9 Biblical Principles to Exorcise our Greed

I have a secret to tell you: 

If you are reading this blog, you are probably wealthy.  

I’m not saying absolutely, because I know a number of people who are homeless who might be reading this, and I also know people who are living on the edge of poverty, by their own choice, who scan blogs to read.  But, probably, you have more than you need. 

The Bible makes a difference in their definition of “people who have wealth” and “the rich”, while in English we tend to put the two together.  “Wealth” in the Bible is anything we have that goes beyond what we need.  So most of us reading this essay have “wealth”, something more than what we need.  We might have sentimental trinkets or extra food in the house or items we keep “just in case” we might need it someday.   “The rich” are those who keep such items in order to accumulate their wealth, what used to be known in English “hoarders”, “the stingy” or “greedy.”  Nowadays, “hoarders” are people who collect mostly useless items to their own detriment.  And the other two terms are used to speak of people’s motivation, not what they actually have.

The Bible, when speaking of moral matters, is very clear about having actions that display a moral or immoral attitude.  If a person has covetousness, it is accompanied by a “look of lust”, which in the ancient world was also called an “evil eye”, or a lingering gaze of desire.  Even so, greed is indicated by a mass collection of possessions, whether it be silver, horses, wives, or grain.  These possessions could be excused by a desire to protect one’s retirement, to provide security against future attacks or to empower oneself in the world, whether for good or ill.

This means that, in all probability, we are “rich”.  We keep and save wealth against a future of calamity, like getting old.  A few of us have more than ample possessions or monies for ourselves or our family.  We want to protect ourselves against “love of money” or worship of “mammon”, but the fact is, many of us have every indication that we dove into a sea of that love and can’t recognize that we are drowning in it.

Thankfully, the whole Bible gives us a path to escape such immoral love.

1.       Don’t cheat

In all our ways we should have integrity.  Not just honesty, not just faithfulness to our promises, but integrity.  We should never take from someone what we want for ourselves, unless they openly give it to us.  We shouldn’t take for ourselves what doesn’t really belong to us, but belongs to the public or the poor.  We should be careful with possessions or money whose ownership is questionable.  This goes especially for donated money.  We must be above board, careful.  We don’t have to prove our integrity to the world, but we should be able to prove it to God.

2.       Don’t harm the poor
In gathering wealth, we should do nothing to harm the poor.  Many companies and governments are careless about how they help the poor, harming them without knowledge so that they might obtain wealth.  Many companies and non-profits actually target the poor, using them as pawns or as dupes in a long-range con game.  This includes banks who charge the poor but give to the wealthy, police who ticket the homeless but give more “important” citizens a wink.  We must not invest in these groups or support them in order to obtain our wealth or possessions.   Those who participate in scalping the poor for the sake of wealth are called “oppressors”.

3.       Don’t take short cuts

The book of Proverbs frequently warns against “hasty” wealth.  This isn’t because one might get cheated in a con (although that is certainly true), but because hasty wealth is often a cheat and we may not even know where the wealth is coming from.  This could be buying a bicycle inexpensively on the street corner or investing in something that is “too good to be true” to buying out a company for a quick turnaround and profit.  Get rich quick schemes always leave victims.

4.       Be content with little
Often we think about having a huge house with all the food we could want with people to help us clean the fridge every once in a while.  We want a movie collection and a video game library and… well, you know.  And some of us actually get what we want.  Or quite a bit of it.  And because we have dreamed about it for so long, we hold these items very precious.  But the Bible counsels us to be content with what we need.  This doesn’t mean to be happy with less than we need.  We shouldn’t be content with starvation or living out in the cold.  But if we have what we need, we shouldn’t keep wanting more.  We shouldn’t keep striving for needs that are already met, whether that  be possessions or security or good relationships.

