If one of your countrymen becomes poor and is unable to support himself among you, help him as you would an alien or a temporary resident, so that he can continue to live among you. You must not lend him money at interest or sell him food at profit.
When Jesus began his teaching, according to Luke’s gospel he made a statement in which he quoted from the Old Testament, telling everyone why he had come, and what he was planning to do:
The Spirit of the Lord is on men, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.
The Bible also teaches about charity through a letter to one of the newly formed churches in the early days of Christianity. In this, Paul wrote to the Christians in Corinth advising them to put aside money for others on a regular basis, and to make a habit of it:
On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up…
Christianity also teaches about the right uses of money. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught:
No-one can serve two masters. Either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
The early Churches were too told:
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
In Mark’s Gospel, a story is told of when a rich young man asked Jesus what he should do in order to have eternal life. He told Jesus that he tried all his life to be good and to keep the commandments.
Jesus looked at him and loved him. ‘One thing you lack,’ he said. ‘Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’ At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
Therefore the Bible says it is acceptable to earn money as long as your wealth does not obsess you. If you love money, you cannot love God. Another view expressed by the Bible is that if you gain a large sum of money, someone else in the world has less money. This is acceptable as long as you give generously to charity.
