Ecclesiastes Rich Vs Poor

“An obsession with possessions enslaves us to the demon of worry. Jesus invites us to change our priorities, focus on the kingdom, and share with the needy” (Kraybill, 2011, p.101). A man’s wealth will be measured by the love, kindness and empathy he has for the poor and the hungry in Gods kingdom. For this matter Jesus wants the wealthy to humble themselves and receive their blessing by offering opportunities to the poor instead of being greedy and celebrating their own wealth.

1. Galatians 6:10 “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith” (King James Version).

Money brings the inequality of possessions, also called “the haves and the have not’s.” We may all be equal in the eyes of God, but here on earth some eyes grow green with envy. Children come home from daycare complaining that Little Jimmy’s truck was bigger than his, husbands and fathers are forever eying the Jones; new corvette, and entire wars have erupted over the “you have it and I’m gonna get it” mentality. Inequality of possessions is not bad though many passages in the Bible teach that even in heaven there are different degrees of rewards. Even God’s spiritual gifts are not given equally to each of us, but this does not mean He loves one person more than the other. It is what we do with

That the poor were divided into two groups the Worthy Poor and Unworthy Poor. Thw wroth poor were considered to be orphans, disabled, elders, and ill. The Unworthy poor were people who chose not to work for one reason or another. Almshouses or poorhouses were places where the poor went to live. Also if there anyone who was medically ill or non longer had a place of there own they would stay here. A little like the homeless shelters we have today. There was an Overseer of the poor to help them get relief or make sure they were ok. It was flawed in many ways because the person providing had no formal training or understanding of what these people were going through.That in 1996 the states become the ones to decide how welfare and some other aide

a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Doc. 1). This is very bluntly saying that there

Who: The industrialist were Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, Jay Gould, Cornelious Vanderbilt. They are the industry controllers, and have a lot of money. They paid their workers badly and also gave them bad working conditions. However, they enhanced the US and were also philanthropists. What: They controlled the industry (steel, railroads, banking etc.) and made a huge amount of the money in the US.

Each person’s gift or gifts are very unique. They are never equal or the same, but some are similar, and yet not the same. 1st Corinthians 12:4-6 “Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same spirit, and there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord, and there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all”.

For instance, as noted in document 3, more respect was given to the merchant who did not keep all of his wealth and did not value his wealth as the most important aspect of his life. Earlier, Christians had disliked and rejected the idea of great wealth, however that idea was modified over time. Christianity had instead rejected the idea of someone having great wealth without working for it or putting forth a great effort. Christians then and still today, including myself, believe that wealth is best earned through work and

When looking at Jesus’ teachings at the Sermon on the Mount, he gives clues onto what the ideal person is portrayed as. Many use St. Matthews version of the Sermon as an ideal reference: “How blessed are the poor in spirit: the kingdom of Heaven is theirs… Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for uprightness: they shall have their fill” (Sermon on the Mount, Verse 3 and 6). By a stale look at these verses, one can infer that the ideal person to “receive the blessings of God” are poor, because when looking at the Gospel given by Luke he tells us about that the people who will be suffering are the rich. Since rich people tend to be greedy and selfish, it was simple to see that poor people will be more appreciative of what they would soon have. Therefore, from verses 3 and 6, it can be implied that the ideal person is selfless. Although, when looking at the ideal person from this stale

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil; for if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him – a threefold cord is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)

In Ecclesiastes: we have Solomon's (generally agreed upon to be the author) analysis of life. It seems cynical, but overall the message of the book is hope in God. In Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 we get Solomon's basic lesson to those who are seeking a full and abundant life “ Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing,Whether good or evil.”

All throughout the beatitudes there seems to be the theme that it does not matter what is on the outside, but God sees and is only concerned with the inside of his children. Their hearts and their souls. It doesn't appear God cares much for material wealth or success in the world, but more so for what is in mans heart. Luke suggests ‘the poor' should be monetarily poor, and if they have any wealth they should give it all up to those more needy to give glory to God. Money and wealth may be seen by some as a sign of being in God's favor with darker signs and adversity a sign of some sort of punishment. Which should not be the case at all, Matthew seems to add "in spirit" more to identify wealth and social status is not the standard by which God will judge. Money and wealth do have an

People are created in the image of God and by design all people belong to God. The people who have chosen to accept God’s promise belong to God forever. Psalm twenty-four is a praise to God, “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it”. Everything belongs to God, our life, materials, business, relationships, absolutely everything. God cares deeply about our wealth and health. However, the sin that corrupts our bodies and minds, and there is no guarantee that the Christian business person will prosper. The core of true life is in

​Consequently, a man who is “poor” in material possessions many times is “rich” in character, which is spiritually defined as the nine fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control.  Having friends and family members who grew up poor and who worked hard to survive to obtain material possessions, their character was strengthened or made “rich” as a result of it. They had to do the jobs that many rich people would never do, such as being a maid, construction worker, janitor and many more domestic type jobs. Although they differ in terms of definition, being “rich” and being “poor” in character can be one of the same as “poor” in spirit or humble.  For example, my great grandmother was an Indian who was very poor, but you never would have known it because she was humble, kind, loving and a peaceful woman who always shared everything she had.

“...how any one should ever come to have a property in anything: I will not content myself to answer, that if it be difficult to make out property, upon a supposition that God gave the world to Adam, and his posterity in common, it is impossible that any man, but one universal monarch, should have any property upon a supposition, that God gave the world to Adam, and his heirs in succession, exclusive of all the rest of his posterity.”