The Blessing in Poverty


When the people heard Jesus teach, they were amazed.

For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Matthew 7:29

The people were accustomed to hearing rabbis from the party of the Pharisees. In the Talmud, which preserves the oral traditions of the Pharisees, we find that the rabbis were constantly citing each other. Also, they were preoccupied with trivial questions about minor points of the law. And they had contempt for the common people. But Jesus spoke on His own authority, cut directly to the ultimate questions of life, and associated with the poor.

His First Beatitude, the opening declaration of His moral program, gives the poor preeminence over the rich.

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

Luke 6:20

If the Pharisees had written it, it would say, "Blessed are the rich, for they are God's darlings." But Jesus announces at the outset that God's special favor rests not on them, but on the poor.

Why? Every victim of grinding poverty knows one thing. This world is an evil place, affording no true happiness or satisfaction—that there is not enough pleasure here to quiet the soul's yearning for a better world.

Some people who are not actually poor have nevertheless come to sense the emptiness of life here and now. So, on another occasion, Jesus stated the same Beatitude in a slightly different way.

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

Matthew 5:3

He means, "Blessed are they with the spirit (the attitude, or the outlook) of a poor man." Many commentators have misread the First Beatitude as a blessing on the lowly in spirit, the humble. But this interpretation misses the point. The First Beatitude is distinct in meaning from the Third.

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

Matthew 5:3

The FIrst is closer in meaning to the Second.

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

Matthew 5:3

The First and Second are alike in that they urge us to view life in the same way a man views it who has suffered a hard blow. In the First, the hard blow is poverty; in the Second, the hard blow is a loss provoking great sorrow.

Because the poor and the poor in spirit long for a better world, they are receptive to the gospel, which promises eternal life amid the joys of heaven. So, there is a special blessing in poverty—the blessing of openness to gospel truth. The gospel has always been especially successful among the poor.

The pattern of history counsels us to ask whether we are doing enough to reach the poor here in North America.

What does Jesus promise the poor and the poor in spirit? He says, "For theirs is the kingdom of God [heaven]." To them Jesus promises a world where they can find true happiness and satisfaction. He calls that world a kingdom—the kingdom of God—to emphasize that it will be a place of abundance, endowed with all the king's riches, where they will find everything they lack in this world.

Our supreme example of a man poor in spirit is, of course, Jesus Christ. He is the perfect picture of every virtue. Though He could have held on to the riches of heaven, He was not ashamed to become poor for our sakes. He was doubly poor, for He was deprived of this world's riches as well as heaven's. He sacrificed all these because He counted our salvation as having greater value. Likewise, we should view our salvation as more valuable than anything this world has to offer.


The Dangers in Wealth


Just as we should not seek poverty, so should we not seek wealth.  For guidance, let us return to Proverbs 30:8-9, a text we considered in our last lesson.

8 Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:

9 Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.

Proverbs 30:8-9

The same text that authorizes us to petition God for our material needs also warns against seeking wealth.

All of Scripture unites in the verdict that the pursuit of wealth is wrong.

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Matthew 6:19-21

8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.

9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

1 Timothy 6:8-10

How bad is the pursuit of wealth? According to Paul, a man greedy for money should not be permitted to remain in the church.

But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.

1 Corinthians 5:11

He includes covetousness among the gross sins which are grounds for disfellowship.

Does it follow that possession of wealth is a sin? Paul gives the answer.

Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;

1 Timothy 6:17

He does not charge the wealthy with sin. The reason is that a man can obtain wealth without especially desiring it or aggressively pursuing it. It may simply be the result of conscientious work. Or it may come into his hands by inheritance, unusual appreciation of investments, windfall profits, or other means which are essentially acts of God.

The Bible teaches that although to be wealthy is not sinful, it is not safe. There are six principal dangers in wealth, and a wealthy person must be constantly on guard against them.

  1. In the text quoted above, in 1 Timothy 6:17, Paul cautions the wealthy not to be "highminded"; that is, not to be proud.
  2. Wealth stimulates the appetite for more wealth, producing finally a greed so large that it can never be satisfied.

    He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.

    Ecclesiastes 5:10

    As a child, I was a great collector. I collected stamps, coins, interesting rocks and leaves, lists of words and names, bottle caps, post cards, baseball cards, books, records, maps, you name it. But did I ever collect enough of a certain item to satisfy me? No, the more I acquired, the more I wanted to acquire. If you will be honest with yourself, you will admit that you too have been bitten at times by the collection bug. The disease he brings is a form of mania. One symptom is that you’re never satisfied.
  3. Visions of money may gain such a hold over the mind that the greedy man tramples his conscience underfoot and resorts to unscrupulous ways of gaining more money. In this way the love of money indeed becomes a root of evil. See what James says about the rich.

    6 . . . Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?

    7 Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?

    . . .

    1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.

    2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.

    3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

    4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.

    5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.

    6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.

