Wealth and poverty: what we possess and what we become

Neither poverty nor wealth are, in reality, praiseworthy or blameworthy until the results of each are seen in each person. Often poverty becomes the cause of true wealth and vice versa, and often wealth becomes the cause of attaining God's good-pleasure and vice versa.

It should not be imagined that the writer's earlier remarks constitute a denunciation of wealth or a commendation of poverty. Wealth is praiseworthy in the highest degree, if it is acquired by an individual's own efforts and the grace of God, in commerce, agriculture, art and industry, and if it be expended for philanthropic purposes.

He whom nothing preventeth from God - no harm shall come to him though he adorn himself with the ornaments of the earth and its decorations and whatsoever hath been created therein, for God hath created all that is in the heavens and on earth for His servants who believe in His unity. Eat, O people, of that which God hath made lawful unto you and deprive not yourselves of His wondrous bounties.

Know ye in truth that wealth is a mighty barrier between the seeker and his desire, the lover and his beloved. The rich, but for a few, shall in no wise attain the court of His presence nor enter the city of content and resignation. Well is it then with him, who, being rich, is not hindered by his riches from the eternal kingdom, nor deprived by them of imperishable dominion. By the Most Great Name! The splendor of such a wealthy man shall illuminate the dwellers of heaven even as the sun enlightens the people of the earth!

Then inform the wealthy not to be heedless of Our poor servants, for they are God's trust among you. Say: Beware lest ye be unfaithful concerning them. Preserve them from the harm of poverty and desperation.

However, if someone is helpless or falls into severe poverty and can find no remedy, the wealthy or the deputies must designate a sum for him each month so that he can get by. When the House of Justice is established, homes for the incapacitated will be founded, thus no one will need to beg.

Before my departure for America the poor of all nationalities came to me, Persians and Turks, Arabs and Syrians, Greeks and Europeans etc. belonging to all religions and faiths.

… However you see that although these difficulties exist I do not send away one man without satisfying in some way his immediate want. The worst condition of life is, when one is in urgent need of the means of livelihood. It is indeed very sad if a person begs assistance and one is unable to relieve him from the burden or contribute something toward his relief.

It is indeed good to possess riches if they be expended in the path of GOD for the beloved of GOD; if they be expended to help the orphaned, the poor, the crippled, or spent in a general way for the welfare of the community (or mankind); for the cause of science or industry, or as a help to discoveries.

Abdu'l-Baha replied that a very great importance was given to Science and knowledge in the writings of Baha'u'llah, who wrote that, if a man educated the children of the poor, who could not themselves afford to do so, it was, in the sight of God, as if he had educated the Son of God.

For the source of all miseries and evils is the avoidable poverty. The rulers must be prompted with mercy and solicitate for the conditions of the unfortunates.

The time will come in the near future when humanity will become so much more sensitive than at present that the man of great wealth will not enjoy his luxury, in comparison with the deplorable poverty about him.

Then why does one rob him of these two important fruits, by making work into drudgery, a load for those low on the economic ladder?

Having attained the stage of fulfilment and reached his maturity, man standeth in need of wealth, and such wealth as he acquireth through crafts or professions is commendable and praiseworthy in the estimation of men of wisdom, and especially in the eyes of servants who dedicate themselves to the education of the world and to the edification of its peoples.

Likewise, We have enjoined upon all to engage in some occupation. Blessed is he who beareth burdens but causeth none to bear his own. Let him engage in craft and profession - a single coin earned thereby is, in the sight of God, more beloved than the treasure that is gathered unrightfully and made ready.

Indeed, commerce, agriculture and crafts are not impediments to serving the Divine Unity; rather, they are supreme means for demonstrating religiosity, trustworthiness, and the manifestation of divine qualities, and are clear evidence thereof....

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Riches earned by personal effort with divine assistance, in various trades, agriculture and the arts, and rightly administered, are justly deserving of praise, forasmuch as if a wise and discerning man acquires them, they become a ready means of benefit to the state.

The most despised of men in the sight of God are those who sit idly and beg. Hold ye fast unto the cord of material means, placing your whole trust in God, the Provider of all means.

No deed is more abhorrent than begging among people in the name of Truth.

… However, the wealthy must be mindful of the poor, for the station of the patient among the poor is great in the sight of God. By My life! No station equals it save what God willeth. Blessed is the poor one who is patient and discrete, and blessed is the rich one who spends and prefers others.