5.       Trust in God

When the Bible tells us to trust, it isn’t just some pie-in-the-sky spiritual mumbo jumbo.  It is specifically telling us to trust God in the very areas we are afraid of.  We are afraid that if we don’t have enough money we will lose our home or our car.  We are afraid that if someone gets a certain political or job position, it places us poorly.  We are afraid for our kid’s future, for our future, for what may happen if a burglar comes in.  The Bible tells us not to fear, but to trust in God for all of these things.  This is important to avoiding greed because we collect many things, not because we need them, but we are afraid of the consequences if we don’t have them.  To trust in God is to give Him our future, our worries and to rest on being content with what we actually need.

6.       Share what you have
Okay, now it’s time for the rubber to meet the road.  To not be greedy means specifically not to grasp onto things someone else could use.  This means, first, to share what we own with people who need to borrow them.  Yes, this may mean that your possessions could be damaged or taken.  But this is where trust comes in.  If someone actually needs an item, we need to give them the use of it.  We could loan our car to someone who needs to move.  We could take a spare room and loan it to someone who needs a place to crash.  And if we have anything extra, we should be willing to share whatever that is.

7.       Be generous
The Bible tells us that it is key to our humanity to be generous.  If we give someone wages, from an employee to a tip at a restaurant, we should give more than we need to.  If we give to a beggar, we shouldn’t be stingy.  We should be generous with compliments, generous with thanks, generous with encouragement.  If we have extra food, extra clothes, extra time, extra time, extra space in our house or building, we should be thinking about who should be given these things, who needs them the most.  And then we should give cheerfully.

8.       Seek out the poor
“The poor” in the Bible is anyone who has need of something, whether they put themselves in the situation or they fell into it.  The “poor” are those in need, not those who look like they are in need or those who pull your heartstrings, but those who really lack food, clothing, respect, security, love, hope.  When we run across these people, we are to give.  We know this.  But more than this, we are to seek these people out.  Along with a generous spirit, we are to seek those who have need.  Many of us don’t know anyone who is desperate.  Then we should go out of our way to find them.  This may mean we need to contact people out of our town in order to be generous to those in need.  It may mean we need to open our eyes and ask people about their needs.  But even as Job or Lot wouldn’t allow a single person in his town to be without shelter, we should seek people out who might need our help. Jesus tells us to make friends of the poor, so they are loved by us and we can be generous to them-- thus the poor are saving our souls. 

9.       Do everything with love

For a long time, I followed these principles above.  And I tried to do them with love.  But I had no balance in my life, so love was often lost.  But without love, we might be devoid of greed  but still lack true generosity of spirit.  It is better to be giving than to be stingy with what we have.  But it is far better to allow the Spirit of God to infuse us with God’s love, mercy and generosity.  It is not enough for us to avoid greed.  We must also be surrendering our love at every turn. 

If you're one of those Bible thumpers, here's some verses to get you going on this subject:

Luke 19:1-10; Luke 12:13-34; Psalm 37; Mark 10:17-27; Matthew 25:31-46; Hebrews 13:5; Matthew 6:19-24; James 5:1-6; Proverbs 22:16; Prov 11:24; Prov 28:22; Prov 23:4; Proverbs 13:11; Luke 16; I Corinthians 16:14. 

The American Religion

The central tenets of the American religion are these:

1. If you can get rich, you should.
2. You can get rich.

We have churches dedicated to these beliefs, for which there is no evidence (you have to take it on faith). There is a whole mass media dedicated to this religion, including "Think and Grow Rich", which sold 70 million copies and somehow did not end the depression. Every presidential election (the election of the new priest of America) has one major candidate which promotes this religion.

And this religion has their sinners: the poor. They are the ones who, according to this faith, reject wealth and then demand to be assisted because of their own decision. And these sinners try to make the faithful guilty for their "filthy, disgusting" lives. So they are forced by this religion to live a hell on earth by increasing their poverty and pouring shame upon them.

