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Summary
- The Bible never asks Christians to be poor, and it never calls poverty a sin in itself.
- Abraham, Job, Joseph of Arimathea and Lydia all had means, yet Jesus warned that “you cannot serve God and money” (Matthew 6:24).
- “Money is the root of all evil” is a misquote: 1 Timothy 6:10 says that “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.”
- The New Testament expects Christians to work, to provide for their families and to share with anyone in need (2 Thessalonians 3:12; 1 Timothy 5:8; Ephesians 4:28).
- Catholic and Orthodox monks and nuns choose poverty as a vow or discipline, and the Catechism asks every Christian for “detachment from riches.”
- Again and again Scripture tells God’s people to be generous to the poor (Deuteronomy 15:11; Matthew 25:40; 1 John 3:17).
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Scripture quotations from the English Standard Version: Genesis 13:2; Leviticus 12:8; Deuteronomy 15:11; Job 1:3; Psalm 140:12; Proverbs 10:4; 13:23; 14:31; 19:17; 30:8–9; Matthew 6:24; 8:20; 19:21; 25:40; 27:57–60; Mark 10:17–25; Luke 2:24; 6:20, 24; 8:3; 12:15; Acts 2:44–45; 16:14–15; 2 Corinthians 8:9; 9:7; Ephesians 4:28; Philippians 4:16; 2 Thessalonians 3:10–12; 1 Timothy 5:8; 6:6–10, 17–18; Hebrews 13:5; James 2:5; 1 John 3:17; Galatians 2:10. 1 Timothy 6:10 also from the King James Version.
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 915, 2448 and 2544–2545. https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM
- Orthodox Church in America, “The Orthodox Faith,” volume 2, “Monasticism.” https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/worship/the-sacraments/monasticism
- John Wesley, Sermon 50, “The Use of Money.” https://www.ccel.org/ccel/wesley/sermons.v.l.html
- Lausanne Theology Working Group, “A Statement on the Prosperity Gospel” (Akropong, Ghana, 2008–2009). https://lausanne.org/content/a-statement-on-the-prosperity-gospel
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