The Challenge to Prosper
“Beloved I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health…” 3Jn 2 (KJV)
Prosperity, increase, riches, success, wealth? Some slander these as contradictions of true piety. They say these indicate pride, and arrogance and greed that must be denounced and run from with all religious zeal.
The distortions of unbelief are harder to believe than the greatest challenges of faith. Poverty is a virtue? The impoverished are admirable? Being poor keeps you humble? How could anybody think that way? Moving mountains would be easier.
A Matter of The Heart
I once expressed admiration for the impoverished people of Belize to an evangelist who had just returned from crusading there. I approached him following his talk to our church in which he painted a sad picture of those desperately poor people. My comment to him was about how superior their values are to our American materialism.
I was stunned by his response. He immediately cut me down. “Are you kidding,” he said sternly, “they’re just as materialistic as we are… they just don’t have as much material.”
Some would call this an “aha moment.”
Humbled, ashamed of my presumption, and newly enlightened, I adjusted my thinking. It’s what’s in the heart that matters, not the wallet. Success, increase and wealth are obviously good. Greed; not good!
Scripture doesn’t decry abundance, it decries covetousness, that’s a heart matter. Abundance and the enjoyment of things is promised by God, 1Tim.6:17. So is purity of heart and contentment that transcends what you have or don’t have, 1Tim.6:6. In other words, your material, is immaterial! God looks on the heart.
The love of money, tempts the hearts of both “haves” and “have nots.” So does envy of wealth, resentment of success, and judgmental ism.
Damn Poverty!
The presumption that poverty is virtuous, is damnable. Real poverty, if you have ever witnessed it, kills any religious notions about its virtue. Seeing the distended belly’s of starving children will sober any rational person.
Sentimental naivete distorts our image of real poverty. Poor Ole’ Bob Cratchit would be envied as rich, in the truly impoverished parts of the world.
Poverty is the Devil’s campaign. We are to hate it. More tragedy, death, crime, corruption, disease, hardship and suffering arise from poverty than anything.
The cruelty of poverty reflects the nature of its master. It’s ruthless to the needy, sick and starving. Indifferent to innocence, merciless to helplessness, poverty devours all indiscriminately.
Poverty breeds tyranny, it foments revolt. Communism, The French Revolution, the Hitler’s and Stalin’s of history rose up in it. Today’s drug Cartel’s are headed by those who are blood vowed against the poverty that pressed them into the criminal monsters they have become.
True, “the love of money is a root of all evil,” but so is poverty, and all its branches are only despicable.
Poverty is a curse!
Hypocrisy!
Yet religion embraces it as something otherwise. Some religions even include “vows of poverty” to demonstrate devotion and piety. At the same time half of most prayer lists would be deleted with a check. What hypocrisy!
Go to church tell everyone
you don’t care bout the money,
then you work from sun to sun,
just trying to get more money.
from “Thank You For The Money” 2016
Our Money Mission
Ask, could I help more people if I had less money or more money? Our mission is to demonstrate God’s power by our success, and His compassion, by our charity. How dare we vilify prosperity and romanticize poverty. Prosperity is necessary to accomplish the mission, Eph.4:28.
The Problem With The Love of Money
Any problem with the love of money must be owned as a personal flaw at an individual level. In other words, maybe it’s just me that can’t handle money? There are wealthy people who treasure God more than their treasure. They love God with it, transferring all ownership to Him along with their heart. “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also,” Matt.6:21. What a blessing!
Judas
Obviously, idolizing money is destructive. Yet Christ let Judas keep “the bag.” Why? Because it was a blessed stewardship. It wasn’t a bag of covetousness. Judas didn’t decline it and insult Jesus, preferring a higher priority of “character.” He was privileged with an amazing opportunity to serve only one master. That’s Christ-like character. Judas’ failure was heart failure, not “bag” failure. The choice was his alone. Or was this Christ’s first mistake?
Face The Challenge
Running from challenges was never Jesus example. His disciples were to follow it. He faced Satan’s offer of “the kingdoms of this world ,” head on, valiantly disallowing something inside himself. He didn’t have to devalue those kingdoms to overcome the temptation. His genuine spirituality actually goes on to possess all of them, Rev.11:15. It is vital to all of us that He did.
Spiritualizing Wealth
Ever pray this? “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, in my money as it is in Heaven?” Probably not. But why would we presume that “in earth as it is in heaven,” excludes money when it’s one of the most crucial influences in all the earth. And why wouldn’t we think that heavenly wealth in earth, is anything less than extravagant. My understanding is that the streets are gold.
