In the Bible, we find that people were poor for a variety of reasons. The same holds true for us today. Look with me now at the fifth reason for poverty -- some people are poor because they won't work. I am reminded of Proverbs 23:21 which says, “For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.”
Sadly, there is a whole stratum of folks out there who simply refuse to work. Warren Wiersbe in his Bible Exposition Commentary states, “The biggest thieves of all are the lazy people who could work but won't, the people who consume what others produce but produce nothing for others to use. The "sluggard" and the "slothful man" are mentioned at least seventeen times in Proverbs, and nothing good is said about them.”
Notice:
It's worth noting that the Prodigal Son's first request was, “Father, give me!” But when he returned home, after a season of living with the pigs, his request was, “Make me one of your servants” (Luke 15:12, 19). He'd learned the necessity of hard work.
Now I have given you five biblical reasons for poverty:
The Scripture has a different remedy for each of these situations. In other words, there wasn’t a one-size-fits-all answer. According to Dr. Tony Evans:
The Redeemed Team
Sadly, there is a whole stratum of folks out there who simply refuse to work. Warren Wiersbe in his Bible Exposition Commentary states, “The biggest thieves of all are the lazy people who could work but won't, the people who consume what others produce but produce nothing for others to use. The "sluggard" and the "slothful man" are mentioned at least seventeen times in Proverbs, and nothing good is said about them.”
Notice:
- Proverbs 10:4, “Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth”
- Proverbs 14:23, “Hard work always pays off; mere talk puts no bread on the table.”
- Proverbs 26:13-15 (New Living Translation), “The lazy person is full of excuses, saying, ‘I can't go outside because there might be a lion on the road! Yes, I'm sure there's a lion out there!’ As a door turns back and forth on its hinges, so the lazy person turns over in bed. Some people are so lazy that they won't lift a finger to feed themselves.”
It's worth noting that the Prodigal Son's first request was, “Father, give me!” But when he returned home, after a season of living with the pigs, his request was, “Make me one of your servants” (Luke 15:12, 19). He'd learned the necessity of hard work.
Now I have given you five biblical reasons for poverty:
- Sin
- Situational poverty
- Injustice
- Unwise financial dealings
- Laziness
The Scripture has a different remedy for each of these situations. In other words, there wasn’t a one-size-fits-all answer. According to Dr. Tony Evans:
- You see, some people don’t need money, they need opportunity,
- some people don’t need money, they need encouragement,
- some people don’t need money, they need justice,
- some people don’t need money, they need instruction,
- some people don’t need money, they need motivation and ambition.
- Finally, some people do need money.
The Redeemed Team
