What does the Bible say about being poor?

TL;DR:

The Bible doesn’t condemn being poor—it honors humility, hard work, and generosity over material status. True riches are found in Christ, who became poor so we could gain the eternal wealth of God’s grace.

what does the bible say?

Certain unwise or sinful actions can cause poverty, such as being lazy (Proverbs 24:33-34), chasing “worthless pursuits” (Proverbs 28:19), or forsaking wise instruction (Proverbs 13:18). However, poverty in its own respect is not sinful. Even Jesus came from very little (Matthew 8:20; Mark 6:3), yet He worked extremely hard in His ministry without wealth, doing everything from healing lepers to preaching to thousands of people. Instead of chasing material riches, Jesus humbled Himself by becoming a man in order to give us access to the spiritual wealth of eternity with God (2 Corinthians 8:9). Similar to poverty, being rich is also not innately sinful. However, being rich can come with the temptation to prioritize money over following Jesus, as was the case with the rich man in Mark 10:17-23. God may not directly require us to sell all of what we have, but we should be willing to do so for His sake, since where our “treasure is, there will your heart be also," (Luke 12:34). Additionally, Proverbs 3:27-28 encourages us to be generous with others with the wealth (little or big) that we have and in Proverbs 31:9 we are told to “defend the rights of the poor and needy.”

from the old testament

People can fall into poverty by being lazy (Proverbs 24:33-34), following foolish pursuits (Proverbs 28:19), and ignoring wise advice (Proverbs 13:18).
The Bible instructs believers to care for those in need. We are told to provide for their physical needs and advocate for them because they are not in a position to advocate for themselves (Proverbs 3:27-28; 31:9).
In the Mosaic Law, God required the Israelites to make provision for the poor, but that provision still entailed that the poor work (Deuteronomy 24:19-21; Leviticus 19:9–10, 23:22).

from the new testament

Jesus Himself came into the world poor and never had material wealth (Matthew 8:20). This wasn’t because He wasn’t wise or didn't work hard—the opposite is true. He was a carpenter (Mark 6:3) before entering into full-time ministry, and during His ministry, He worked hard healing people, discipling His followers, preaching to thousands, and traveling long distances.
Wealth in itself isn’t sinful, but loving money and prioritizing it is (1 Timothy 6:10).
This was illustrated when Jesus helped a young man realize that he valued his wealth over following Christ. When the man walked away from Jesus, Jesus told His disciples, "How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" (Mark 10:23).
God wants us to be willing to give up our possessions and focus on what is eternal. In Jesus' words, "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also," (Luke 12:34).
Second Corinthians 8:9 says, "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich." Jesus laid down His life so we could experience the riches of God’s grace.

implications for today

To understand the Bible's stance on being poor, it helps to understand what it says about being rich. Wealth has negative connotations because if we obtain it, we can easily let it become an obsession that takes our focus off of God, where all our work, actions, thoughts, etc. should be (Colossians 3:17). Jesus articulated how harmful the pull of money can be: "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Matthew 6:24). But the Bible asserts that poverty can also be negative when it comes because of bad choices. Take for example those who spend all their income on supporting sinful addictions such as alcoholism (Proverbs 23:20-21). If we are experiencing poverty, it may be comforting to remember that Jesus understands what this is like, having come from poverty Himself—yet also being an incredibly hard worker. Jesus set an excellent example of where our perspective should be. Though He could have charged people money to be healed or gained income from asking for donations to His ministry, He chose to minister freely because His mind was set on heavenly things, not earthly things. We are not called to do all work for free, but we should adopt Jesus’ perspective: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).

understand

Neither poverty nor wealth are sinful in themselves.
Sometimes poverty comes from laziness, choosing poorly, or ignoring wise advice.
Our focus should be on spiritual rather than material wealth; this means being generous to others in need.

reflect

How do you prevent yourself from focusing too much on material wealth?
What biblical principles do you apply to your charitable giving?
What habits do you have that contribute to your spiritual wealth?

engage

What type of charitable giving ensures helping but not enabling?
How does our culture’s view of charity compare/contrast with the biblical view?
How does the culture's view of wealth compare/contrast with the biblical view?