However, the wealthy must be mindful of the poor, for the station of the patient among the poor is great in the sight of God. By My life! No station can equal it save what God willeth. Blessed is the poor one who is patient and concealing, and blessed is the rich one who giveth and preferreth others.

Likewise with the wealthy and noble who through weakness and old age or other cause have fallen into poverty and abasement.

Verily, We love every patient poor one, every generous rich one, every humble elder, and every modest ruler. By My life! I love the poor and am with them and hear their cry.

Was it not evident to thee that this servant withholdeth not bread from anyone, nor hath He ever reproached any soul concerning bread, nor denied the riches of this world to any person?

The "sharing" and "equality", however, which are mentioned in the Divine Teachings denote measures that are undertaken voluntarily; in other words, should anyone of his own free will have mercy on the poor, and with the utmost gladness bestow upon them his wealth, such a person is favoured in the Court of Grandeur. … As for the new thoughts current in some European countries, these have to do with compulsory, not voluntary, dispositions, which are destructive of the body politic, and a cause of chaos and confusion in all lands.

Those who hoard gold and silver and spend it not in the path of God, God will surely punish them for what they have hoarded - and who is more truthful in speech than God? This is the inner meaning, but outwardly the property of others is forbidden unto you. Beware lest ye deal treacherously with any soul or dispose of their property without their leave.

Spend some of what God hath bestowed upon you through His grace - thereby will that which ye possess increase. The Mother Book with Him doth testify to this.

The patient poor are better than the thankful rich. But the thankful poor are better than the patient poor. And the best of all is the rich-giver who is free from temptations or tests, who becomes the cause of the happiness of mankind.

Wealth is good for such times - otherwise what good is it? One should save and preserve it, and if successful in such an endeavor, one's heart is gladdened that, praise be to God, one has succeeded in rendering some service to the poor.

['Abdu'l-Baha] said:

The rich must aid the poor. There was a person in America who was worth about three hundred million liras. Nevertheless, he was unwilling to spend even one lira on the poor; and all his life, he had not experienced comfort.

Another merchant who displayed the opposite quality and prepared every means of comfort and enjoyment for the members of his family heard about the stinginess of his neighbor and upbraided him severly.

In this glorious Dispensation the treasures laid up by kings and queens are not worthy of mention, nor will they be acceptable in the Presence of God. However, a grain of mustard offered by His loved ones will be extolled in the exalted court of His holiness and invested with the ornament of His acceptance.

Beware lest ye forget courtesy, for a person is known by his courteous behavior, not by his wealth. Take pride in your knowledge and refinement, not in your ancestors and garments. Hearken unto My counsel and be not of the heedless ones.

Today neither loftiness nor lowliness, poverty nor wealth, lineage nor descent, weakness nor strength can be observed. Whosoever hath recognized the peerless Beloved - his is true wealth and spiritual station.

Glorified be He Who hath adorned poverty with the ornament of pride through His words: "Poverty is My glory." Thus did the Tongue of Revelation speak aforetime, as every discerning soul doth testify.

… Whatsoever is witnessed in the world of wealth, riches, treasures and the like belong to God. There is no shame in their absence, nor pride in their presence.

Today, however, most of those who sit at that table are the poor, and this is why Christ hath said blessed are the poor, for riches do prevent the rich from entering the Kingdom; and again, He saith, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God."1 If, however, the wealth of this world, and worldly glory and repute, do not block his entry therein, that rich man will be favored at the Holy Threshold and accepted by the Lord of the Kingdom.

Wealth becomes the cause of heedlessness to many souls with the exception of those who are believers in God and read the verses of God. For this reason his holiness Christ hath said: "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven." But blessed is the rich man whose wealth and opulence do not prevent him from turning his face toward God and whose heart is not attached to his possessions. Such a rich man is the light of the world.

How many souls whose wealth, glory and riches did not prevent them from the Lord of Names - they were set ablaze with the fire of divine love and bore in His path that which the eye of the world had never seen.

In this divine age some of the wealthy ones have, praise be to God, been successful, but some have been deprived.

How many a servant hath been prevented by wealth from his ultimate end, and how many a servant hath spent it in this straight and manifest Path!

Material favors sometimes deprive us of spiritual favors and material rest of spiritual rest. … Riches did not prove an obstacle for them and they are like unto stars in the heaven of both worlds - flames of reality.

