Part of the Prosperous Life is concerned with holding up old religious ideas to the truth of God’s Word and scrutinizing them to see if they still hold water.

Some Christians feel that it is altogether wrong to accumulate money/wealth for any reason.

One author wrote: “Many of the Jews of Jesus’ day thought that prosperity and spirituality were inseparable. In our time, it is just the opposite. We are frequently told that we can not prosper or have a savings account while there are others who have less than we.”

If we were all to give away everything above what we needed for our weekly expenses, just living from paycheck to paycheck, we might end up being classified as the poor ourselves and then who would there be to give to us?

So, an overview of the usage of the word “poor” as used in the Bible might be helpful.

First, I want to establish that It is God’s desire that none of His children are “poor.”

Deuteronomy 15:4-6) However, there shall be no poor among you, since the LORD will surely bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, if only you listen obediently to the voice of the LORD your God, to carefully observe all this commandment which I am commanding you today. For the LORD your God shall bless you as He has promised you, and you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow; and you will rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you.”

But God also made it clear that while this was His promise, this ideal would never be fully realized:

Deuteronomy 15:11 For the poor will never cease to be in the land; therefore, I command you, saying, “You shall freely open your hand to your brother, to your needy and poor in your land.”

Jesus Christ also said, “for the poor always ye have with you; …” (John 12:8).

Although God say there will always be the poor among His children that was not His will. God makes His will known in the following verses.

Deuteronomy 8:18 But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.

It takes money to build, maintain and run churches.
It takes money to build universities where young people can learn to study the Bible.
It takes money to build hospitals, schools and retirement centers for the elderly.
It takes money to support missions and send Bibles to other parts of the world.
It takes money to give to the poor.

This money does not come from the poor –THEY ARE BROKE!

Ecclesiastes 6:2 A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.

The wealth was taken from him by some governing body or pressure from society and given to someone that did not earn it. God says that is evil.

Ecclesiastes 5:18-19 Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion. Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God.

Hopefully, that is enough to understand that God has no problem with His children being wealthy. In fact, He says He gives us the power to get wealth and it is a gift from Him.

Now there are different types or reasons for the poor of the Bible, and the word “poor” is used in more than one way.

First, In looking at the subject of the “poor,” It might help to clear up a couple of verses. In the lands and times of the Bible, the term “poor” could also mean humble. As in the following verse:

Matthew 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

In Rev. Chris Geer’s work on “Pneuma,” he noted that this usage of poor (in spirit) was an idiom/figure of speech that meant humble. God did not mean that the kingdom of heaven or God as in the next verse belonged to or was reserved for the destitute beggar on the street but it was reserved for those that are humble enough to believe the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Luke 6:20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.

In looking at the poor, we need to realize that there are different types of poor people in the Bible.

The lazy or idle:

In the book of Proverbs, it is often repeated that prosperity is the result of diligence, while poverty is the result of idleness:

Proverbs 10:4 He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.

The Apostle Paul wrote in Thessalonians:

2 Thessalonians 3:10 For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.

When the lazy get hungry enough, they will go to work as in Proverbs 16:26:

Proverbs 16:26 He that laboureth laboureth for himself; for his mouth craveth it of him.

To those who are willfully poor, that is, those who will not work, we have no obligation but to instruct them and let their hunger prod them into working.

Widows:

Widows were to be taken care of by their families. In the culture of the Bible, they did not/could not work, so their husbands were charged with the responsibility of providing enough for their wives to retire on in the event the husbands passed on first. The relatives of the widows were next in line to take care of many of them, and thus the church was not charged with their support.

1Timothy 5:8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

But still there were some widows in the number of believers that had no support, so the church took care of them.

1Timothy 5:9-10 Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years old, having been the wife of one man, Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints’ feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work.

One of the ways in which God took care of the poor was to require the landowners to not harvest the corners of their fields so that the poor and the widows could come and gather grain for themselves.

Leviticus 19:9 Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, neither shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest

This is how we find Ruth gleaning in the field of Boaz (Ruth 2:2ff). One author I read wrote: “In our time, we are sometimes encouraged to harvest the grain for the poor, thresh and grind it, bake it and deliver it hot and buttered.”

Having the poor work for some of their subsistence, like gleaning grain for themselves, left them with some dignity, whereas welfare as we know it today, provides for no work or dignity for the welfare recipient.

Boaz in this record as a wealthy man provided work for the laborers, as well as places for the widows and poor to glean for their own support.

Debt

If a person became poor because he owed too much money, he could be sold into servitude to pay off his debt.

Leviticus 25:39-41 And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant: But as an hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee unto the year of jubilee: (occurred every 7 years) And then shall he depart from thee, both he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return.

Some people are just poor.

Perhaps it is because of physical injury, poor money management or because economic conditions turned against them.

God offered help or a way out to some of these people also.

Leviticus 25:35-36 And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live (in the same country with you because he is a foreigner) with thee. Take thou no usury (charge him interest on a loan) of him, or increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee.

Here we are told to lend to the poor but not at interest. Note that it does not say cosign a loan at the bank. Proverbs explicitly tells us not to do that! Note that it is difficult to lend to the poor if you have given away all your wealth!

God also instructs us to give to certain of the poor with no expectation of repayment. But God never instructs us to give ALL He has blessed us with.

Ephesians 4:28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

Proverbs 22:9 He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.

Proverbs 28:27 He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.

The accumulation of wealth is frequently a great way to help the poor. Remember Boaz, a very wealthy man, helped the poor by allowing them to glean in his fields. Joseph stored food in Egypt so that when the famine came, he helped the people to survive and not starve and be blown away in the desert sand.

This is a short overview of the poor, but we have seen that God provides for them to be taken care of in different ways. It was not His will for any to be poor, but He knew they would be there until the end times.

We have also seen that God has given us the power to get wealth, but He expects us to be givers. At the same time, He does not expect us to give ourselves into the poor house. He needs people that know how to manage their finances to the end they accumulate wealth in order to establish His work on the earth.

In the next blog we will look at the rich young ruler that Jesus told to give all he had to the poor and come follow him and verses such as that.

Ideas that are commonly believed and taught amongst Christians need to be examined in light of the scriptures if we are to manifest The Prosperous Life God intends for us.

Proverbs 21:20 In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has NIV