Prosperity or Poverty minded?
In Deuteronomy 28, and in other places in Scripture, it is very clear that Prosperity is a Blessing, and that Poverty is a Curse.
But then WHAT is “Prosperity”?
Let us look at this Scripture:
“Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth”. 3 John 2
The Greek word “Eudoo” that is translated in this verse as “prosper” means “That it may go well with you on your journey”.
Therefore, biblically speaking “prosperity” is not just about money. It has a much deeper meaning; it is about the journey of Life itself. God wants us to do well in our “Journey of Life”. He wants us to do well and to succeed firstly in our relationship with Him, in our marriages and families, and with our fellow man. He wants us to have sound minds, and good physical and mental health. He wants us to do well with our finances, etc. So as one can see “true prosperity” is about life itself, and about our well-being in every facet of life.
In this short article however, I would like to zero in on the aspect of “Financial Prosperity”.
Financial Prosperity can be defined as “having enough for yourself, and then an overflow on top of that, which enables you to give to others”. God promised this “overflow” to Abraham when He said, “I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing”. Gen 12:2
Prosperity cannot be measured or pegged in a certain amount in Dollars. It is about having more than what you need, in order to be able to give to others.
In contrast, poverty is when you don't even have enough for yourself, and life an endless struggle for survival. Poverty takes away from you the ability to be generous towards others.
The worst thing about poverty is that it puts a man in a place where it is almost impossible for him to give anything to anyone, because he does not even have enough for himself, and he is busy trying to make ends meet.
The best thing about financial prosperity is that it enables us to bless others with what God has given to us. The higher your “level of prosperity”, or the more you have in your hands - the more you have to give to others!
One must always remember that poverty does not have to be a dead-end place in life. When those who are stuck in poverty begin to walk in faith, when they begin to give, and to bless others - that is when they too can come out of poverty and into prosperity. Their “minus” then turns into a “plus”. That is why when I minister to the poor in third-world countries, one of the things that I teach them is to give. I have seen this biblical principle work in impoverished nations, and I have seen many poor people come out of poverty, and today they are able to give to their churches and to help others in need.
I have seen this work in Africa. An “American Gospel” concept will not work outside of America; but if it is Biblical, it will work anywhere. I tell people “if it works in Africa, it will work anywhere and everywhere”!
I personally know people in Africa who have taken hold of the principles of biblical prosperity and have come out of poverty into a life where they are now able to give to others.
As a foreigner, I am used to pastors in Africa coming to me looking for handouts. I remember this one pastor who stood out because he would offer to take me out to eat, in contrast to others who were always looking for something from me. Like the others he too was a man of meagre means, but he was a “giver” and not a “taker”. I watched this man’s life and his giving heart. I watched how God later blessed him with some farmland. I watched how during a very harsh season, his corn grew taller and was more productive than in his neighbors’ farms. They came to him asking him about the secret to his crops being better than theirs. He told them that his secret was “the Blessing of God”, and that they could have it too.
You see, the Principle of Seedtime and Harvest works! Giving brings prosperity.
God has purposes for prosperity. He has purposes for why He wants to prosper us.
Firstly, He wants to prosper us so that we can play a part in financing the preaching of the Gospel to the lost. From the perspective of eternity there is only one thing that really matters, that people escape Hell and go to Heaven to spend eternity with Jesus Christ. We can feed and educate people and help them in other ways; but if it ultimately does not bring them to Christ, it is all meaningless. So, the more we give to Missions that focuses on winning souls for Jesus, and to "Mission-minded" churches that give to the preaching of the Gospel to the lost, the more the Gospel can move forward.
Secondly, He wants to prosper us so that we can help the poor, the widows and the orphans. In the Bible we see that the Lord has a great heart for the poor. The Bible says: “He who has a generous eye will be blessed, for he gives of his bread to the poor”. (Prov 22:9)
Thirdly, he wants to bless you because you are His child! “Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart”. Psalm 37:4. Interestingly, when you give yourself to supporting the preaching of the Gospel and to helping the poor, it has a tempering effect on what is important to you, and on what the priorities and the desires of your heart are. You began to see the value of money from an eternal perspective. What you can do for the Gospel and for others becomes more important than what you can buy for yourself. Materialism and the love of material things have a lesser and lesser hold on your heart, and to do the will of God becomes your greatest desire. It is in that context that the Lord will Bless you and give you the desires of your heart.
So, let us not be "poverty minded". Let us be "prosperity minded" instead. Let us always be on the lookout for good ground where we can sow financial seed, and for those who God would want us to bless financially.