… There are many rich people who are severed and many poor who are not.

If the heart is not bound and attached to the world, if it is unaffected by the vicissitudes of life, unhampered by worldly wealth from serving humanity and not dejected because of poverty, then this is a human perfection.

In spite of poverty he acquires a sense of affluence and in a state of riches and power he offers help and protection to the weak because the well-assured soul is like a tree which has strong roots and is not shaken by any event.

… How many are the people who have all means of comfort, luxury, security and wealth and every means of enjoyment and good living, yet they have no peace of mind and are ever anxious and uneasy!

And regarding the question of wealth and riches - what is meant is true wealth and heavenly riches, and this is an eternal bounty that will become complete and all-encompassing on the day when "God will enrich all through His abundance." This is specific to the loved ones of God. As for worldly wealth, all peoples share in it, meaning that in other communities too there exist those who are materially wealthy. Nevertheless, if someone wealthy is grateful and generous, they are certainly accepted and beloved, as mentioned in the divine Tablets: "When we find, we prefer others, and when we lose, we are grateful."

Should prosperity befall thee, rejoice not, and should abasement come upon thee, grieve not, for both shall pass away and be no more.

Say: Rejoice not in the things ye possess; tonight they are yours, tomorrow others will possess them. … What advantage is there in the earthly things which men possess? That which shall profit them, they have utterly neglected.

… Cast away that which ye possess, and, on the wings of detachment, soar beyond all created things. Thus biddeth you the Lord of creation, the movement of Whose Pen hath revolutionized the soul of mankind.

Wealth is similar unto the sand-hills in the deserts. It is a mathematical impossibility to keep them firmly established in one locality. Today you see the sandy hills gathered here; at midnight there may rise a furious windstorm and lo! tomorrow all the hills are transplanted miles and miles away. The hills of wealth are likewise subject to such sudden and instantaneous transferences, leaving one in complete wreck and showering her gifts for the time being on a new favorite son. Wealth is capricious, wayward, fickle and whimsical and loves to disport with her long train of suitors cold-bloodedly.

Do they imagine that what they possess will profit them? Nay, by the Lord of all worlds! Did what their fathers amassed benefit them?

Now the wealth is fallen into the hands of people who, as thou sayest, he would not have consented should enter his home, and whom he held in the utmost abhorrence. Take heed, then, O men of insight! Gracious God! The wealthy friends exert no endeavour, nor render any service, such is their attachment to these earthly riches. Yet then it chanceth that after death their wealth falleth into the hands of their enemies! These latter feast thereon, and, as the common people say, "recite the Fatihih."

One craveth riches, another thirsteth for glory and still another yearneth for fame, for art, for prosperity and the like. Yet finally all are doomed to loss and disappointment. One and all they leave behind them all that is theirs and empty-handed hasten to the realm beyond, and all their labours shall be in vain.

Rejoice not in the world and whatsoever it contains. By God's life! Every treasure hath been and is the cause of infinite grief and sorrow and regret. Never hath any perishable thing been the cause of independence, nor shall it ever be.

I said to him, "The Shaykh-i-Kabir has left a Will and Testament in His own hand and seal, and defined in it the inheritance of His heir: 'Although the Realm of Glory hath none of the vanities of the world, yet within the treasury of trust and resignation We have bequeathed to Our heirs an excellent and priceless heritage. Earthly treasures We have not bequeathed, nor have We added such cares as they entail. By God! In earthly riches fear is hidden and peril is concealed.

Even this earth's happiness does not depend upon wealth. You will find many of the wealthy exposed to dangers and troubled by difficulties, and in their last moments upon the bed of death there remains the regret that they must be separated from that to which their hearts are so attached.

Observe that kings, despite flowing treasures and endless wealth, pass their days in regret and sorrow, for contentment is the foundation of comfort, not power and riches.

Contentment and ease are better than wealth and trouble.

Thus it is clear and evident that human happiness lies not in riches and means of livelihood, wealth and affluence, but rather in freedom of spirit, nobility, and the perfections of human reality.

When one is contented he does not care either for riches or poverty. He lives above the influence of them and is indifferent to them.

The Bedouin Arabs, who had often not enough to eat, were yet entirely happy and satisfied with what they had, whereas the reverse in the case is true with the Western Nations, - the more they have of comfort and riches, the more they need and want.

