The Truth About Material Wealth: Is It God’s Blessing in Disguise?

Download or read book The Truth About Material Wealth: Is It God’s Blessing in Disguise? written by Revd Dr Gabriel J. Anan, PhD and published by AuthorHouse. This book was released on 2015-11-23 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The text of this book reveals the fact that because of poverty in our world, there’s a desire for every being to accumulate material possessions; therefore, the temptation to pursue this cause of action can never be underestimated regardless of our belief in the Lord God. Regardless of the desire to be wealthy, however, many believers still ascertain the fact that poverty must be encouraged as part of our faith in Jesus Christ our Lord. They support the argument from the biblical text thus: “For, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:25). Conversely, other believers assert that God does not refute richness and therefore also affirms their belief with the biblical verse that says in the Proverbs 22:7 that “the rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” In Ecclesiastes 5:19 we hear further thus: “When God gives any man a wealth and possessions and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work—this is a gift of God.” Furthermore we hear from 1 Samuel 2:7 that “the Lord makes poor and makes rich; he brings low and he exalts.” These biblical verses indicate the fact that God raises both the rich and the poor. The Good News Bible (in giant print) expands this verse to mean “the Lord makes some men poor and others rich; He humbles some and makes others great” (1 Sam. 2:7). Deducing from these texts, we can come to some kind of understanding that further reflection on both sides of the arguments is fundamentally in demand for an in-depth illumination of how to live within the grace of the Living God.