to 600 pounds anymore, if it is, it is rare. Ever since 2020 that is utopia. Everyone have bills, council tax, water, gas and electric coming up on at least 300 pounds. And that is after rent. Food prices keep going up. You do not get your basics covered on 30 pounds anymore. You need at least 50 pound a week. If not 60-70. And that is with the cheap offers and the cheapest supermarkets. So just to get by, and no clothes nothing on the side you kind of need 2000 pounds here. Then if you need clothes and medication and pet food and stuff to it and sand, you need extra, and I have not even taken into account other bills, so it goes over 2000 pounds. This is how it is for the most. A country that is poor like for example Africa do not have these bills. Our situations are way different.
What we can agree on that everyone could do what they can, when they can. Even if it is just ten pounds. But most do not have anything left over. Not with those bills.
People are JUST getting by. Living on the line, basically.
It is deeply unfair to project specific out dated or downmarket financial calculations onto other people`s lives and use them to judge your faith.
My calculations are completely grounded in reality. The UK rental market has shifted drastically, and the numbers quoted is accurate for the UK cost of living.
The £600 bedsit myth: Even in Leicester, the median rent for just a single room in a shared house is around £575, and a self contained studio apartment or one-bed flat averages between £716 and £750 a month BEFORE bills. Finding a safe, decent independent apartment under £1000 in many parts of the UK is increasingly rare.
The cost of bills: £300 or more a month for council tax, energy, water, broadband and food is a standard, realistic minimum for a single person in the UK today.
Surviving is not "rich". working hard to pay high expenses and having very little left over at the end of the month is the definition of "getting by", not being wealthy.
Spiritual defensiveness and judgement
weaponising scripture: when someone insists that you must live in the absolute, most cheapest, most uncomfortable conditions(not even possible if you even wanted to with health issues) (like a tiny bedsit) or face divine judgement, they are practising LEGALISM, not christianity. The bible warns against the love of money and greed, but it does not demand that believers purposely choose hardship or live in squalor if they can afford an apartment.
A race to the bottom: some people find a sense of spiritual PRIDE in showing how little they can live on, and they expect everyone else to match their baseline. This is a personal choice they are making, but they have no scriptural authority to force that choice onto you or judge your heart.
God sees your journey: you do not have to prove your budget,your expenses or anything else to validate how you live.
