Session 8: Wealth and Poverty
Read Proverbs 10:4, 15, 22; 13:8; 18:11, 23; 19:4; 21:6; 30:8,9
Some people view wealth as a blessing and poverty as a curse. We are prone to form opinions about others and infer many things about their talents, education, personality, tastes and personal influence based on their wealth or lack of it. From the perspective of the proverbs, wealth and poverty are poor standards to use in judging the qualities of others. Proverbs also tell us that it is foolish to suppose that wealth is an unmixed blessing and poverty is always a curse.
1. In terms of material wealth and poverty, who do you think of as being richer than you?
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2. Who do you think of as being “poorer” than you?
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3. Do you consider yourself rich or poor or neither?
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4. Some of the proverbs we just read speak of the advantages of wealth. Are they the same as you would have thought of yourself?
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5. According to these verses, what are some of disadvantages of wealth?
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6. Describe a situation from your experience when an increase in wealth was a disadvantage.
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7. Read the first line of 13:8. How does that statement refer to either an advantage or disadvantage of wealth?
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8. Consider the second line of 13:8. Would you say the first line is speaking of an advantage or a disadvantage?
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9. Proverbs 10:15 and 18:11 have the same first line, do they express an advantage or disadvantage of wealth?
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10. A tax statistic says that 10% of wage earners pay about 55% of the taxes collected each year. Is this statistic consistent or inconsistent with Proverbs? _________________________
11. Consider the disadvantages of poverty contained in our verses. Do any surprise you?
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12. What are some of the advantages of poverty found in this study?
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13. Can you think of a situation where your poverty proved to be an advantage to you?
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14. It is probably self-evident if we are extravagantly rich or pitifully poor. Between these extremes the dividing line between wealth and poverty can sometimes be hard to find. How does 30:8-9 help us know when we are becoming perilously rich or poor?
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Some people can never acquire enough wealth to satisfy them. This drive, or greed, eclipses many other relationships that others would consider to be priceless. How much is enough is a question we face and each of us must find our own answer to that. Trying to “keep up with the Jones’” is a poor way to spend one’s time and energies. Jesus tells us to not spend time worrying about what we will have and that we should consider following Him first and then all the rest will be added as needed. Being poor is often a state of mind. A country lad when asked if he was poor as a child replied, “We weren’t poor, we just didn’t have any money.” Surely, riches come from many other things then money and possessions.