Few issues raise more tension for Christian believers than equality of resources. It has always been an issue. Witness the experience of the Early Church in Acts 6:1-7 and in 2 Corinthians 8:1-15.

The matter of church buildings, however, raises an additional issue. The instructions for building the Old Testament Tabernacle (Exodus 26–31) and later for building the Temple reveal an immense investment in costly materials and construction. These worship places, designed to express the worth and value of the worship of Yahweh, were disproportionately expensive compared with the common Israeli home. Worship is costly, and the place that symbolized the very presence of God in Israel depicted that cost graphically.

As they construct church buildings, congregations in more affluent nations often express the same desire to reflect their love for God and their willingness to invest in a place of worship, fellowship, and service at levels sometimes disproportionate to the value of their own homes. While this is admirable, it also provides a basis for concern. The New Testament teaches us to understand that “the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands” (Acts 7:48, NASB). We now know that His habitation is the hearts of people and that He meets with us wherever we are, whether the facilities are humble, ornate, or nonexistent.

The New Testament also teaches that a genuine concern for our brothers and sisters in less economically viable circumstances ought to influence our own actions and choices, whether concerning the construction of church buildings or the purchase of a personal car.

God has never condemned wealth. Many of the people in Scripture whose hearts were tuned to His will were immensely wealthy people. God has always made it clear that whatever the size of our financial portfolio, to live life centered on the self is to misuse the resources He has enabled us to have.

On the contrary, in building their own sometimes very large and expensive facilities, many of our great churches have at the same time invested quite generously in the construction of churches in many of our world mission areas.

Many congregations in world mission areas also have built large, impressive, even quite expensive churches at their own expense. One critical issue to remember is this: if we insist on providing people in humble circumstances with every resource for building a church, we rob them of the privilege of expressing their own worship and devotion through giving and working sacrificially to provide a house of worship and service.—jcm