My Friends Think Poverty is Piety

Have you ever met somebody who felt like being poor was holy? God is a God of abundance. He wants to bless us, and He wants to be able to trust us with that blessing. The Bible never explicitly shows us that poverty is piety. In fact, there are several verses of scripture that prove God wants to create abundance in our lives. 

Isaiah 1:19: “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land”:
The promise that God made demonstrates His intention to prosper those who love and seek Him. This verse does not simply speak of a superficial desire to obey God, but rather a deep and passionate yearning to fulfill His will and use the resources He provides in a Biblical manner. 

Malachi 3:10: “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”
In this Old Testament verse, God illustrates a connection between good stewardship and abundance. He specifically states that He will pour out more blessings than can even be received. This verse of scripture teaches us that a believer's abundance, rather than poverty, could be a sign of righteousness. 

Proverbs 22:9 “He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.”
The Bible instructs us to help the poor. To fulfill this command, we must first have something to give. God wants to bless our lives so that we can be a blessing to others. Throughout scripture God reveals that He is pleased when those living in abundance help others.  

Greed is evil. We can all agree that we don't want to go down that road, but just because greed is an error doesn't mean that we want to embrace the equal and opposite error that poverty is piety. God wants to bless our lives so that we can be a blessing to others.