Why Some People Are Rich Financially And Others Are Poor?
Question: Why some people are rich financially and others are poor? Why there is unequal division of wealth?
Answer: Greetings to you in Jesus wonderful name!
Wealth can be defined as 'an abundance of valuable possessions or money, and a plentiful supply of a particular desirable thing.' Essentially, wealth is the accumulation of resources. Specific people, organizations and nations are said to be wealthy when they are able to accumulate many valuable resources or goods.
When God created man, did he wanted everyone to be wealthy?
To this question I can clearly say, no, because God created man in His own image (Gen 1:26-27), He has clearly revealed that the main purpose of all humans was not to accumulate wealth in this life, but to develop friendship, fellowship and intimacy with God, so that he or she could launch out in to the world of unceasing abundance and eternally satisfying supernatural life with God after this temporal one gets over (Heb 9:27).
This is the reason Jesus told all humans, "19 "Don't accumulate and store up treasures in abundance here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures and accumulate it abundantly in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever you have accumulated your treasure, there the desires of your heart will also be." (Matt 6:19-21, Paraphrased). In other words, Jesus here in the above verses, clearly say that becoming wealthy beyond and above our necessary means will turn our heart away from God, and our focus from our relationship with God and the importance of after life, to only make us care for the present life which is exactly opposite to the purpose of God for which humans were created to be on earth.
The wisest and richest man who lived on this earth named as King Solomon the Great wrote this by his own experience saying, "People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much. But the rich hardly get a good night's sleep." (Eccl 5:12). There is a profound wisdom the king has shared here in the above wisdom verse, it is, when somebody is rich they are so worried whether thieves break in or someone might steal, or some natural moths eat them and rust destroys them, or they will worry what if they themselves die suddenly, all the accumulated wealth to whom will it all go to will be their concern, etc...
The bottom line has been revealed in great wisdom to all His children by God Himself when He says, "6 Now devotion and intimacy with God along with contentment is great gain. 7 because we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out when we finally die. 8 And having food and clothing which is the bare necessity to sustain our life on earth, with these we shall be content as we are here to develop friendship with God. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare of the evil one who wants to destroy human life before God given time on earth, and moreover dive into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition." (1 Tim 6:6, Paraphrased). So we can clearly understand that God wants to provide the need of all His children, because he wants their purpose on earth to be fulfilled for the after life which is the most important priority for them.
The Bible also says to humans to take control of their own lives and not overwork to be rich, be smart enough to stop when all our needs are met (Pro 23:4-5). Because if we choose to wrongly fix our eyes on money and wealth instead of God, it will disappear before us, because God makes it to sprout wings for itself like an eagle and make it fly into the sky to fulfill His purpose (Pro 23:5). This is the reason God says, "a sinner's wealth is stored up for the righteous" (Pro 13:22).
So I can say that once sin came in to this world through our forefather Adam (Rom 5:12), death of separation from God came along with it due to disobedience and rebellion, thus without the good nature of God working within us, selfishness came within and spread to all humans which led their mind to work wrongly against God's purpose and thus began the deathly pursuit to accumulate wealth.
Most people think that one side there is God who is good, and other side a devil that is evil. But clearly to a God who is sovereign, all powerful, all knowing and present everywhere, is no match for the created being Satan the devil. Instead Jesus said, one side there is God, on the other side of life there stands a so called god which is Money and wealth which drives all humans in to making it their god. All humans must make a choice to choose either God or Money as the god of their heart, and only one can be their master, they will at the end of the day will hate one and love the other (Luke 16:13).
One doesn't have to be rich or poor to take the decision to love God or love money, anybody is capable of loving the one and hating the other, and the love of money is the root cause of all evil (1 Tim 6:10). Note: money in itself is not evil, but the love of money is the root cause of all evil. So whom do we love first in this life of ours is what matters (Matt 22:37), whom do we trust first above all in this life also matters (Prov 3:5)!