Reject this religion. Be freed from it's condemnation of those who are not rich, which likely includes you. Recognize that being rich or poor is chance, more than anything else, and that the poor have the responsibility to work on surviving and the wealthy have the responsibility to be grateful and to help those who have fewer resources than they.

Discovering the Delicate Deception of Mammon

Jesus commands all his disciples to sell their possessions and give to the poor. He said we cannot serve our master, God and the god, Mammon. Certainly there are more 'gods' than just Mammon. But Mammon is the chosen god of America, and we find it hard to see our way outside of it. It is more often than not that we are deceived as to the level our love of wealth has corrupted us. We feel wrong in our heart unless we serve Mammon, even though the Scriptures teach us to do otherwise. This is why it is good to have some standards by which to compare ourselves to and to really do some heart-searching before God. Because the love of wealth destroys us. Every day. And we don’t even see it. We don’t know how much we serve Mammon, because we always have, as our parents and grandparents did before us. Mammon-worship is so common to the American way of life, that we don’t even know we are doing it.

If we have two coats (or the means to buy another), see a person with none and do not give it, then our god is probably Mammon.

If a poor person comes to the door and we do not even offer some food to them, then our god is probably Mammon.

If we use the local non-profit as a place to dump our garbage, then we are our god is probably Mammon.

If we have an extra room, but do not have a homeless person living with us, then our god is probably Mammon.

If we walk by poor beggars daily and make excuses for not giving to them, then our god is certainly Mammon.

If we celebrate with our family, have our Christmas and Thanksgiving parties with those whom we love, but we do not invite the poor or helpless, then we are disobeying the word of Jesus and serving the god of Mammon. If we have no relationship with the poor, but only see them from a distance, afraid and disgusted by their state, so we are separated from Christ, and so we are servants of Mammon.

If the profit of our business is more important than the survival of the poor, hungry, homeless, and outcast, then our god is Mammon. If the policy of your company is to turn away people looking for water, to evict the poor when their rent is a week overdue, to pour bleach on food when it is being thrown away, to refuse to allow someone to use the bathroom because they can’t afford to pay for your wares, then you are serving Mammon.

If there are hungry on our streets that have never known our kindness or the move of the love of Jesus from us to them, then our god is probably Mammon. If the only food we give are old cans of green beans or beets, or food that we are allergic to, then our god is probably Mammon.

If the annual amount we spend on clothes or our car exceeds that which we spend on the poor, then we probably serve Mammon.

If our tithe goes to a church that spends large amounts on Christmas pageants and a large, gorgeous building, but has a “benevolence ministry” that is only open once a month, with a pittance for the poor, then we are serving Mammon. If our church is left empty in the winter when there are poor people sleeping in the freezing cold, then we are serving Mammon. If our church’s retreat or youth budget is larger than our benevolence budget, then we are serving Mammon.

If we support with our vote or our finances or our volunteer time the politics of Mammon, which takes from the poor and uses their power to kill the poor of both the nation in which we live and nations far away, we are certainly serving Mammon. If our candidate demonizes the poor, calling them “lazy” or “a burden on society”, then we are a servant of Mammon. If our candidate demands that the wealth of our country not go to the poorest of the world, whether in our country of origin or outside, but to be fed to the god of the Military, or the god of Government Bureaucracy, then we are serving Mammon.

And if we, the Christian poor, are ungrateful to those who sacrifice to give us what they can, but we demand more than they can give, more than our fellow poor people receive, then we too are looking to greed rather than the God who gives us abundantly more than we need, we too are serving Mammon.

The only answer to any of us is the word of Jesus—let us take what little or much wealth we have and give it freely to those who have greater need than we. Let us be people who are characterized by generosity, not bitterness, nor stinginess. May we not seek for our own first and the needy second. Rather, let us truly do as Jesus said, and love our needy neighbor as ourselves, no less than we love ourselves.

