– Sign of God’s blessing:
Gen 26,12-13 : Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped a hundredfold in that same year; the Lord blessed him.
Gen 30:43 : This man thus became extremely rich, and had many flocks, female and male slaves.
Deuteronomy 8:7-8 : The Lord your God will lead you into an excellent land, full of torrents, fountains and deep waters.
Deut 28,1-12 : These are the blessings that will come upon you and touch you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God.
Ps 22 :1 : The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
Ps 33:10 : Revere the Lord, you his faithful ones, for those who fear him lack nothing.
Ecclesiastes 5:18 : If God gives man goods and riches, […] it is a gift from God.
Is 66,12-14 : I will make peace flow to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like an overflowing torrent.
– Wealth is often condemned due to the transgression of justice and mercy on the part of the rich:
Ps 93,2-6 : Arise, judge of the earth, punish the proud as they deserve.
Is 3,13ss : The Lord rises to accuse, and rises to judge his people.
Is 5:8: Woe to you who join house to house and add field to field.
Am 3:10 : They do not know how to do what is right […] they pile up in their palaces (the fruit) of their violence and their thefts.
Am 6,1 : Woe to the nobles of the first of the peoples, to whom the house of Israel runs.
Mq 2,2 : They covet houses and steal them; they do violence to the man and his family, to the owner and his inheritance.
– Ensures independence:
Pr 13 :8 : A man’s wealth is the ransom of his life, but the poor man is safe from harm.
Pr 22,7 : The rich dominates the poor: the one who borrows becomes the slave of the one who lent him.
– And provides friendships:
Pr 14:20 : Even his companion the poor is hateful; many are the friends of the rich.
Eclo 13,22 : What relationship can there be between a holy man and a dog? What connection can a rich man have with a poor man?
– To give happiness to human beings is vain and useless:
Pr 29,6ss : In the trespass of the wicked there is a snare, but the righteous run joyfully.
Ecclesiastes 5:9 : Whoever loves money will never be satisfied. Those who love wealth do not take advantage of it.
Eclo 10,10 : Nothing is more iniquitous than the love of money; he who loves him goes so far as to sell his soul.
Eclo 14,4 : Whoever hoards unfairly, to the detriment of life, hoards for others.
– Acquired through wisdom and audacity:
Pr 10.4 : A lazy hand causes indigence; the diligent hand is made rich.
Pr 11:16 : A gracious woman obtains honors, but the industrious achieve fortune.
Pr 12:11 : Whoever cultivates his land will be satisfied with bread; anyone looking for futilities is a fool.
Pr 20:13 : Do not be a friend to sleep, lest you become poor: open your eyes and you will have enough bread.
Pr 21,17.20 : He who loves feasts will be a poor man; he who loves wine and oil will not get rich.
Pr 24:4 : Through knowledge the storehouses are filled with every precious and pleasant thing.
– Wealth is very fleeting:
Ps 38,7s : Man passes by like a shadow, he is troubled in vain; he piles up, not knowing who will gather.
Ecclesiastes 1:2ff: “Fugacity of fleeting things!” says Ecclesiastes. “Fugacity of fleeting! Everything is fleeting!”
Ecclesiastes 5:9 : Whoever loves money will never be satisfied. Those who love wealth do not take advantage of it. This, too, is fleeting.
1Cor 7,29ff : But this is what I say to you, brothers: the time is short.
1Tm 6,7 : Because we brought nothing into the world, neither can we take anything away.
Jas 1:11 : The sun rises with scorching heat, the grass dries up, […] So also the rich man withers in his pursuits.
– It is not, therefore, the greater good. Superior to riches are:
The fear of God:
Pr 15:16 : A little with the fear of the Lord is better than great treasure with worry.
Honesty:
Pr 16.8 : Better a little with righteousness than great gains with iniquity.
The serenity:
Ps 36:16 : The little that the righteous has is worth more than the wealth of the wicked .
Pr 17 :1 : Better a piece of dry bread with peace than a house full of meat with discord.
The health:
Eclo 30,14-15 : Better a poor man healthy and vigorous than a rich man weakened and attacked by diseases.
The wisdom:
1Kings 3,11-12 : Because you asked me this and asked neither long life nor wealth .
Job 28,1-19 : But where is wisdom found? Where is the place of intelligence?
Pr 2,1-6 : My son, if you accept my words […] listen carefully to wisdom and incline your heart .
Pr 3.15 : She is more precious than pearls, no jewel can equal her .
Pr 8.11 : For Wisdom is worth more than pearls, and no jewel can match her .
Wis 7,7-12 : So I begged and understanding was given to me, I begged and the spirit of wisdom came to me.
– Riches should not be acquired unjustly:
Pr 21,6 : Treasures acquired by a lie: fleeting vanity for those who seek death.
Pr; 23,4: Do not toil to get rich, avoid applying your spirit to that.
Is 5:8: Woe to you, who join house to house, and who add field to field, until there is no more room.
Jr 5,27-28: Like a cage full of birds, […] In this way they become rich and powerful.
– Wealth is also a danger:
Pr 10:15 : The wealth of the rich is his strong city; the poverty of the indigent brings ruin upon them.
