Pleasure Before Work
For many people, the inability to restrain themselves from giving in to the pleasures of the moment_ is the cause of poverty. This fact is vividly brought out in The Unheavenly City, a book by a Harvard professor of urban studies, Edward Banfield. Dr. Banfield documented what Solomon had first recorded in the Bible — that plain old laziness, and the inability to control one's emotions and desires, is the reason why many people live in slum conditions.
Dr. Banfield shows that in many big-city slums, poverty is the direct result of an inability to defer gratification, even for a short period of time. Some people simply cannot deny themselves the pleasures of the moment in order to break out of their impoverished condition. Such a person, says Banfield, lives "from moment to moment, If he has any awareness of the future, it is of something fixed, fated, beyond his control. . . . Impulse governs his behavior he cannot discipline himself to sacrifice a present for a future satisfaction . . . whatever he cannot consume immediately he considers valueless. His bodily needs (especially for sex) and his taste for 'action' take precedence over everything else — and certainly over any work routine." Indeed, as Solomon said, "He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man" (Prov. 21:17).
In the New Testament, too, some people's poverty is also laid at the door of laziness. The apostle Paul, in his second letter to the Thessalonians, scolded "busybodies" who had quit their jobs and were sponging off others, waiting for the return of Christ (II Thess. 3:11-12). Paul laid down this rule, applicable to every able-bodied Christian: "If any would not work, neither should he eat" (II Thess.3:10).
Elsewhere, Paul told the evangelist Timothy that a man who does not put forth the effort to provide for his own, and especially for those of his own household, "hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel" (I Tim. 5:8).
Of course, there are many poor people in the world whose poverty is no fault of their own, and the Bible also speaks eloquently to their condition. It is injustice when people who have superior learning take advantage of the poor in contracts (Amos 8:6). It is an abomination to God when poor people who are not lazy are not cared for (Ezek. 16:49). And the Bible emphatically teaches that employers have a duty to show love and concern for their employees, particularly their less-educated, or feebleminded employees.
The central concern in all of these scriptures, however, is always compassion — the humane concern that human beings should not suffer lack of food or shelter due to conditions' beyond their control. But the Bible does not countenance the belief, founded more on envy than on godly love, that individuals who work hard and do well should have everything they earn stripped away from them lest they enjoy more than the poor.
Hard Work vs. Fraud
There is nothing wrong in acquiring wealth through your own honest effort — exchanging something you do for money, or using your mind to invest money you already have. There is nothing wrong with acquiring wealth through gifts, such as an inheritance.
In other words, .there are two ways in which a man can acquire property justly. He can exchange it for something else, such as his own labor, or he can have it given to him. Both ways are found in the Bible. Jesus said, "The laborer is worthy of his hire" (Luke 10:7). Gift giving is certainly not condemned: "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" (Luke 11:13)
Moreover, there is nothing wrong with wealth in and of itself The Old Testament shows clearly that "blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. . . . Wealth and riches shall be in his house" (Ps. 112:1-3).
Other scriptures show the same thing: "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord. . . . whatsoever he doeth shall prosper" (Ps. 1:1-3).
"And the Eternal was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man. . . . the Eternal made all that he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him [God]" (Gen. 39:2-4).
"The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon" (Ps. 92:12).
Finally, some of the most righteous men of the Bible were not only middle-class, but really rich. Abraham had over 318 servants (Gen. 14:14). After his trial, Job was given twice as much as he had before (Job 42: 10), and he was quite wealthy to begin with (Job 1:3).
The New Testament likewise shows that there is nothing wrong with wealth in and of itself:
"I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health" (111 John 2). Jesus Himself said: "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).
The Bible teaches that there is nothing wrong with working hard and acquiring wealth in a good, honest manner:
"The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat" (Prov. 13:4).
"The substance of a diligent man is precious" (Prov. 12:27).
"The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness" (Prov. 21:5).
"Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds. For riches are not for ever" (Prow. 27:23-24).
The fact of the matter is that God has set the laws of success in motion. Some people put these laws to work in their lives, and, after payment of God's tithe, offerings, and basic charity to relieve those who are truly needy, they deserve to keep what they have. (You can learn about these laws by writing for our free booklet The Seven Laws of Success)
As the editor of Plain Truth, Herbert W. Armstrong, pointed out more than a quarter century ago, prosperity and the enjoyment of high-quality consumer goods is the reward of good, hard work (Plain Truth, October 1951).