And [the animals'] greater comfort stems from the fact that a bird is content with a few grains it eats, never thinking about supper, while man is not content even if he possessed all the wealth in the world.

Kings never derive as much pleasure from their tables and delicious foods as the poor derive from plain bread. Why? Because due to their abundance of blessings, the bodies of kings do not have much desire, while the body of the poor person has the utmost desire.

The objective point of a soul is the acquirement of wealth. He concentrates all his ambition around the actualization of this cherished hope.

Dirhams and dinars are not the measure of true wealth; its measure, rather, is the love of Him Who is the Beauteous, the Unconstrained.

How many are they who, though rich in dinars, are yet the poorest of God's creatures; for, even as is witnessed, each day their greed for gain increaseth, and their avarice waxeth more intense.

The people have been deluded by their wealth and it hath prevented them from My Straight Path.

Beware lest wealth hold thee back from the final destination, or possessions occupy thee from God, the Self-Sufficient, the Most High.

In the Hidden Words We said: "O Son of Being! Busy not thyself with this world, for with fire We test the gold, and with gold We test Our servants." On the day of reckoning they were occupied with riches and remained heedless and veiled from the wealthy and self-subsisting Lord.

"Unless the souls are believers in God and assured in the verses of God, wealth causes the hearts to be hardened and without light."

"Fortune" at last the Master said:- "makes some people forget God, its absence turns their faces toward Him."

After he attained his goal and became wealthy, he forgot all.

… Before long he lost all his wealth and repented on His threshold.

… At the end, he died in poverty.

Do not imagine that they will derive any benefit from these properties or gain any advantage. Rather, in the end these possessions will become a burden and this wealth a curse.

Verily those who disbelieve in God's Most Great Remembrance, neither their wealth nor their children shall avail them aught besides God, the Truth, and they have no power besides God.

But in comparison with service to the Cause, both attitudes are barren, producing no result. For example, if the effort these people put into gathering these objects, and the millions of dollars spent acquiring them, were employed for the Cause of God, their stars of happiness and prosperity would shine evermore from the horizon of both worlds.

Even in New York, the famous Carnegie, who is the wealthiest person there, repeatedly requested that I come to his home. I did not accept. The Consul General of Iran mediated several times. I said if he were a poor person, I would have gone to his home, but since he is the foremost among the wealthy and is famous, therefore it is not advisable.

Think ye the people will not scoff because those with houses and lands and jewels associate with those hungry and in rags?

As we drove away he said, "I am truly happy when among the gatherings of the poor. It brings full joy to my heart. I come in contact with those in high stations of life, and those rich in worldly possessions, but my joy is in being with those who are in material poverty, for their sufferings draw them nearer to God in spiritual gain."

This is what Christ states in the Gospels. 'It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle that for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.' This testimony of Christ of the exaltation of the poor ones in the sight of God is sufficient.

The poor are nearer the kingdom of heaven than the rich. The hope of the rich is in their wealth, but the trust of the poor is in God.

The poor are ever near to the Threshold of God. The humanitarianism of the poor has ever been more acceptable at the Threshold of God.

… ALL THE TYRANNY AND INJUSTICE IN THE WORLD COMES FROM ACCUMULATION.

The poor have ever been humble and lowly; their hearts are tender. The rich are not so.

When I was in Bagdad, one day I was walking through the poor quarter of the city. I saw an old poor Arab standing in front of store. He had neither hat nor shoes and wore only a long tattered coat over his naked body. He had no shirt on himself. Between his coat and his skin he had a loaf of coarse black bread.

For instance, if all were rich, there would be no opportunity for the appearance of generosity; and on the other hand, if all were poor the blessing of riches would not be known or appreciated.

GOD did not create any evil thing. GOD did not create man poor. Poverty is only the lack of riches.

Ignorance is the absence of knowledge - when there is no knowledge, there is ignorance. When there is no light, there is darkness. When there is no eye, there is blindness. Just as when there is no wealth, there is poverty - not that poverty has any existence.

Thoughts of wealth and riches, as well as hopes of rank and glory, are sheer illusion. God has cast these thoughts into our minds only so that this world might prosper; apart from this, they are of no importance.

