Despite what statistics and people might say, poverty, opulence, and the environment are only secondary causes of sin. Scripture explains that man sins because of his sin nature, which does not allow him to do otherwise. According to the Bible, evil comes from the heat of a man, not his environment (Genesis 3, 4:3-8, 8:21; Exodus 34:7; Deuteronomy 6:6-9, 32:15; Proverbs 23:29-35; Ephesians 6:4; Romans 3:9-20, 7:7-12). Thus, although situations in an individual's life may prompt his sin nature to display itself, those situations do not cause him to sin in themselves. For example wealth may cause a man's greedy nature to show itself, and he may refuse God. However, poverty may cause a man's despairing nature to show itself, so that he curses
