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Christians have contradicting views on wealth and poverty. To understand the true Christian teaching on wealth and poverty, you have to Know the heart of God and his intentions for mankind.

What does God say about wealth and poverty? We all know that God is the Creator of the all universe and everything in it, belongs to him. We also know that God loves his creation and he honored man to rule over it. So concerning wealth and poverty in God's view; poverty is not what God intended to have for his treasured creation- man. He created him in his own image and went out of his way to have his beloved son die for him, so he could be redeemed back to himself- God.

Poverty in the old testament befell on people when they went out of God's way. When they rebelled against God and in such a time even their ears and eyes were closed to see or hear from him in case of a famine. God always communicated to man when drought was imminent, for example in times of Joseph in Egypt (Genesis 41). At least their was one who was Listening to God's heart, he told of the coming famine by interpreting the Pharaoh's dream. In Deuteronomy, God tells his people his intentions was for them to have a hope, a future and prosperity. In Deuteronomy 28: 12-24, he warns his people the result of not heeding to his word was poverty and disease.

God's model of wealth was a communal ownership of wealth, where everyone had an equal share on the abundance of his blessings. But now man is corrupted with individualism consumption of wealth, that the weak and the venerable are left with nothing. That is when the distorted Christian teaching of wealth and poverty comes in. Some Christians preach on poverty as sin in ones life, saying, "that is why he is in that condition." You are saying this to a bootless man, who was born in Poverty and denied any opportunity to get a go at even the little openning to sustain himself. Other Christians preach that; wealth, is sin and they quote the bible text when Jesus said, "it is difficulty for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God!" (Luke18:23-25). God does not want us to live in poverty, but he wants us not to put faith in wealth, but to be able to have appreciation of his grace and share the bounty with the have not.

Poverty in Africa is not God's intention, it makes his heart bleed over and over, he groans over that- because this is a land of milk and honey, rich in natural resources. The great Nile cuts through the heart of the continent and many more veins of great

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