I swear by the Sun of Truth that rises from the horizon of the prison, there was a time when the Ancient Beauty Himself had no spare garment to wear. He would wash the one He had, dry it, and put it on again. Keep this matter confidential. The purpose is that you should know how circumstances were in the past and not be saddened by the hardships that have befallen you. In the eyes of people, poverty and wealth are causes of elevation and abasement, but in the sight of God, rank and station depend on acceptance, steadfastness and certitude.

We did not refuse such material benefits as could relieve Us from Our afflictions. Every one of Our companions, however, will bear Us witness that Our holy court is sanctified from, and far above, such material benefits. We have nevertheless accepted, while confined in this Prison, those things of which the infidels have striven to deprive Us.

As for the matter of the sum you requested to pay your debt: First, although the Ancient Beauty, may my spirit be sacrificed for His dust, opened the doors of the treasuries of existence to the faces of His servants and immersed this helpless one in the sea of wealth, yet temporarily, outwardly, due to wisdom He ordained complete hardship - treasure in the sleeve but empty purse - so that all the friends would be known and recognized among the peoples of the world for their sanctity and detachment.

Praise be to God, not one of the friends in this land has yet eaten barley bread; through divine bounty, blessing and favor they pass their days in utmost ease and contentment. The recession is throughout Iran. The One God is witness that what merchants and others have written in their letters would sadden every friend and grieve every loved one.

As for your mention that the friends have no affliction save the destitution and poverty that encompass them all, this evanescent servant submitteth that at one time the Seal of the Prophets, may the spirit of all in the Kingdom be a sacrifice for His sake - that Holy Being Himself together with His companions were in utmost poverty, to such degree that some had no sustenance for the night. Later came a time when one of His companions had more than two hundred horses in his stable, and upon some of them bounties rained down from all directions like rain, and they spent all in the path of the Friend, paying no heed to its accumulation.

Yet all lived in utmost hardship and difficulty, and most in extreme poverty and need.

… From this blessed verse it is clear and evident that whoever travels the divine path, the wealthy become poor, not the poor wealthy - it works in reverse.

Though you have newly beaten the drum of bankruptcy, we have long been sounding its trumpet and beating its drum. You have become harmonious with us and entered upon the path of the righteous ones.

However, the condition is this: that you do not sully yourself again and do not immerse yourself once more in the sea of commerce whose end is disgrace and loss. Rather, seek detachment and pursue severance, and think of the greatest profit and most glorious gain and trade in the market of His Holiness the King of Oneness.

What a pity that someone like you should become so distraught and distressed from want. We had hoped that someone like you, if afflicted with grinding poverty, would increase in joy and thanksgiving and give others the thread of patience and gratitude.

As for thee, O thou detached servant of God, though travelling in those parts in hunger and in thirst, unclothed and poor, thou art nevertheless the embodiment of wealth and the quintessence of everlasting life because thy intention is to teach the Cause of God.

I wish for the happiness and prosperity of the believers even in this material world, but they must not be attracted by it or attached to it. Extreme wealth or utter poverty should be equal to them.

Were it not for poverty, the light of detachment would not shine forth in creation.

O divine Faqir! His holiness Muhammad, the Messenger of God, called his blessed self a pauper [faqir] and declared "poverty is my glory." This poverty is not the lack of worldly goods and is not need for the worthless treasures of this mortal world.

Verily, that poverty is the glory of the beginning and the ending. It is a light which hath illumined the heavens and the earth.

The essence of wealth is love for Me; whoso loveth Me is the possessor of all things, and he that loveth Me not is indeed of the poor and needy. This is that which the Finger of Glory and Splendour hath revealed.

O servant of Baha! Wealth and prosperity do not consist in worldly goods but rather in generosity and excellence of soul. In other words, he who finds the true layers of gold and discovers the Supreme Treasure of the Blessed Beauty in the divine mines is indeed the one who will be rich in both worlds and prosperous in the highest heaven.

There are two kinds of possessions: One comprises the pearls of divine love, praiseworthy character, and pleasing attributes, which have always been and will remain preserved, for the hand of the thief and traitor falls short in this station. In previous years, there was a sum in the keeping of a trustee, and a thief stole it. We wrote: We beseech God to assist you in acquiring that which thieves and traitors cannot lay hands upon. The other kind of possessions thieves may plunder if they gain access to them, but whatever belongs to the people of truth will surely be compensated and bestowed upon them ere long."