A Dangerous Book

A rich man's wealth is his strong city, And like a high wall in his own imagination.The sleep of the working man is pleasant, whether he eats little or much; but the full stomach of the rich man does not allow him to sleep.The rich man is wise in his own eyes, But the poor who has understanding sees through him.-Proverbs of Ancient Hebrew writings, also known as Proverbs 18:11; Ecclesiastes 5:12; and Proverbs 28:11

Good morning, my brothers.  I am honored that you have chosen me to speak to you, the All-Wealthy Fathers Under Liberty,  for I have been concerned about our plight for some time.  We have been subjected to oppression long enough! (Cheers in the crowd.)  I was shocked last week to hear Brother Steven’s speech on hate crime in motion pictures.  Up until this point, I have enjoyed the James Bond movies—but no more.  Now I understand that they are simply anti-rich propaganda, intended to throw suspicion upon the good brothers who have worked hard to obtain their wealth.  How dare they make Dr. No or the other villains wealthy?  All of them?  Clearly, just as our brother has pointed out, it is simple prejudice and jealousy! (More cheers.)  I thank Brother Arnold for his insider’s view and especially for his work in banning these films, as well as any others which portray the wealthy according to stereotypes, instead of the truly honorable men we are.  Let the media put the specter of suspicion where it belongs—on the government and the poor!  (More cheers.)  Let us bring back more wholesome programming, such as Schindler’s List and The Millionaire! (More cheers.)

           As serious as the prejudice found in movies is, there is yet another, more insidious cultural influence that we must be concerned about.  Movies and magazines, television and newspapers, and, of course, the internet—all have their various forms of prejudice and oppression against the rich and all need to be influenced, such as our Brother Rupert, Brother Ted and Brother Bill have done.  But there is another, greater influence that has been all but overlooked.  There is a medium that has been influential, not just for decades, a century or a century and a half, but for millennia!  It has been used by the enemies of the rich, oppressing us and destroying us since time immemorial!  It is the cause of many of the wars against the rich—The Lombard uprising of the 1400s in England, the Thirty Years War in Germany in the 1500s, and it is still used as a primary inspiration of the Marxists in Latin America today!  And while you may think that these events are too out of touch with our current structure, I need to inform you that this medium—this dangerous piece of literature—is in the majority of homes in the United States.  Right now.  And many of you have read this book, yea, even quoted this book.  By now, you have probably guessed what I am speaking about, but you dare not say its name, nor even think it.  Yes, that’s right, I am speaking of the Bible—the New Testament in particular. 

            Perhaps some of you are ready to stand up and speak against me now, because I am speaking ill of a book that you hold so dear.  Perhaps some are ready to walk out on me, because much of your wealth—the very reason you are here—has come in part because of your talent in speaking on this particular book.  I do not begrudge your use of it, Brothers—especially our dear Brother Robert and Brother Benny.  I appreciate your skill and tact in opening this book and carefully directing the thoughts of those who read it.  You religious leaders have been essential to our cause, and our most important supporters!  You have succeeded to make wealth popular and important among your people with greater success than any of us have!  We thank you for your work! (Scattered clapping throughout the hall.)  But we must also recognize how dangerous this book is.

            The Bible is a complex and multi-faceted piece of literature.  It is sixty-six different books, written by a variety of authors over at least a thousand years.  Their perspectives vary, as do the issues they discuss.  With this, there is much for anyone to expound upon with safety.  There are examples of wealthy people who are heroes in this collection of scrolls—Abraham, Jacob, Boaz, Job, Solomon and Esther.  However, even these are marginal victories.  Abraham and Job are seen as righteous, not because of their wealth, but because of their generosity, faith and sacrifice.  Boaz is righteous for assisting a poor, illegal immigrant.  Solomon is famous for his wisdom, but ultimately rejected for his disobedience of God’s law and idolatry. Esther is of an oppressed racial minority, which is the real focus of her story.  And Jacob is displayed as obtaining his wealth through deceit and the power of God, and suffering greatly in his later life because of his trickery early in his life. 