Pr 11:28 : Whoever trusts in his wealth will fall, while the righteous will flourish like the foliage.
Is 2,7-8 : Their land is full of silver and gold, and there is endless treasure.
Jr 9,22 : Do not be proud of the wise of knowledge, nor the strong of his strength, and of wealth do not be proud of the rich!
– Because it closes the heart:
Deut 31:20 : They will turn to other gods and worship them, despising me and violating my covenant.
Dt 32,15 : You are fat, robust, vigorous! And he forsook God that created him, and despised the Rock of his salvation.
Job 15:27 : He covered his face with fat and let the fat gather on his kidneys.
Ps 72,4-5 : They adorn themselves with a necklace of pride, and cover themselves with a mantle of arrogance.
– The ideal is to be neither poor nor rich:
Pr 30,8 : Keep falsehood and falsehood far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches.
– In the NT there are “woes” and warnings against the rich:
Lc 6,24 : But woe to you rich, for you have your consolation!
Jas 5,1-6 : You rich, weep and groan because of the misfortunes that will come upon you.
– Because money makes you forget God:
Mt 13:22 : He who has heard the word well, but in him the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke it.
Mt 19:21 : If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.
Lc 12,15-21 : A man’s life, even if he is in abundance, does not depend on his riches.
– To follow Jesus, it is necessary to abandon one’s possessions:
Mt 19,21-22 : If you want to be perfect, go, sell your goods and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven.
Lk 14:33 : Therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
Lk 16:25 : Son, remember that you received your goods in life […] so […] now here […] you are in torment.
– Knowing that the poor are enriched by God:
Lc 4,18 : The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he anointed me; and sent me to announce the Good News to the poor.
2Cor 8,9 : Though he was rich, he became poor for your sake, that by his poverty he might make you rich.
Eph 3:8 : It fell to me the grace to announce among the heathen the unexplored riches of Christ.
– Detachment from goods makes charity possible:
Acts 2:44 : All the faithful lived together and had everything in common.
Acts 4:32 , 35 : No one claimed that the things he had were his, but everything between them was common.
2Cor 9,6-15 : Give each one according to the impulse of his heart. […] God loves what he gives with joy.
Gal 6,6 : He who receives the catechesis of the word, shares all his goods with the one who instructs him.
Phl 4,10-20 : I am used to all vicissitudes: […] to have abundance and to suffer want.
1Tm 6,18 : Do good, be enriched with good works, be generous, communicative.
Heb 13:16 : Do not neglect kindness and liberality. These are sacrifices that please God!
– And God loves a cheerful giver:
2Cor 9,6-15 : Give each one according to the impulse of his heart. […] God loves what he gives with joy.
– The desire to get rich is the source of many temptations:
1Tm 6,9-10 : Those who aspire to become rich fall into the devil’s traps.
– On the contrary, riches should be used well:
1Tm 6,17-18 : Urges the rich of this world not to be proud nor to put their hope in fickle riches.
– The desires of Christians must be directed to the goods that do not perish:
Mt 6,19-20 : Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, where thieves steal.
Lc 12,33-34 : Make yourselves purses that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven.
– As the gift of speech and science:
1Cor 1,5 : In him you were richly contemplated with all the gifts, with those of speech and those of knowledge.
1Cor 12,8 : To one is given a word of wisdom by the Spirit; to another, a word of science.
– And to the riches of the grace of Jesus Christ:
1Cor 1,9 : God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Eph 2:7 : He thus demonstrated for centuries to come the immensity of the riches of his grace.
– In which you own everything:
2Cor 6,10 : We are judged sad, we who are always happy; poor, yet making many rich.
– How to use riches well:
Eclo 18,25 : Remember poverty when you are in abundance and the needs of indigence on the day of wealth.
Jr 9,22s : Do not be proud of the wise of knowledge, nor the strong of his strength, and of wealth do not be proud of the rich!
Mt 27,57-60 : In the evening, a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus.
Lc 19,8 : Lord, I will give half of my possessions to the poor.
Jo 19,39 : Accompanied Nicodemus (the one who previously went to Jesus at night), taking about a hundred pounds.
2Cor 9,1-15 : Thus, enriched in all things, you will be able to exercise all kinds of generosity.
Jas 2,15s : One of you says to them: “Go in peace, be warmed and filled”, but does not give them what is necessary for the body?
Jas 5,1-6 : You rich, weep and groan because of the misfortunes that will come upon you.
1Jn 3,17s : Whoever has the goods of this world and sees his brother in need, but closes his heart against him.
– Spiritual riches should be preferred to temporal riches:
1Cor 1,5 : In him you were richly contemplated with all the gifts, with those of speech and those of knowledge.
2Cor 8,7 : You excel in everything: in faith, in eloquence, in knowledge, in zeal of every kind.
Eph 1 :7: In that Son, through his blood, we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.
Eph 2:7 : He thus demonstrated for centuries to come the immensity of the riches of his grace.
Eph 3:8 : It fell to me the grace to announce among the heathen the unexplored riches of Christ.
Col 1:27 : To these God wanted to make known the riches and glory of this mystery among the Gentiles.
1Tm 6,17ss : Urges the rich of this world not to be proud nor to put their hope in fickle riches.
