A guide to godliness or a Treatise of a Christian life showing the dutiesA guide to godlynesse or a Treatise of a Christian life shewing the duties

The sixth objection is, that godliness bringeth with it want and poverty, as appeareth first by common experience, and innumerable examples of those, who being most religious and conscionable in all their courses, come as far short of other men in worldly wealth, as they exceed and go before them in piety and honest dealing, in so much as it is grown into a common, yet wicked Proverb, that plain dealing is a Jewell, but he that useth it, shall dye a beggar. And secondly, it standeth with reason that it should be so, seeing piety letteth pass, and refuseth many advantages, by which, those that want it, do increase their wealth, and improve their worldly estate. For their thoughts less run upon earthly things, being taken up with heavenly; their endeavours are more faint and weak in pursuing them, then theirs who have set their hearts upon them; their time and strength is not so wholly employed in getting and keeping riches. They lose much which they might get, because they will not use unlawful means, as fraud and deceit, extortion and oppression; because they will not lye, and confirm it with an oath for their advantage; nor profane the Sabbath by selling and buying, and labouring in their callings; nor keep servants under them, who make no conscience of these things, though they be never so profitable, nor follow the bent of the times, and soothe every one in their humour, of whom they may make any advantage. And finally, because they will not stoop to every bait of profit which is cast before them, until by due examination in the Court of Conscience it may appear to be honest and lawful. To which I answer, first, that though all this were true, that godliness should give a Supersedeas to worldly thrift, so that it were not possible to embrace piety, and escape poverty, or to be rich and religious both at once; yet this should not weaken our resolution to serve God in the duties of a godly life, seeing our spiritual gains do far exceed our worldly loss. For godliness it self is the chiefest gain, as