A poor man with many children

My Christian brethren:

What do you think is God's reason why there are times that He allowed some poor men to have lots of children even they cannot afford to raise them well? In my country you can see a lot of them in the slums.

Do you believe it is God's punishment for their lack of self control?

Some people poor in material wealth can be rich in spirit.

Sometimes I believe the poor and unfortunate is a test for those with blessings....will we share the wealth or will we turn a blind eye.

Do you remember the story of the beggar who went to heaven and the rich man in hell?

Luke 16:19-31 King James Version (KJV)
19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:

20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,

21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;

23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:

28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.

29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.

30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.

31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead

Kids need more than money but I also think there is a time that we point fingers at God when in reality it's nothing more than our actions and their natural consequence. Not saying that child doesn't have a divine purpose....but if you can't support a child financially....you should go to every length possible not to conceive one.

Children are blessings not punishment. Lack of self control is not the only reason for overpopulation. Sometimes poverty itself is one of the reasons. Hopelessness and lack of education and many other factors contribute to overpopulation. The Filipinos value family very much. More children means more blessings. Some people try their best to support many children but some are irresponsible but that is their choice.


Psalm 127:3-5

Children are a heritage from the Lord,
offspring a reward from him.
4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are children born in one’s youth.
5 Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
when they contend with their opponents in court.

Why does God "allow" this?

Well... umm... maybe we should expect God to appear in people's bedrooms and shout "STOP THAT!"



Ya know... like... what are you expecting God to do?


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My dad grew up poor in the Philippines. He was one of 10 siblings. My grandfather had a decent job but it wasn't enough. They did not even have running water. My grandmother made all of their clothes by hand. They had to kill a chicken and prepare it if they wanted to eat chicken...

But my dad and every one of his siblings grew up to be successful. They all went to college and graduated and got good jobs and have a family. Some even drive very expensive cars now and they all live in nice houses. (I am the one pathetic exception ) ...

So don't let your eyes fool you. Those poor kids that you see today may be the success story of tomorrow!

What do you think is the reason why God will make that man poor? or perhaps being poor is result of choosing wrong decisions in life like being lazy and procreating a lot w/o assuring that you can raise the children well.

what do you think bro if it is not choosing wrong decision in life?

I sensed that you live in a province. because if you live in Manila, you might eat food thrown from garbage cans and just reheat it or you'll eat noodles, eggs or dried fishes only.

BTW are you sure that your father did not become rich later in his life? because I can sense that he might be a farmer and because of diligence, he was able to give you and your siblings what you need in life very well.

I believe there is a lot of reasons why there is poverty.

Also what people consider "poor" is subjective.

Most "poor" people in the United States are richer than the richest person in some other countries.

Also are we talking about material poverty or spiritual poverty?


Some reason for material poverty:

Lack of work, lack of education,ill health, being cheated by a scam artist, not saving and spending money unwisely, having ill relatives you help out, bad choices, natural disasters, drug addiction, tragic loss and depression (spoke to a homeless man who loss his wife and daughter and just gave up on life)

Probably many more.

Howver I would rather focus on how everyone can have spiritual wealth and find contentment in the blessings God gives them and achieve succes based upon God's standards and not the world's.

What people forget is that Jesus was homeless and wandered from place to place to preach.
.when he sent the 70 out all they had was the clothes on their back.

Before he was crucified he told them they could have a money bag and a change of clothes....,tells you that before that they didn't but just trusted God to provide loving people to shelter them as they did His mission for their lives.

John Wesley saying about money can be summarised as follows:
****
Earn as much as you can. save as much as you can. Give as much as youcan.
***

I understand it o mean:

Work hard and Earn fair wages.

Don't waste money on things on things you don't need or just to show off wealth but live humbly and godly lives.

Give to others and share God's blessings with those around you.

Our money is not ours but God's. Neither is our lives or our time. We should live then for God's glorym

The fact your grandparents knew how to kill a chicken or sew clothes shows that they had wealth in knowledge and they taught your dad good Work ethics.

He sent us.

Proverbs 22:9 (ESV) “Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.”

A child will not be formed into a mother's womb w/o God's permission. I knew a man who had sex with his wife many times but failed to procreate until he decided to pray and when he have sex again after praying, he successfully procreated with his wife.

There is a reason why God allowed some poor men to have many children that we must discover.

If you know the answer, please feel free to share it with us.

The Poor


Jameen,
Any healthy humans, that have no medical conditions, will often produce children through sex.

Are you upset that some wealthy people have medical problems and can't have children,
and some poor people have no medical conditions and can have children?

And you're upset with poor people because some of them are healthy?

Seriously?

You're upset with poor people because some of them are healthy, and can have children?


You've made a lot of posts taking issue with poor people.
Why is that?
Why are you so upset with poor people?

What exactly is your issue with poor people?



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My relatives and I all live in the US. My parents and all my relatives grew up in the Philippines. Remember I am talking about 50+ years ago. We are not rich. Just middle class. I already feel I've given way too much personal information here so if you didn't understand what I said, then I can't help you.

Because God chose to bless the poor men in some other way, it might be a better way. Material wealth is not the greatest blessing, sometimes it is a curse when it becomes your hindrance to enter the kingdom of heaven.

I'm by no means wealthy and a single father with 4 kids. Though most times are a struggle, God has provided. So I disagree.

the Bible says children are a blessing

why would you think otherwise and call them a punishment?

so that question is answered...the issue of too many children is also able to be solved

married sex is normal so a lack of self control is also not the issue

I'm wondering what the real questions are cause this op does not add up

God does not involve Himself directly in population control. He has provided human beings with the ability to make choices (whether good or bad). Also, he does not directly control the greed of the top 1% of the population, nor the foolish and self-serving policies and decisions of politicians and policy makers, who should be dealing with all these issues.