"What would happen," asked Mr. Armstrong, "if — there were not a few leaders who had taken life seriously when they were young, who had spent their evenings in study and self-improvement while the majority were out seeking pleasure and good times, who had made the most of their opportunities, who had vision and enterprise, who slaved and worked long hours during hard years, planning and building a business which now provides employment for others — who spent sleepless nights carrying all the worry and responsibility of the enterprise so they could meet the payrolls, while those on the payrolls had their good times and got their sleep without any load of responsibility?"
Seek God First
While the Bible does say that it is possible to be prosperous without incurring God's wrath, it does command us not to put our heart in material goods. The true basis of happiness is indeed not material but spiritual.
While wealth can be legitimately earned, we must not forget that the Bible clearly commands us not to seek riches as a goal. Christ said, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God" (Matt. 6:33). The apostle Paul did say that "they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil" (I Tim. 6:9-10).
And we must not forget that the Bible absolutely condemns the acquisition of wealth or prosperity by ungodly means, i.e., by force or fraud. The apostle James shows what God thinks of those who unfairly take advantage and defraud the poor: "Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth" (James 5:1-4).
David confronted the problem of those who became rich by unjust means. But he realized that God, who wields final justice, would chasten them in the end: "I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. . . . Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches. . . . all the day long have I been plagued. . . . Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end. Surely thou . . . castedst them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors" (Ps. 73:3, 12, 14, 17-19).
The Right Use of Wealth
Clearly the Bible teaches that prosperity is not an end in itself. To demonstrate this, Jesus spoke a very poignant parable about a rich man who accumulated goods, then tore down his barns to have room to store still more goods. He was a fool, Jesus said, because he died before he ever got a chance to enjoy the goods himself. The lesson was that we should "take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth" (Luke 12:15).
This basic truth was driven home by Christ in the parable of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19-31) and was also expressed by Solomon when he said: "There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt" (Eccl. 5:13).
The right use of wealth is indeed compassionate. It should be used to preach the gospel (I Cor. 9:6-7, 14); to support the work of the true ministry of Jesus Christ (Heb. 7:5, 11, 17); to celebrate the feasts of God (Deut. 14:22-26) and to help others to do so (Deut. 14:27); to relieve the distress. of those who are poor through no fault of their own (I John 3:17, James 2:14-17). The right attitude toward wealth was expressed eloquently by Paul when he told the Ephesians: "Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth" (Eph. 4:28).
But after all of this, God lays no burden on the Christian to give up all his wealth for the sake of equality. There is a right place for material possessions in God's way of life: "Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him:, for it is his portion. Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God" (Eccl. 5:18-19).
The principle is one of right balance on material wealth. On the one extreme, wealth is not to be sought for its own sake: "He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver" (Eccl. 5:10). On the other hand, we do not have to be joyless ascetics either; for "it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor."
The World Tomorrow
In God's world, individuals will be able to enjoy the fruit of their own labor: "And — in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined" (Isa. 25:6).
God's economic plan as revealed in Exodus and Leviticus shows that private property is a sacred right, as revealed by the commandment against theft (Ex. 20:15). The "means of production" will be in private hands. However, the harsh aspects of unrestricted capitalism will not be allowed. In fact, God's "welfare system" is remarkable for being both humane and at the same time preserving private incentive.
Arable land will be divided up among families and will not be allowed to be sold for more than fifty years (Lev. 25:23). Every seventh year all consumer debts will be abolished. A "third-tithe" system will be established to relieve the distress of the needy: but this system will cost only a fraction of what man's bloated welfare system costs today, because it will be primarily self-administered and will not require armies of bureaucrats.
In terms of direct redistribution of wealth to the poor, God's plan will take less than four percent of the national income, though this figure goes up some when we consider some of the indirect "welfare programs" of the Bible: the year of release from debts (Deut. 15:1-2); the land reverting back to the original owner every 50 years (Lev. 25:10); the no-interest consumer loans (Lev. 25:35-36); and the ungleaned fields left for the poor (Lev. 19:10). But even with all these measures, the percentage of "redistributed" wealth will be far less than it is in today's "capitalist" welfare state. More importantly, it will go to help those who are truly needy and not to pay hordes of middle-class "welfare bureaucrats."
In the world tomorrow, each family will own its own private property. But individuals who want to build, to construct, and to create will be allowed to do so. While it will be impossible to accumulate large tracts of land to the exclusion of the small farmers, it will still be possible to serve one's fellowman by industriously creating new goods and services.
As Herbert Armstrong has said, "In the world tomorrow employers will live God's way. They will be concerned for the welfare of their employees. And workers will put their hearts into their work. Production will mount, prosperity will increase for all, and the masses will have the money to supply a ready market for a greatly expanded mass production."