God Himself says that He is the one who gives humans the power to get wealth (Deut 8:18). If we stay faithful to use the little wealth we have for God's purpose, He gives us more and more wealth to make us a blessing and to fulfill His purpose for our generation (Luke 16:10, 11, 12, 13; Acts 13:36).
So God reveals that even though some are rich and some are poor due to sinful conditions that makes people selfish and foolish to accumulate wealth for themselves infinitely more than their life time needs, at the cost of keeping others with nothing to even eat, still God says that they meet together in God before His eyes, as He is the Maker of them alike (Prov 22:2). This is the reason God further reveals in the same wisdom book, "He who oppresses the poor taunts his Maker's purpose, but he who is gracious to the needy honors Him (Prov 14:31). God continues saying, those who help the poor people in their need, actually lends to the Lord Himself and gives Him a opportunity to reward him in this life and after life in heaven (Prov 19:17). So we come to understand that in spite of the ravages of sin and selfishness, the very reason God has allowed the unequal division of wealth between the poor and the rich is to test the rich people and give them a opportunity to leave their love for money and let it be used for God's purpose, and trust God instead of money to accumulate wealth in heaven and build good character on earth (Matt 19:16-22; 12:13-21).
Jesus Himself acknowledged that this unequal division between rich and poor will always exist, because of the innate sin nature of all humans (Mark 14:7; Matt 26:11). Even though God has created all people as humans equally before His eyes, He has equipped each person with different and unique talents, and those people who have a talent in certain areas which are desirous for the entertainment of human or the need of human will start to accumulate wealth and multiply the capital more than others (Matt 25:14-30). In fact, God does not discourage the capitalists who want to multiply wealth justly and in righteousness for the benefit of all which He always encourages them (Prov 29:2; 1 Chron 29:11-12), but He does only hate those who do business in selfishness and discourages their activity when the purpose for which they accumulate money and wealth is done selfishly for themselves through deceit, bribes and kickbacks for the only end purpose of increasing their wealth using others as a commodity to achieve their means (Prov 11:1; Lev 19;35; Prov 15:27; 17:8, 23; Eccl 7:7; Exod 23:8; Deut 16:19).
Because of the innate sin nature within humans, always the rich rule over the poor by leding them their need and bringing them under their mercy and power (Prov 22:7). The poor when they call to the Lord, his ears are open to their cry, what a privilege to the poor people when they come under the oppression and tyranny of the pride of the rich (Psa 72:12, 13; Prov 16:18). The poor man Lazarus cried out to God and he must have cried for rich man's help in this earthly life, but the rich man chose to shut his ear to his cry and neglected such poor people totally, the cry of the poor man Lazarus was rewarded in the after life, but the cry of the rich man's life in the hellish prison of Hades after the death of his on earth was never heard by God and was neglected forever (Prov 21:13; Luke 16:19-31). Each rich person who has experienced the blessedness of giving to those in need, will never stay the same receiving a broader vision of heaven and God's original intention for giving wealth in abundance to them on earth so that they can become a blessing for many through the wealth they hold in their hands (Acts 20:35).
God through apostle James had told the rich people to wail now and cry out to God now, because if they continue to trust in their riches instead of God, they will end up in hell fire soon (James 1:9-11; 5:1-6). This is the spiritual state of inclination now for the rich which is actually pitiable according to God.
The Bible reveals that the poor are always in need (Matt 26:11; Prov 28:27), so God hears their cry first and does not neglect it (Psa 34:6, 17). He first sends the Gospel to the poor and needy first (Luke 4:18; Isa 61:1), and as a result of them receiving faith and being rich in faith, the Lord also commends them through apostles and says that the Lord will reward them greatly in the after life, even though they have learned to be content in spite of being considered as "the poor of this world" (James 2:5). Thus the spiritual state and inclination to accumulate eternal riches for the poor is rich now in the sight of God and therefore their future is secured and great in heaven.