            In the Old Testament, where all of these stories take place, there are dangerous themes that crop up now and again.   We have a sympathetic woman, gaining a child after praying for so many years, saying, “The weapons of the powerful are cast down and the weak take up strength.”   One of the many psalmists say, “Better is the little of the righteous than the wealth of the wicked.”  In the book of Proverbs it says, “Give me neither poverty nor wealth, lest I become arrogant and say, ‘Who is God?’”  Another psalmist says, “These are the wicked who have increased in wealth.” 

            In the prophets of the Old Testament, the danger to us increases.  Ezekiel says that the sins of Sodom is that the city was wealthy and arrogant, refusing to help the poor and needy.  Jeremiah says that the wealthy in his day became so because of deceit.  Micah claims that the rich of his day were “full of violence”.  Of course, this is blatant prejudice, painting all the wealthy with the same stroke. 

Nevertheless, the Old Testament is not problematic overall.  None of these passages must be thought of as speaking of the rich in general.  While there seems to be a theme—especially that of obtaining wealth through violence and deceit—it is not consistent, and we can avoid such pitfalls by our Bible-brokers speaking of these cases as being rare, while most wealthy are good and right before God.

            The real problem comes in the New Testament.  This is a revolutionary text, and I do not mean that positively.  It is speaking from the perspective of the disorderly elements of society, those that disrupt the proper flow of economics and authority.  As many of us well know, it is within this tome of subversive writers that we have a few passages that support the lower classes being in submission to the upper classes—and this is as it should be.  However, it is always spoken of in the context of the upper classes oppressing and harming the lower classes.  The New Testament has nothing good to say about us, brothers. 

           Let us take, for example, a brief letter to various churches, written by the brother or cousin of Jesus, James-- or perhaps by his students.  James was an important figure in the early church and his word was considered law by many groups of this fledgling— but revolutionary— religious movement.  He had much to say about us, my brothers—and none of it was good.  Listen to this: “The poor brother should be glad for his high position, and the wealthy should be glad for his lowly position, for even as a flower in bloom will soon fade and become ugly, so will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuit of wealth.”  Again, listen to this: “God chose the poor of this world to be rich in faith… but it is the wealthy that drag you into court and oppress you.”  (A few gasps in the midst of a shocked silence.)  But this is not all.  This so-called “just” James dares to make yet another, more horrible, even more prejudicial remark.  This is difficult for me to read, and it is extremely shocking, so please be prepared for it:  “Weep and howl, you rich, for your miseries are coming upon you.  Your riches have rotted and your garments are destroyed.  Your gold and silver have rusted, and its rust is a witness against you in God’s judgment.  The laborers you have hired are crying out against you for you have withheld their wages and it will be heard by the Lord of the harvest.  You have lived… luxuriously on earth…”  I’m sorry, I’m trying… “and you have… fattened yourself for the day of slaughter.”  (Stunned silence fills the hall.)

            I hope you are outraged as much as I am.  This is blatant hate speech.  It is more forthrightly prejudiced against us than almost anything I have ever heard or read, except perhaps that despicable song by Aerosmith.   And if it was only in the letter of James—which our Brother Martin Luther called a “right straw epistle”—then perhaps it could be bearable.  The book is small, it could be avoided.

 But who can avoid Jesus?  Yet Jesus says, “Woe to you who are rich for you have already received your comfort!  Woe to you who are well fed, for you shall go hungry!  Woe to you who are entertained now, for you shall weep!”  It is Jesus who says, “No one can serve two masters, either he will love the one and hate the other.  No one can serve both God and wealth.”  It is Jesus who says, “Sell all your possessions and give to the poor, and then you will have treasure in heaven.”  It is Jesus who says, “None of you can be my disciple unless you renounce all of your possessions.”  It is Jesus who says, “You say ‘I am wealthy, I have need of nothing,’ but you do not see that you are poor and blind and wretched and miserable and naked.” 

