To be Rich or Poor

 There is the verse, "If a man will not work, he shall not eat." Does that only apply to men? If a woman is a house wife does that qualify as work? Is a woman meant to go make money and care for the house and care for her husband? 

If you have just enough money to live on is that ideal? Or should you try to get a lot extra? 

"The love of money is the root of all evil." If you have too much extra money, is it always true that you will love it? Can you be rich and still focus on God, or do you inevitably start to love the world too much? 

"Do not store up for yourselves treasure on earth." Jesus literally said do not save money. So why do we save? Because we don't believe God will take care of us. 

So if you have enough, you are meant to give the extra away. But that is hard to do. When you work hard for money you want to enjoy the money you earned, as in selfishly spend it on yourself. You might not need what you buy, but it seems to make you happy, or so you convince yourself that it does. Finally you realize you have enough, and so you take a good long break from work and accumulating more stuff to focus on God. 

"Godliness with contentment is great gain." "You can gain the whole world, yet forfeit your soul." "If we have food and clothing, with these we should be content." 

"Blessed are the poor. Woe to you that are rich." Why did Jesus say this? Because generally the only way to get rich is by robbing the poor, or not sharing with the poor. You hoard your money till you have way more then is needed, while you watch others go hungry. You harden your heart. You think, "No one will take care of me so why should I take care of them?" They will not take care of you, because you did not take care of them. We reap what we sow. If you give, God will make sure you are given to. 

Be content with little. Work hard in some way. Be generous with your money, or time. Give to others and it will be given back to you. 

May God bless you as you bless others. :)