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self to sacrifice a present for a future
satisfaction ... wha tever he cannot
consume immediately he considers
valueless. His bodily needs (espe–
cially for sex) and his laste for
'action' take precedence over every–
thing else- and certai nly over any
work routine." l ndeed, as Solomon
said, "He tha t loveth pleasure shall
be a poor man" (Prov. 2 1: 17).
In the New Testament, too, sorne
people's poverty is also laid at the
door of laziness. The apost le Paul,
in his second letter to the Thessalo–
nians, scolded " busybodies" who
had quit their jobs and were spong–
ing off others, waiting for the return
of Christ (ll Thess. 3: 11 - 12). Paul
laid down this rule, applicable to
every able-bodied Christian: " l f any
would not work, neither should he
eat" (11 Thess. 3: 10).
Elsewhcre, Paul told the evange–
list Timothy thal a man who does
not put forth the effort to provide
for his own, and cspecially for those
of his own household, " hath denied
the faith, and is worse than an in–
fidel"
(1
T im.
5:8).
Of course, there
are
many poor
people in the world whose poverty is
no fault of their own, and the Bible
a lso spcaks cloquently to thei r con–
dition.
It
is
injustice when people
who have superior lea rning take ad–
vantage of the poor in contracts
(Amos
8:6).
lt
is
an abomina tion to
God when poor people who are not
lazy are not cared for (Ezek. 16:49).
And the Bible emphatically teaches
tha t employers have a duty to show
love and concern for th eir employ–
ees, particularly their less-educated,
or feebleminded employees.
The central concern in a ll of these
scriptures, however, is a lways com–
passion- the humane concern that
human beings should not suffer lack
of food or shelter due to conditions
beyond thei r control. But the Bible
does not countenance the belief,
founded more on envy than on
godly love, that individuals who
work ha rd and do we ll should have
everything they earn st ripped away
from them test they enjoy more than
the poor.
Hard Work vs. Fraud
There is nothing wrong in acquiring
wealth through your own hones t ef–
fort- exchanging something you do
26
for money, or using your mind lo
invest money you a lready have.
There is nothing wrong with acquir–
ing wealth through gifts, such as an
inheritance.
In other words, there are two
ways in which a man can acquire
p roperty justly. He can exchange it
for something else, such as his own
labor, or he can have it given to
him. Both ways a re found in the
Bible. Jesus said, "The labourer is
worthy of his hire" (Luke 10:7). Gift
giving is certainly not condemned:
" If ye then, being evil, know how to
give good gifts unto your chi ldren:
how much more shall your heavenly
Fa ther give the Holy Spirit to thcm
that ask him?" (Luke 11: 13.) ·
Moreover, there is nothing wrong
with wealth
in and of itse!f.
The OId
Tes tament shows clearly th at
"blessed is the man that feare th the
Lord, tha t delighteth greatly in his
comma ndments....
Wealth
and
riches shall be in his house" (Ps.
112: 1-3).
Other scriptures show the same
thing:
"Blessed is the man that walketh
not in tbe counsel of the ungodly.
nor standeth in the way of sinners,
nor sitteth in the seat of the scorn–
fuL But his delight is in the law of
the Lord . .. . whatsoever he docth
shall prosper" (Ps.
1:
1-3).
"And the Eterna! was with Jo–
seph, and he was a
prosperous
man. __ _the Ete rna! made a ll that
he did to
prosper
in his hand. And
Joseph found grace in his sigh t, and
he served him [God]" (Gen . 39:2-4).
"The righteous sha ll
jlourish
like
the palm tree: he sha ll grow like a
cedar in Lebanon" (Ps.
92:
12).
Finally, sorne of the most righ–
teous meo of the Bible were not
only middle-class, but really rich.
Abraham had over 318 servants
(Gen.
14: 14).
After his tria! , Job was
given twice as much as he had be–
fore (Job 42: 10), and he was quite
wealthy to begin with (Job
1:3).
T he New Tes tament likewise
shows that the re is noth ing wrong
with wealth in and of itself:
" 1
wish above all th ings that thou
mayest pros per and be in health"
(III
John
2).
Jesus Himself said: "J
am come that they might have life,
and that they might have it more
abundantly" (John 10: 10).
The Bible teaches that there is
nothing wrong with working hard
and acquiring wealth in a good,
hones t manner :
"The soul of the sluggard desir–
e th, and hath nothing: but the soul
of the diligent shall be made fat"
(Prov. 13:4).
"The substance of a diligent man
is precious" (Prov. 12:27).
"The thoughts of the diligent tend
only to plenteousness" (Prov. 21 :5).
" Be thou diligent to know the
state of thy fl ocks, and look well to
thy herds. For riches are not fo r
ever" (Prov. 27:23-24).
The fact of the matter is that God
has set the laws of success in motion .
Sorne people put these laws to work in
th eir lives, and, after payment of
God's tithe, offerings, and basicchar–
ity to relieve those who a re truly
needy, they deserve to keep what they
have. (You can learn about these laws
by writing for our free booklet
The
Seven Laws ofSuccess. )
As the editor of
The Plain Truth,
Herbert W. Armstrong, pointed out
more than a quarter century ago,
prosperity and the enjoyment of
high-quality consumer goods is the
reward of good, hard work
(The
P/ain Truth,
October 1951 ).
"What would happen," asked Mr.
Armstrong, "if there were not a few
leaders who had taken life seriously
when they were young, who had
spent their evenings in study and
self-imp rovement while the majority
were out seeking pleasure and good
times. who had made the most of
th eir opportunities, who had vision
and enterprise, who sla ved a nd
worked lo ng hours durin g hard
years. planning and building a busi–
ness which now provides employ–
ment for others-who spent sleepless
nights carrying all the worry and
responsibility of the enterprise so
they could meet the payroUs, while
those on the payrolls had their good
times and got their sleep without
any load of responsibility?"
Seek God First
While the Bible does say that 11 1s
possible to be prosperous without
incurring God's wrath, it does com–
mand us not to put our
heart
in
material goods. The true basis of
happiness is indeed not material but
spiritua l.
The
PLAIN TRUTH
December
1978