Time magazine's cover story from the September 18th issue was titled "Does God want you to be rich?". I believe the one encounter Jesus has with the rich young ruler answers many of these questions.  In Mark 10, Matthew 19, and Luke 18 talk about the rich young ruler.  In these scriptures, after the rich young ruler walked away Jesus told his disciples that those who have left houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands,for my sake and for the gospel's who shall not receive a hundrefold now in this time-houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions-and in the age to come, eternal life.

  The passage says that Jesus loved the rich young ruler.  In addition to the scripture above there are several promises to those who give to the poor.  They are:

 -The lord will deliver him in times of trouble.(Psalm 41:1)
 -He will be happy(Proverbs 14:21)
 - He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord.  And He will pay back what he has given.(Proverbs 19:17)
 -One who increases his possessions by usury and extortion gathers it for him who will pity the poor.(Proverbs 28:8)
 - He who gives to the poor will not lack. But he who hides his eyes will have many curses.(Proverbs 28:27)

  Jesus obviously wanted the rich young ruler to be blessed and not to have many curses judging from the scriptures above.