There are risks in living in poverty and in being rich. The Book of Proverbs says: "Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the Lord?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God." (Proverbs 30:8b–9).
We shouldn't allow wealth to corrupt our hearts so that we oppress other people
(James 5:1–6). These verses show the danger money can bring into our lives, and are a warning to an unbelieving and ungodly world.
"Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation,
because like a flower of the grass he will pass away." (James 1:9–10).
See these verses explained at time 26:47-27:48 in James 1 (Part 2) :5-15.
"Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death."
(Proverbs 11:4). Righteousness means right standing with God. We can only get
that by accepting what Jesus did on the cross of Calvary (Mark 10:45, Mat 20:28,
Isaiah 53:12, Psalm 49:12–13, 15 (13–14, 16 in some translations)), see Salvation,
and not by being a good person. We can't repay God.
"Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income." (Ecclesiastes 5:10a (9a in some translations)),
see The Book of Ecclesiastes.
"Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Mat 6:19–21). "If riches increase, set not your heart on them." (Psalm 62:10b (11b in some translations)).
We should put our faith (trust) in God in a childlike way, see
Who is the Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven? A child's life is characterized by dependence. In this case, it speaks of dependence on God's grace and mercy.
Wealth and prosperity can give a sense of self-sufficiency, see the church Laodicea in The Seven Churches in the Book of Revelation.
We can't have both God and money as masters in our life (Mat 6:24, Luk 16:13).
We shouldn't put our hope in riches, instead we should put our hope in Jesus
(1 Tim 6:17–18). "For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him." (Psalm 49:7–10, 17 (8–11, 18 in some translations)), see
The Parable of the Rich Fool and The Parable of the Dishonest Manager.
"Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf." (Proverbs 11:28).
For a person who hears the word of God, the deception of riches can choke the word, and it can become unfruitful (Mat 13:22), see The Parable of the Sower.
Godliness with contentment is great gain. Those who want to be rich can fall into temptation and into many foolish and harmful desires. For the love of money is a root (but not the root) of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. (1 Tim 6:5–10).
"The blessing of the Lord makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it."
(Proverbs 10:22).
"Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed." (Proverbs 19:17, Heb 13:16), see Peter Sent to the Gentiles.
I shouldn't wear myself out for the sake of getting rich (Proverbs 23:4–5).
We should seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these other things that we need will be given to us as well (Mat 6:31–33). God didn't put us here just to get money and have things. We are here to seek God and his kingdom.
"Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said: 'I will never leave you nor forsake you'". (Heb 13:5).
The secret is to find contentment in what you have, see time 30:44–33:59 in
DAVID GUZIK SERMON ON Hebrews 13:1-7 – Jesus Our Lord.
See also Some stories close related to the gospels at the bottom of
The Four Gospels.