Among the many sins of Sodom described in Genesis 19, her people were “arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy” (Ezekiel 16:49, 50), God has revealed that the end time generation will also act like 'Sodom and Gomorrah' and 'Noah's days', and therefore there is a great danger in our generation like never before to neglect the needy and the poor, and live a unconcerned life regarding this inequality because of our material comfort that blinds us all (Luke 17:26-30). May God open our eyes and help us learn to live and let live through helping people who are in need now, so that God's name might be glorified through our lives.
He also said that those who show mercy to the poor, the sick, and the needy are in effect ministering to Him personally (Matthew 25:35–40) and will be rewarded accordingly.
Saints of God, God loves the poor and is offended when His children neglect them (Proverbs 11:4; 17:5; 19:17; 22:2, 9, 16, 22–23; 28:8; 29:7; 31:8–9).
Look how the Lord lauds the goodness of King Josiah in Jeremiah 22:16: “He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me, declares the LORD?”, which shows to us all that the Lord is very much concerned for the poor and their needs, and want to use us all who are His children to touch their lives and spread His happiness (Jam 1:27). The Lord further reveals that those who really know Him intimately and in reality, these will have the inclination to help those needy and poor people always (Deu 15:10), and in turn it honors the Lord as He Himself claims (Prov 14:31).
May we not see the unequal division of wealth among people who are rich financially and people who are poor as a curse, but instead as an opportunity for the rich to seek God through helping the poor, and the poor to look to God for their daily provision which God has promised to give to all those who call on Him. Hence there are earthly advantages for the rich but the heavenly disadvantage, at the same time, for the poor there are heavenly advantage for him, but the earthly disadvantage. So the conclusion is, though there are rich people and poor people as long as we live in this sinful and selfish world, the Maker of them all is One who has given one to exchange for the other. Whoever is selfish to hold anything too tight in this earthly life except God, will lose the game for eternity ahead. So let us always look to God and hold his hand tightly and desire to become like Him in our character, so that even if our hand slips, we cannot fall out of the eternal arms that stands beneath us and above us (Deut 33:27).
Much Blessings...
Answer: Greetings to you in Jesus wonderful name!
Wealth can be defined as 'an abundance of valuable possessions or money, and a plentiful supply of a particular desirable thing.' Essentially, wealth is the accumulation of resources. Specific people, organizations and nations are said to be wealthy when they are able to accumulate many valuable resources or goods.
When God created man, did he wanted everyone to be wealthy?
To this question I can clearly say, no, because God created man in His own image (Gen 1:26-27), He has clearly revealed that the main purpose of all humans was not to accumulate wealth in this life, but to develop friendship, fellowship and intimacy with God, so that he or she could launch out in to the world of unceasing abundance and eternally satisfying supernatural life with God after this temporal one gets over (Heb 9:27).
This is the reason Jesus told all humans, "19 "Don't accumulate and store up treasures in abundance here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures and accumulate it abundantly in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever you have accumulated your treasure, there the desires of your heart will also be." (Matt 6:19-21, Paraphrased). In other words, Jesus here in the above verses, clearly say that becoming wealthy beyond and above our necessary means will turn our heart away from God, and our focus from our relationship with God and the importance of after life, to only make us care for the present life which is exactly opposite to the purpose of God for which humans were created to be on earth.
The wisest and richest man who lived on this earth named as King Solomon the Great wrote this by his own experience saying, "People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much. But the rich hardly get a good night's sleep." (Eccl 5:12). There is a profound wisdom the king has shared here in the above wisdom verse, it is, when somebody is rich they are so worried whether thieves break in or someone might steal, or some natural moths eat them and rust destroys them, or they will worry what if they themselves die suddenly, all the accumulated wealth to whom will it all go to will be their concern, etc...
The bottom line has been revealed in great wisdom to all His children by God Himself when He says, "6 Now devotion and intimacy with God along with contentment is great gain. 7 because we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out when we finally die. 8 And having food and clothing which is the bare necessity to sustain our life on earth, with these we shall be content as we are here to develop friendship with God. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare of the evil one who wants to destroy human life before God given time on earth, and moreover dive into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition." (1 Tim 6:6, Paraphrased). So we can clearly understand that God wants to provide the need of all His children, because he wants their purpose on earth to be fulfilled for the after life which is the most important priority for them.
