The Christian In Business! Part 3

For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth...Eph 5:9

God Governs The Christian in Business! Part 3

Some have unfairly criticized capitalism and business for promoting poverty. But the Bible is very clear on what causes poverty. In the book of Proverbs we will find many wise and practical sayings describing how poverty overtakes an individual.

Laziness Exploits The Poor

In Proverbs 6:6-11 we read, “Go to the ant, thou sluggard: consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. How long wilt thou sleep, 0 sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that traveleth, and thy want as an armed man.” The sluggard, is the one who sleeps and lays around. He is further defined as being idle. The comparison of the sluggard and the ant is very clear. The ant works even with no one giving orders and as a result, abundantly provides for its life. The sluggard does not work, at least not diligently or without constant oversight, and his reward is poverty and want. Can anyone not see the point? From this section of wisdom, one soon realizes that poverty does not strike because one was ambitious and motivated. But on the contrary, that of being a couch potato. The great lesson for each of us is to be like the ant and go to work. A system which rewards and supports the lazy, is a system that exploits the poor.

Dishonesty Exploits The Poor

The wise man advances our study in Proverbs 10:4 saying, “He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.” Robert R. Taylor, Jr. wrote, “It is plain foolishness to go through life with dishonesty as a guiding, governing philosophy. Dealing with a slack hand means that one fails to act out of honesty and integrity. Such an individual is digging his own grave of poverty. In marked contrast the hand of a diligent man of honesty and uprightness makes for riches in this life. His will be the true riches that will aid one to enter ultimately into everlasting habitations (Luke 16:9-11).”

Proverbs 28:19, “He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough.” I am fond of saying, association is everything! If people follow after vain and evil people, they will walk in the way of poverty. Unfortunately, we live in a world where evil men and women take advantage of the unsuspecting. To overcome this, we should associate ourselves with the wise. By doing so, we shall benefit from their wisdom and become wise ourselves. If we take our financial advice from the poor and the foolish, we will become like our counselor. If we take our financial advice from a crook, we will be robbed.

Proverbs 28:22 states, “He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.” Get rich quick schemes seldom produce lasting riches that come from hard work. These scams most often produce poverty. Why? Because, the Bible teaches us that we don't get something from nothing. We must earn our riches, via effort and work. Again, in Proverbs we read, “In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury” (14:23). Simply put, big talk makes for poverty. If one is to overcome poverty, one must walk the talk. Our talk must not be cheap, but on the contrary backed by action; the action of labor.

In addition, we are taught in Proverbs 21:17, “He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.” It is interesting how riotous living can devour a fortune. The wayward prodigal son of Luke 15 is a prime example (vs.13-14). One author observed, “Certain pleasures are not wrong in themselves, but improper indulgences are” (cf. Eccl 2:1; 2 Tim 3:4). Over-indulgence of even clean pleasure results in misplaced priorities and impoverished circumstances. Some pleasures are wrong in themselves (Titus 3:3) and are to be avoided by the righteous (1 Peter 4:3-4); for they choke righteousness (Luke 8:14) and end in spiritual death (2 Peter 2:13; 1 Tim 5:6). Strong drink is one of the world's greatest carriers of poverty (Pro 23:29-32).

(continued on page 10)