Are you prospering?

Rex Lones

Are you focused more on having a good life NOW or on preparing for a GREAT ETERNITY? That is a question that all of us must reflect on. Why? It is because what drives us today will determine our ultimate destination. WHY do we believe what we believe and why do we say what we say?

“Prosperity is a term thrown around to denote an abundance of something “

I have talked a lot on the power of our words. Our words can bring life or they can bring death. We can encourage others with our words or we can bring death with them. The first and foremost issue is whose words are we speaking? Are we speaking words that we routinely hear in our churches and synagogues or are we speaking the life giving words of scripture taken in their true context. Do we speak out of the faith that God has GIVEN US or are we speaking out of a “feeble attempt” at convincing God that He needs to bless us more so we can bless others? That is spiritual manipulation!

I hate to say it but I have succumbed to this myself in times past. I don’t want to attack anyone’s faith but let me say something LOUD AND CLEAR.. God is NOT “Santa Claus” nor is He the “great Gumball machine in the sky!” While our words have power, that does not mean we should get everything we want or that when we don’t it’s because our faith is too small. Sometimes God just says NO! HE knows what’s best for us. I have been reflecting on what has been dubbed the “Word of Faith” movement and the deeper I dive into scripture the more I see men and women try to reverse the roles played by God and man. We are the ones demanding our “fair share” and we resort to making God out to be our banker. Only God has the right to demand anything!

Jesus said that if we are going to follow Him we must “Deny ourselves (the end of selfish pursuit), take up our cross (the end of self-rule) and follow Him. (the end of doing it OUR way) In some circles poverty is described as a curse. Some believe that it is a result of being a disobedient child. They say that the only way to overcome “the curse” is to sow a seed into someone or something else. After all, doesn’t that reflect humility and guarantee a ten fold blessing? Not exactly! Prosperity is a term thrown around to denote an abundance of something. It is usually tied to material possessions and the pursuit of “stuff.”

Many times Christian teachers tie this lacking of “stuff” to a lack of faith. It’s not just stuff but even includes good health and the lack of sickness and suffering. For the life of me I do not understand their logic in the face of scripture. Jesus said we will always have the “poor” and the “sick” with us and went on to say that if we do not share in His suffering we will not share in His glory! We become so fixated on prospering on a material level that we forget what true prosperity actually means.

Joy, peace, love and HOPE are “premium” benefits that come from submitting our lives to a holy and just creator.

Joy, peace, love and HOPE are “premium” benefits that come from submitting our lives to a holy and just creator. These are the only lasting blessings that we will carry with us into eternity! We prosper only when our soul prospers. What does that mean? I believe that our souls prosper by having a correct understanding AND application of the Word of God. To “pigeon hole” Gods promises into meaning prosperity is some contemporary capitalist windfall is not only wrong but extremely dangerous! To indicate to parents that the death of a child is the result of their lack of faith not only sends them into further despair but may also drive a wedge between them and God that will destroy any hope of a reconciliation between them and God! It jeopardizes their eternal security!

God wants us to prosper in those things that express His love, glorifies Him and can be used for the benefit of others and not ourselves! Do YOU want a good life NOW? GREAT! Start looking at life as a preparation for an eternal existence with the God who created you! Then and ONLY THEN will you find wealth that you could not have dreamed as possible nor has even ever entered into your mind! We are in a race and the finish line has been drawn before us.

What form of prosperity will YOU carry across that line? Clean hands and a pure heart are good enough for me.!

I’m working on it. How bout you?