“Adonai makes poor,
and he makes rich;
he humbles, and he exalts.
He raises the poor from the dust,
lifts up the needy from the trash pile;
he gives them a place with leaders
and assigns them seats of honor.
“For the earth’s pillars belong to Adonai;
on them he has placed the world.”
-1 Samuel 2:7-8
Verses 7 & 8 of Hannah’s prayer speak out directly against two popular religious worldviews in our day.
I’m talking about the New Age and Islam.
These verses make it clear that at the end of the day it is God who decides who will be rich and who will be poor…
And it is God who decides who will be placed high up on the social ladder and who won’t.
Anyone who has even a tiny bit of exposure to the New Age should see how this flat out goes against Scripture.
Because the New Age teaches you can become your own god…
And you can create your own reality OUTSIDE OF GOD’S WILL.
Napoleon Hill, author of Think & Grow Rich, summed up the teachings of the New Age well when he said…
“Whatever the mind of man
can conceive and believe
it can achieve”.
All I have to say about this movement is that the devil is at it all over again.
The very lies the serpent used to seduce our first parents and cause them to fall into sin are the very same lies playing out all over again in the New Age movement.
The New Age disregards the authority of Scripture.
It flat out denies the resurrection…
Instead New Agers believe in reincarnation…
And it caters to man’s desire to get richer than his neighbor by offering him the intoxicating proposal that he too can become like God and manifest all the wealth he wants by controlling his thoughts.
I could go on and on about this but I gotta lot on my plate today.
So let’s move on.
Next, verse 8 points out that just because someone is born either poor or rich doesn’t mean they’re destined to stay that way.
The Lord can and will balance things out.
Now a lot of folks don’t know this but what I’ve just said explains one of the BIGGEST differences between Biblical teachings and Islam.
Here’s why.
Islam teaches that the poor are destined by Allah to stay poor…
And the rich are destined by Allah to stay rich.
In other words, those born into poverty have a “special calling” to serve the wealthy…
According to the Koran, this is necessary because giving charity to the poor is a requirement to go to heaven after death.
However, how can one fulfill the commandment to give charity to the poor if there aren’t any poor around to give charity to?
Ya feel me?
So whenever you come across something in the media about how Islamic societies around the globe are upset because of their poverty, understand that’s a load of booooooool sheeeeeeeeeet.
Muslims who live in poverty of course want food and homes to live in…
But they want them from their leaders…
The only problem is their leaders know only one way to get and keep their wealth…
STEAL IT FROM OTHERS…
This has been the way of tribal societies since time immemorial.
Alrighty that does it for today.
See ya all next time.
Over and out.
I agree with everything you say here.
However, I would like to point out one thing about the Napoleon Hill quote (BTW…his book was required reading when I was in Sales) that says anything a person can conceive, they can achieve.
I think God would agree with this because when he visited the Tower of Babel construction site, did he not say (Gen 11:6 CJB):
“Look, the people are united, they all have a single language, and see what they’re starting to do? At this rate, nothing they set out to accomplish will be impossible for them!”
It seems to me, Rich, that God is actually validating (in a way) what Mr. Hill said regarding the idea that what we conceive we can achieve.
But there is a difference between the New Age tenet and what God was talking about: God is concerned about our being united, ie., the strength of the community, whereas New Age (correct me if I am wrong) is concentrated on the individual, not the community.
That is why New Age is wrong- it places individual ability to achieve over God’s authority and ability to control.
Yeshua said that with God, all things are possible, so we can achieve whatever we conceive, so long as we are working with God.
Hi Steven,
I usually don’t talk about this much with other believers because your average believer just doesn’t get it…
But I actually agree with you here.
For example, take a look at these words of Yeshua:
“…even if you say to this mountain,
‘Go and throw yourself into the sea!’
it will be done.
In other words, you will receive everything
you ask for in prayer, no matter what it is,
provided you have trust.”
I think one could argue this is a Biblical version of the Law of Attraction.
The important point thing is are you using God’s laws of the universe in accordance with His Will or outside His Will?
One could say Hitler had a vision that he did indeed manifest in the real world to a certain degree…
But was it in accordance with God’s Will? Obviously the answer is HELL NO! He ended up with a bullet in his head. And then shortly after Israel was reborn as a nation in 1948.
Yes, as human beings being created in the image of God we have been gifted with great powers – both physical and spiritual – but those powers should be exercised in accordance with God’s Will.
Talk soon!
sir, any verse from Quran regards;
Islam teaches that the poor are destined by Allah to stay poor…
And the rich are destined by Allah to stay rich.
thanks
I don’t know of any specific verses since I haven’t actually read the Koran.
However, what I said about the poor and the rich is a basic tenet of their belief system.