The Bible also says to humans to take control of their own lives and not overwork to be rich, be smart enough to stop when all our needs are met (Pro 23:4-5). Because if we choose to wrongly fix our eyes on money and wealth instead of God, it will disappear before us, because God makes it to sprout wings for itself like an eagle and make it fly into the sky to fulfill His purpose (Pro 23:5). This is the reason God says, "a sinner's wealth is stored up for the righteous" (Pro 13:22).
So I can say that once sin came in to this world through our forefather Adam (Rom 5:12), death of separation from God came along with it due to disobedience and rebellion, thus without the good nature of God working within us, selfishness came within and spread to all humans which led their mind to work wrongly against God's purpose and thus began the deathly pursuit to accumulate wealth.
Most people think that one side there is God who is good, and other side a devil that is evil. But clearly to a God who is sovereign, all powerful, all knowing and present everywhere, is no match for the created being Satan the devil. Instead Jesus said, one side there is God, on the other side of life there stands a so called god which is Money and wealth which drives all humans in to making it their god. All humans must make a choice to choose either God or Money as the god of their heart, and only one can be their master, they will at the end of the day will hate one and love the other (Luke 16:13).
One doesn't have to be rich or poor to take the decision to love God or love money, anybody is capable of loving the one and hating the other, and the love of money is the root cause of all evil (1 Tim 6:10). Note: money in itself is not evil, but the love of money is the root cause of all evil. So whom do we love first in this life of ours is what matters (Matt 22:37), whom do we trust first above all in this life also matters (Prov 3:5)!
God Himself says that He is the one who gives humans the power to get wealth (Deut 8:18). If we stay faithful to use the little wealth we have for God's purpose, He gives us more and more wealth to make us a blessing and to fulfill His purpose for our generation (Luke 16:10, 11, 12, 13; Acts 13:36).
So God reveals that even though some are rich and some are poor due to sinful conditions that makes people selfish and foolish to accumulate wealth for themselves infinitely more than their life time needs, at the cost of keeping others with nothing to even eat, still God says that they meet together in God before His eyes, as He is the Maker of them alike (Prov 22:2). This is the reason God further reveals in the same wisdom book, "He who oppresses the poor taunts his Maker's purpose, but he who is gracious to the needy honors Him (Prov 14:31). God continues saying, those who help the poor people in their need, actually lends to the Lord Himself and gives Him a opportunity to reward him in this life and after life in heaven (Prov 19:17). So we come to understand that in spite of the ravages of sin and selfishness, the very reason God has allowed the unequal division of wealth between the poor and the rich is to test the rich people and give them a opportunity to leave their love for money and let it be used for God's purpose, and trust God instead of money to accumulate wealth in heaven and build good character on earth (Matt 19:16-22; 12:13-21).
Jesus Himself acknowledged that this unequal division between rich and poor will always exist, because of the innate sin nature of all humans (Mark 14:7; Matt 26:11). Even though God has created all people as humans equally before His eyes, He has equipped each person with different and unique talents, and those people who have a talent in certain areas which are desirous for the entertainment of human or the need of human will start to accumulate wealth and multiply the capital more than others (Matt 25:14-30). In fact, God does not discourage the capitalists who want to multiply wealth justly and in righteousness for the benefit of all which He always encourages them (Prov 29:2; 1 Chron 29:11-12), but He does only hate those who do business in selfishness and discourages their activity when the purpose for which they accumulate money and wealth is done selfishly for themselves through deceit, bribes and kickbacks for the only end purpose of increasing their wealth using others as a commodity to achieve their means (Prov 11:1; Lev 19;35; Prov 15:27; 17:8, 23; Eccl 7:7; Exod 23:8; Deut 16:19).
