Ten Roads to the Poorhouse

1.    Repeated Sin

God always provides for the righteous.

God takes away the provisions of the wicked.

Proverbs 10:2-3, “Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death. The LORD will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked.”

2.    Immorality

God is willing to take away our blessings and give them to the more honorable, if we do not walk purely.

Proverbs 5:10, “Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger;”
Proverbs 6:26, “For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.”

3.    Sleeping Too Much

God wants us to get the rest we need, but He wants us to be busy about His work.

When we sleep too much we are choosing a life of poverty.

Proverbs 6:9-11, “How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.”

A man that sleeps when it is time to work brings shame unto himself.

Proverbs 10:5, “He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.”

4.    Daydreaming

There is no reward for those with good intentions.

God promises that good will always come from our labor.

Proverbs 14:23, “In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.”

5.    Laziness

A lazy man will be hungry.

Proverbs 19:15, “Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.”

A diligent man will be blessed financially.

Proverbs 10:4, “He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.”

6.    Insensitive to the needy

You reap what you sow.

Proverbs 21:13, “Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.”

7.    Love of pleasure

People usually spend money on things that they love, so be careful about what you love.

Proverbs 21:17, “He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.”

8.    Giving to the rich

Be careful about trying to buy acceptance or friendship.

Proverbs 22:16, “He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want.”

9.    Drunkenness

Drunkenness goes right along with repeated sin, but God has a promise specifically for the sin of drunkenness.

Proverbs 23:21, “For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.”

10.  Gluttony

Too much of a good thing can be bad for you.

Proverbs 24:13, “My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste:”
Proverbs 25:17, “Withdraw thy foot from thy neighbour’s house; lest he be weary of thee, and so hate thee.”

God promises poverty for the glutton.

Proverbs 23:21, “For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.”