    James 2:6-7; 5:1-6

    James says the rich oppress the poor by bribing the courts to sanction unjust legal action, by unfair labor practices, and by violence against anyone who stands in their way. One blessing of the American way of life is that we have delivered ourselves from many forms of oppression. Yet it still exists in this country, and it exists around the world, and it will exist so long as men are greedy.
  4. Another pitfall for the rich is stinginess. Paul continues,

    That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;

    1 Timothy 6:18

    Instead of being generous, a typical rich man is like Scrooge McDuck. He loves to lie on his gold and sift it through his fingers. Or like the original Scrooge in Dickens’s Christmas Carol,he has no real friends, no real life, but he thinks he is happy.
  5. Also, he tells them not to "trust in uncertain riches." The danger is that they will acquire an attitude of self-sufficiency, and with this attitude a failure to be grateful to God for His blessings, and a failure to trust God for future provision. A rich man is inclined to boast that he is a self-made man.  What arrogance!  What folly!
  6. The greatest danger is that a wealthy man will trust in his riches for passage to heaven, as if God will prefer to associate with people who were once important on earth. But so far from respecting worldly status, God holds the rich at a disadvantage.

    24 And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

    25 For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

    26 And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved?

    27 And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.

    Luke 18:24-27

    There is absolutely no basis for the common idea that the needle's eye was a small gate of Jerusalem. Jesus was saying that to gain heaven by means of earthly riches is not difficult, but impossible.

Psalm 49 is a rich source of divine wisdom concerning riches.

1 Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world:

2 Both low and high, rich and poor, together.

3 My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.

4 I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.

5 Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?

6 They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;

7 None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him:

8 (For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:)

9 That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption.

10 For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.

11 Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names.

12 Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.

13 This their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah.

14 Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.

15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah.

16 Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased;

17 For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him.

18 Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself.

19 He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light.

20 Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.

Psalm 49

You’ve heard the saying, "You can’t take it with you." It is based on verse 17 of this psalm. Just how rapidly our culture is becoming juvenile in its thinking is evident in the rise of another popular saying in recent years, "He who dies with the most toys wins."


Proper Use of Money


In concluding his admonition to the wealthy, Paul shows them how to use their wealth wisely, in a way that will earn divine favor and blessing.

18 That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;

19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

1 Timothy 6:18-19

Paul's sermon to the rich rests upon Jesus' teaching in the Gospels. Jesus said to His followers,

32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

33 Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.

34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Luke 12:32-34

Jesus urges those who believe in Him to sell their possessions, yet not necessarily "all" of them, a word He might have included, but omitted.

The early church took His advice.

44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common;

45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.

Acts 2:44-45

34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,

35 And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.

36 And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,

37 Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet.

Acts 4:34-37

The church had recently received an outpouring of the Spirit, who imbued them with supernatural power to accomplish the will and work of God. So, in sharing their material belongings, they were doing the Spirit's bidding. They were not subordinating God's will to some quirky human agenda.

The common idea that early Christians adopted a primitive form of communism has no basis in fact, however. In three respects what they did differed from Communism.

  1. The sharing of wealth was voluntary, not compulsory.

    1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,

    2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet.

    3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?

    4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

    Acts 5:1-4

    Nobody was forced to yield his possessions to a higher authority.
  2. The wealthy sold excess houses and lands, but retained needed possessions. What they kept remained private property. There was no system of communal ownership.
  3. The church distributed proceeds according to need, so that the greatest portion went to those most deserving of help. The only regular dole went to indigent widows.

    1 And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.

    2 Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.

    3 Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.

    Acts 6:1-3

    So, the limited redistribution of wealth within the church did not resemble communism, which makes everyone dependent on payments from higher authority.

Another common idea is that the level of sharing in the early church was not intended as an example for us—that they lived on a spiritual plane that was too impractical for ordinary Christians. But during Paul’s ministry, he collected funds from the churches in Asia Minor and Greece to relieve the poverty of many believers in the church at Jerusalem. What was his goal? As he exhorted the Corinthians to fulfill their pledge of financial assistance, he said that his goal was equality.

11 Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have.

12 For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.

13 For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened:

14 But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality:

15 As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack.

2 Corinthians 8:11-15

He was not seeking a mathematical equality of wealth. Rather, he was seeking equality in the sense that everyone would be equally free of want. He obviously viewed mutual help as the obligation of believers in all times and circumstances.


Tests of Materialism


Materialism is basically the worship of Mammon—that is, the worship of money and the things money can buy.

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Matthew 6:24

A few practical questions might help you assess whether you have fallen into the trap of materialism.

  1. Do I judge a man by his clothes, his car, his bank account—by anything he owns?
  2. Do I envy my neighbor's possessions?
  3. Do I have a mania for collecting things?
  4. Is shopping one of my chief joys in life?
  5. Am I dissatisfied if I cannot or do not buy the very best?
  6. Do I load the children in my family with more gifts than are good for them?
  7. Do I mix business and religion? That is, do I view membership in a church as a way of improving my bottom line, in whatever happens to be my way of making a living?
  8. Does it hurt me to part with my money for charitable purposes?
  9. Do I fail to give generously to the church?

An affirmative answer to any of these questions is a symptom of a spiritual problem.