Because of the innate sin nature within humans, always the rich rule over the poor by leding them their need and bringing them under their mercy and power (Prov 22:7). The poor when they call to the Lord, his ears are open to their cry, what a privilege to the poor people when they come under the oppression and tyranny of the pride of the rich (Psa 72:12, 13; Prov 16:18). The poor man Lazarus cried out to God and he must have cried for rich man's help in this earthly life, but the rich man chose to shut his ear to his cry and neglected such poor people totally, the cry of the poor man Lazarus was rewarded in the after life, but the cry of the rich man's life in the hellish prison of Hades after the death of his on earth was never heard by God and was neglected forever (Prov 21:13; Luke 16:19-31). Each rich person who has experienced the blessedness of giving to those in need, will never stay the same receiving a broader vision of heaven and God's original intention for giving wealth in abundance to them on earth so that they can become a blessing for many through the wealth they hold in their hands (Acts 20:35).
God through apostle James had told the rich people to wail now and cry out to God now, because if they continue to trust in their riches instead of God, they will end up in hell fire soon (James 1:9-11; 5:1-6). This is the spiritual state of inclination now for the rich which is actually pitiable according to God.
The Bible reveals that the poor are always in need (Matt 26:11; Prov 28:27), so God hears their cry first and does not neglect it (Psa 34:6, 17). He first sends the Gospel to the poor and needy first (Luke 4:18; Isa 61:1), and as a result of them receiving faith and being rich in faith, the Lord also commends them through apostles and says that the Lord will reward them greatly in the after life, even though they have learned to be content in spite of being considered as "the poor of this world" (James 2:5). Thus the spiritual state and inclination to accumulate eternal riches for the poor is rich now in the sight of God and therefore their future is secured and great in heaven.
Among the many sins of Sodom described in Genesis 19, her people were “arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy” (Ezekiel 16:49, 50), God has revealed that the end time generation will also act like 'Sodom and Gomorrah' and 'Noah's days', and therefore there is a great danger in our generation like never before to neglect the needy and the poor, and live a unconcerned life regarding this inequality because of our material comfort that blinds us all (Luke 17:26-30). May God open our eyes and help us learn to live and let live through helping people who are in need now, so that God's name might be glorified through our lives.
He also said that those who show mercy to the poor, the sick, and the needy are in effect ministering to Him personally (Matthew 25:35–40) and will be rewarded accordingly.
Saints of God, God loves the poor and is offended when His children neglect them (Proverbs 11:4; 17:5; 19:17; 22:2, 9, 16, 22–23; 28:8; 29:7; 31:8–9).
Look how the Lord lauds the goodness of King Josiah in Jeremiah 22:16: “He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me, declares the LORD?”, which shows to us all that the Lord is very much concerned for the poor and their needs, and want to use us all who are His children to touch their lives and spread His happiness (Jam 1:27). The Lord further reveals that those who really know Him intimately and in reality, these will have the inclination to help those needy and poor people always (Deu 15:10), and in turn it honors the Lord as He Himself claims (Prov 14:31).
May we not see the unequal division of wealth among people who are rich financially and people who are poor as a curse, but instead as an opportunity for the rich to seek God through helping the poor, and the poor to look to God for their daily provision which God has promised to give to all those who call on Him. Hence there are earthly advantages for the rich but the heavenly disadvantage, at the same time, for the poor there are heavenly advantage for him, but the earthly disadvantage. So the conclusion is, though there are rich people and poor people as long as we live in this sinful and selfish world, the Maker of them all is One who has given one to exchange for the other. Whoever is selfish to hold anything too tight in this earthly life except God, will lose the game for eternity ahead. So let us always look to God and hold his hand tightly and desire to become like Him in our character, so that even if our hand slips, we cannot fall out of the eternal arms that stands beneath us and above us (Deut 33:27).
"What does it profit a man to gain the riches of the whole world for himself to make it as his god, and finally when he dies the earthly gain not able to save his soul, will let him lose his soul from God's goodness to die in hell fire?" (Mark 8:36, Paraphrased) — Jesus Christ
Much Blessings...
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment