What do you think?.. are we poor because God is punishing us?.. is poverty a punishment from God? According to the Bible, those who believe in God will never lack but as we all know, this isn't the case in our time. Most Christians are poor especially in Africa. There are great Christians in Africa who believe deeply in God yet live below the poverty line.
Poverty a punishment from God? What do you think?
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The Bible has a lot to say about poverty, so I think it is a helpful reference for this question. Many righteous men of the old testament suffered such as Moses, Abraham, and Job. They suffered in different ways, yet each does so without sinning. Looking at people like Moses, Abraham, and Job should lead us to recognize that poverty is not punishment, yet rather a refining of their faith.
It should be clear also that the Lord does place restrictions on his people and calls his people to live righteously, he will hold them accountable to such, and he is completely right in doing so. It is loving for him to hold us accountable "because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son." (Hebrews 12:6). In a world of corruption, punishment is often unjust, so it is important to distinguish between our worldly, evil punishment and God's righteous discipline. The Lord does not punish us for acting in disobedience, rather it is his mercy on those he loves to make his people more like him.
"Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the Lord promised on oath to your forefathers. Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years (DISCIPLINE), to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes form the mouth of the Lord. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. Know then in your heart that as man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you." -Deuteronomy 8:1-5