Clear lies, all of them!  Our God could not despise us, who has blessed us so?

Do you not see?  The real enemy of our cause in this so-called Holy Writ is not James, but Jesus himself.  It is Jesus that enacted the change that turned the Bible from a humble critic of the excess of the unrighteous rich to an attack on all of us!  These terrible, poor-loving, deceptive words, in blatant opposition to the equality of rich men everywhere were spoken by the founder of the Jesus movement himself!   I know that many of you scholars might be saying, “Well, Jesus may not have said that,” or, “there are certainly other interpretations.”  Of course there are.  Of course there are doubts.  But the clear reading of the text is impossible to deny when brought all together. 

Allow me to repeat a couple main points.  This book is dangerous.  It works directly against our cause, and influences the simple minded to be prejudiced against the wealthy.  Secondly, this book is in the majority of American homes!  There are people who read from this book daily!  Worst of all, there are many who actually believe this book to be God’s own Word and so might very well believe what it says. 

Now, we know, Brothers, that God supports us and our cause—let there be no question about that.  God has granted us our wealth and so wants us to rule the world and influence the people with it.  And so God has given us a commission—we must subvert the clear meaning of this book.  It is a book filled with despicable lies that will tear down the fabric of our very society.  And so we must continue the work accomplished so boldly by our forefather Thomas Jefferson.  We must discourage the reading of this book as much as possible.  If the masses are to read anything, let them read the relatively safe Old Testament. 

Even better, we must follow in the ways of our Muslim brothers and claim through our media that both New and Old Testaments have been superseded by greater, better, teaching.  The best, most popular teaching are the new ethics based upon scientific principles.  This allows us to support an ethics that are based on positive, capitalistic principles.  In this way, the hate speech may be muted, and we will regain our former glory and honor that we deserve to have. 

I see my time is up.  Thank you for your rapt attention, brothers.  (Wild applause breaks out.)

The Gospel of the Comfortable: A Scriptural Guide

Woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full. Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. Luke 6:23-24

Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! …You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.  James 5:1-3,5

Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man's table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.' But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. Luke 16:19-25

He who increases his wealth by interest and usury gathers it for him who is gracious to the poor.

He who gives to the poor will never want, but he who shuts his eyes will have many curses. Proverbs 28:8, 27

O king, may my advice be pleasing to you: break away now from your sins by doing righteousness and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor, in case there may be a prolonging of your prosperity. Daniel 4:27

I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings. He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you? And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. Luke 16:9-13

When Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, behold, three men were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth, and said, "My lord, if now I have found favor in your sight, please do not pass your servant by. Please let a little water be brought and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree; and I will bring a piece of bread, that you may refresh yourselves; after that you may go on, since you have visited your servant." And they said, "So do, as you have said." So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, "Quickly, prepare three measures of fine flour, knead it and make bread cakes." Abraham also ran to the herd, and took a tender and choice calf and gave it to the servant, and he hurried to prepare it. He took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and placed it before them; and he was standing by them under the tree as they ate. Genesis 18:2-8

If I have despised the claim of my male or female slaves When they filed a complaint against me, What then could I do when God arises? And when He calls me to account, what will I answer Him? Did not He who made me in the womb make him, And the same one fashion us in the womb? If I have kept the poor from their desire, Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail, Or have eaten my morsel alone, And the orphan has not shared it (But from my youth he grew up with me as with a father, And from infancy I guided her), If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, Or that the needy had no covering, If his loins have not thanked me, And if he has not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep, If I have lifted up my hand against the orphan, Because I saw I had support in the gate, Let my shoulder fall from the socket, And my arm be broken off at the elbow. For calamity from God is a terror to me, And because of His majesty I can do nothing. Job 31:13-23

But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.  For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. I Timothy 6:6-11

Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Luke 12:32-34