Article November 11, 1991 Issue

There's no need to stay poor

Pinched circumstances will open up as we expand our concept of God, good.

Moira Hudson

When I was a child there was quite a habit of saving in our family—partly because we didn't have a great deal of money, but mainly because it was considered a virtue. We felt we could give freely to others but not to ourselves. The ethic was to work very hard and not to expect much in return.

But nowhere in the Bible are we told that poverty and frugality for their own sake are virtues. In fact, there are many references to riches. Quite a few of these are warning people not to worship money, and they tell of the corrupting effect of too great a concern with wealth. But others give a different and happier picture of the source and nature of true riches. For example, the book of Proverbs says, "The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it."

So true riches are God's blessing. But what kind of riches does this mean? Doesn't it mean spiritual qualities like peace, wisdom, joy, and love? It certainly does, and these are the riches we actually seek, rather than material possessions or wealth.

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