Blessed are the Poor

Blessed are the Poor

The world and false teachers often claim that it’s a “curse to be poor money-wise or wealth-wise”; It’s not so according to God’s Word.

One can be a rich believer & a poor believer as well. Apostle Paul writes his contentment with both having “prosperity” (relatively rich) vs “humble means, suffering need” (relatively poor) too:

“I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.” (Philippians 4:12)

Thus, an aim of faith is “not” hoping for more prosperity but rather in being “content” whether in prosperity or want:

“But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.” (1 Timothy 6:6)

Also, more prosperity does not mean that the person is closer to God nor vice versa. We can have rich believers being close to God & poor believers even closer to Him. We can also have wicked men with a lot of money vs righteous men with little money as Scripture reveals in the verses below (‘time & chance’, unpredictable, random):

“I again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift and the battle is not to the warriors, and neither is bread to the wise nor wealth to the discerning nor favor to men of ability; for time and chance overtake them all.” (Ecclesiastes 9:11)

“Better is the poor who walks in his integrity Than he who is crooked though he be rich.” (Proverbs 28:6)

In fact, the Hall of Fame of Faith (as it is known) in Hebrews 11 mentions that many faithful ones to God were the poor as it is written:

“They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated

(men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.” (Hebrews 11:37 – 38)

It’s not just a quote (in picture); the meaning is very close to the verse below:

“He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor Will also cry himself and not be answered.” (Proverbs 21:13)

*Remember the poor, especially the ones who are oppressed by the discriminative policies of ruling governments, discriminative practices of the rich employers & business owners who exploit them daily and even the poor cursed & pushed aside by religion, racism, cast & Social classes.

P/S:

Lazarus was a beggar who made it to Heaven & Christ Blessed the poor as follows:

“And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” (Luke 6:20)

The “poor” referred to is both those ‘poor in spirit’ (Matthew 5:3) & those who are ‘poor with respect to wealth/money’ as the verse below reveals this understanding further as apostle James affirms:

“Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?” (James 2:5)

In the book of James, it’s plain that James speaks of “money/wealth rich believers” compared to “money/wealth poor believers” during the verse above.

The Great Warning ⚠ to the “Rich” is as follows from the Bible:

“Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten.

Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure!

Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.

You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.

You have condemned and put to death the righteous man; he does not resist you.” – apostle James (James 5:1 – 6)