True sovereignty must be a treasury of the soul and an infinite storehouse. That sovereignty which is the love of God hath its source in the everlasting world, and its mine is in the Kingdom of the All-Merciful.

My intention was that although the blessed purse is empty, there should be a treasure in the sleeve - that you should distribute heavenly wealth so that hearts become enriched with divine riches.

If the friends of God receive no share or portion of the worthless things of this world, praise be to God, the treasure of the Kingdom floweth freely. This is true wealth and eternal riches.

Though we have hardship and difficulty in the material world, we have rest and comfort in the divine realm.

… All the wealth you see in people's hands on earth is but a drop of the wealth of the earthly realm.

Praise be to God that you have found your way to the treasures of the Kingdom, and this treasure will never end as it is an everlasting wealth. There is no loss or damage in it; day by day it increases.

O thou who art rich in God!

The riches of gold and silver become the cause of increasing need and engagement, as thou observest that the greatest of the world's wealthy ones are the crowned heads, yet despite this they are in the most extreme state of need, indebted, disadvantaged and afflicted. But those souls who have drunk from the brimming cup of "God will render everyone independent out of His abundance" - though outwardly poor and possessing not a penny - yet have a flowing treasure in their sleeve, the kingdom of the placeless beneath their signet ring, and the treasures of the Kingdom concealed within.

Be not grieved by thy destitution, for this is a time-honored pattern. The near ones to the threshold of the Almighty have ever, in this earthly realm, been sanctified and detached from wealth and riches. Yet they discovered the treasures of the Kingdom, acquired the wealth of the Realm of Might, and attained the bounty of riches from the world of the Divine Realm, becoming manifestations of the day wherein "God will render everyone independent through His abundance."...

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O servant of God! The monarchs of the world are servants of the servants of the Truth, and the rich of the earth are destitute in the presence of the friends, for the friends possess a spiritual treasure and limitless glory.

This refers to material wealth, but as for true wealth, its gate is open and its treasure manifest and uncovered. Yet those of base nature, being blind, turn away from these heavenly riches and pursue earthly wealth.

True wealth is the wealth of the Kingdom of God. The heart of man must be rich. Often it has happened that a person is poor but is wealthy; on the other hand a soul may possess one hundred million but he is poor. Every treasury, in this world, is subject to exhaustion, save the treasury of the Kingdom which is inexhaustible. I hope that thou mayst become rich through the treasury of the Kingdom.

His Holiness Christ and all the prophets were poor.

"I created thee rich, why dost thou bring thyself down to poverty?"

Though you may be poor here, you are rich in the treasures of the Kingdom.

Be not grieved on account of poverty for true wealth is surging and inundating like unto the ocean.

Grieve not because of poverty, for verily thou art rich, by thy Lord, the Lord of all worlds. He who hath recognized this Cause is among the most wealthy of creation and the most honored of servants before God, the Mighty, the Great.

They who are today turned toward the Most Exalted Horizon and have attained the recognition of the Lord of Names are accounted before God as the most wealthy among His servants.

Say: The highest form of wealth is your faith in God - whoso hath not attained unto this is indeed the poorest of the poor in the sight of the Lord of all cycles.

Rich is he who graspeth it, and poor is he who is deprived of it, though he possess all the treasures of the earth.

Know thou with certain knowledge that wealth, riches, exaltation and sublimity have ever been and shall ever be in the grasp of God's power. He giveth and He withholdeth, and He is the Powerful, the Mighty.

O God! O Bestower of gifts, Remover of veils, Enricher of the poor, Provider for the weak, Quickener of decayed bones, Opener of the gates of bounty and blessings to all nations! I beseech You by Your Most Great Name and by the mystical symbol to open upon us the gates of blessings from all directions, and make for us a way out, and provide for us from whence we know not, and enrich us through Your riches, O All-Possessing One, O Generous One, O Gracious One!

Make for us a sign of blessing, manifest and evident to all eyes, and illumine our faces with the lights of bounty, and open for us the treasures of mercy in hearts, of divine gifts in spirits, and of wealth in bodies.

...the wisdom of God necessitates diversity and distinction in the earning of livelihood. If there were no diversity there would be no order in affairs and no perfection in existence.

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Look not, O people, at the things ye possess. Look rather at the things God hath sent down unto you.

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Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die: Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, "who is the Lord?" Or lest I be poor, and steal, and tae the name of my God in vain. Proverbs 30:7-9

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