Spiritualizing wealth by saying “God’s riches are only in the soul,” is denial. The fear of temptation is not The Fear of The Lord. It’s cowardice. It’s unbelief. We’re afraid of wealth!
Dishonesty about our personal lusts merely misdirects attention away from them. Pretense is no better than covetousness. Neither one prospers the soul. Rationalizations kill the truth that would otherwise set us free. How about owning“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” instead?
A Higher Priority?
In the story of The Good Samaritan, a Priest and a Levite pass by a wounded man lying in a ditch. Higher priority? The truth is, they followed the priority of self-interest. Note the impaired vision of religious intoxication.
Rather than sidestepping those lying in the ditch of poverty, Jesus seeks them with an impassioned focus. He says, “the Spirit of The Lord is upon me because He has anointed, (empowered) me…to preach the Gospel to the poor…” Lk.4:18. The needy are His priority. That priority prospers the soul.
Every human being is either the man in the ditch needing help, the one that could help but doesn’t, or the good Samaritan. He not only had the priority of heart to help others in need but the priority of financial wherewithal as well so he could actualize good intentions, Jms.2:16.
Religious priorities that are higher than mankind are not legitimate. “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for The Sabbath.”
Keeping myself poor at the expense of the needy is un Christlike. Doing so to appear humble is an abomination.
False Humility
Holes in my shoes don’t make me holy. They don’t make me humble either. God looks on my heart not my shoes.
“Poverty mentality” misrepresented as humility misleads the entire world. Esteem for being poor serves no one except those who take pride in looking humble. Taking pride in humility? What a “mind fracturing” contradiction!
Walking past the worlds needs while insulating ourselves with religious self-delusion serves Satan’s agenda. In exchange he’ll leave you alone and call you humble. Deal?
Poverty mentality that’s misled generations,
blocks God’s generosity by misrepresentation
Poverty is falsely said to be humility,
if that’s true then we could take pride in our poverty
See “Thank You For The Money” 5
Prosperity Is A Responsibility
Andrew Carnegie faced the challenge of prosperity and took up the mission that comes with it. He was one of the wealthiest men who ever lived and one of the most generous. He recognized his purpose to be a pipeline of riches rather than a storehouse. He helped millions while proclaiming, “if you die rich, you die disgraced.” He gave away more during his life than most people could accumulate in a thousand lifetimes. Heaven’s returns are great for such investors, Phil.4:17.
This was the challenge The Rich Young Ruler was confronted with when he sought Christ’s answer to inheriting eternal life. “Go sell what you have and give to the poor, ” was The Lords directive. But he refused, “for he had great possessions,” Matt.19:21. His eternal loss was much greater of course, as were the temporal losses for those poor. But greater than all of these was this young man’s selfish indifference toward the responsibility his riches carried.
Accepting The Challenge
But who dare take up this assignment to stand for God’s prosperity? The religious blowback against such a stand is formidable. The very word “prosperity” incites contempt of it’s messengers with Pharisee-like scorn. You’ll be stoned if you proclaim it.
On the other hand, who dare live a life testifying that the challenge of money is too big for God, or worse, unimportant to Him? On the contrary, God’s people are appointed to lead from the front in this area, Ps 48. We are called to prosper.
The Jews have been accepting their destiny to be successful by God’s blessing since the days of Abraham. His descendants were to be like him, the example of prosperity by faith, to an unbelieving world. “And all the nations of the earth shall call you blessed,” Mal.3:12
Today that blessing of Abraham abides on all who believe it, not just on the Jews. If you’re a believer you’ve been “drafted” to prosper. It’s in the DNA of being “born again.”
Prosperity Is God’s Will
God’s will for our success is stated as being “above all things.” It’s why He came, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.” 2 Cor.8:9 NIV. Context, money.
Poverty was crucified with Him. Prosperity was raised with Him and now sits at the Fathers Right Hand, “but my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in Glory by Christ Jesus.” Phil.4:19
Believe it or not, God wants you wealthy. But it’s only realized by believing it. Pro. 8:21, Rom.1:17 NAS.
Prosperity Is Next To Godliness
Lack is contrary to Him. Increase is evidence of Him. Prosperity proves Him.
“Prove me now says the Lord…,
if I will not open the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing,
that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” Mal.3 :10
He leaves it up to us.
Meanwhile the impoverished remain in the ditch while religious conceit passes by.