Does God Hate the Wealthy?

Many believe the pursuit of wealth is wrong and that the wealthy are evil.

I know this because I have received thousands of very angry and abusive emails and comments over the years from individuals who have read one of the many media articles on me and my Rich Habits.

There is no shortage of hatred for rich people 

Many of those angry emails/comments, directed at me and my research, oftentimes referenced some Bible passage, as if their Bible knowledge somehow validated their point, thus rendering my research null and void.

What my haters didn’t know, however, was that I knew a little bit about the Bible myself.

You see, at one point, very early in my life, I was on the path to become a priest.

So, for many years I had studied the Bible, almost on a daily basis. I still have one sitting by my bed stand.

But the Bible is not black and white on the topic of wealth

In fact, within its pages are many passages that seem to shine a favorable light on wealth, especially the Book of Proverbs.

• Proverbs 13:11 – Whoever gathers money, little by little, makes it grow.  
• Matthew 25: 14-30 – Parable of the Talents
• Proverbs 10:4 – Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth.
• Proverbs 22:7 – Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender.
• Proverbs 21:20 – The wise have wealth and luxury but fools spend whatever they get.
• Luke 6:38 – Give and you shall receive. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.
• Deuteronomy 16:17 – All must give as they are able, according to the blessings given to them by the Lord your God.
• Proverbs 10:15 – A rich man’s wealth is his strong city; the poverty of the poor is their ruin.
• Proverbs 28:20 – A faithful man will abound with blessings, but whoever hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.
• Proverbs 23:21 – For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty; and slumber will clothe them with rags.
• Proverbs 21:5 – The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.

I was raised in a very religious family.

In my home, I was taught that the pursuit and acquisition of wealth was a mortal sin.

As a result, for much of my childhood and adult life, I saw the wealthy as sinners.

Almost daily, my belief had been validated by the media and politicians, who almost unanimously, vilified the rich.

My belief system was turned on its head in 2009, however, after completing my five-year study on the daily habits of the rich and poor.

That study opened my eyes

I discovered that wealthy individuals were not the evil people I had been brainwashed into believing them to be.

So many of the self-made millionaires in my study had devoted significant time and money, running and funding various local community charities.

These charities helped feed and shelter the poor, paid medical bills for the poor, built homes for the poor, helped educate the poor, bought wheel chairs for the disabled, and in many ways, helped improve the lives of those otherwise cast aside by society.

These self-made millionaires also valued their employees.

They loaned them money so they could purchase a home.

They helped pay college costs for their children.

They bought them cars.

They paid for unexpected medical expenses.

They also mentored them so they could succeed.

Wealthy people, I found, are not evil.

In fact they are among the finest human beings to walk the earth.

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About Tom Corley Tom is a CPA, CFP and heads one of the top financial firms in New Jersey. For 5 years, Tom observed and documented the daily activities of wealthy people and people living in poverty and his research he identified over 200 daily activities that separated the “haves” from the “have nots” which culminated in his #1 bestselling book, Rich Habits – The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals. Visit the website: www.richhabits.net