The sister to success is prosperity. In fact, the words are synonymous in the Bible, often translated from the same word. This is at the top of my list as one of the most misdefined and misused words in Christianity today. The problem is not prosperity in itself, but the fact that so many preachers have limited it to the acquiring of wealth. The various words that are translated ‘prosperity’ have a far greater scope of meaning. Simply defined prosperity means wholeness of life in body, soul, and spirit. When the focus is placed on finances, the other aspects of the biblical meaning can be overlooked.
Money is like food in the sense we cannot live without either one, but we must guard our desire for them. Food can lead to obesity, bad health, and gluttony. Money can lead to greed, harmful desire, and destruction (1 Tim. 6:10).
Wealth is always relative to one’s surrounding culture. Someone considered rich in one setting might be viewed as poor in another or vice versa. I am certainly not financially rich by USA standards. However, if I could relocate my house and all my belongings to Zambia where we lived as missionaries, and continue receiving our current income, I would be considered wealthy. The average yearly per capita income in the USA is $49,922 in contrast to Zambia where it is $1,722 per year. A Zambian would be considered prosperous in Democratic Republic of Congo with an average income of only $369 per year. We would all be deemed poor in Qatar where it is $102,211 per year.
Contrary to popular teaching today, the Bible never promises wealth. Instead, the Bible warns against the dangers of pursuing it. Money is a necessary component of life, but we must not love it, or allow it to control us. Paul gives Timothy a strong admonition concerning the dangers of riches. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. (1Tim. 6:9). People often misquote the next verse saying that ‘money is the root of all evil’. But that is not what it says; for the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs (v10). The issue is not money or riches, but the ‘love of’ money and the pursuit of riches.
Those who think financial wealth is the answer to life’s problems should examine the lives of the multi-million dollar lottery winners noting how many are either bankrupt or dead. One example is the man who won the $315,000,000 Powerball jackpot in 2002. Instead of solving his problems, it facilitated his alcohol consumption, gambling, and frequenting of strip clubs. His marriage fell apart. He lavished a $2,100 weekly allowance on his granddaughter who two years later was found dead of a drug overdose from a combination of oxycodone, methadone, and cocaine. He is now without a family and is financially broke. Researchers estimate that 70% of the people who suddenly receive a large sum of money will lose it within a few years.
So if prosperity is not the pursuit of wealth, what does wholeness in body, soul, and spirit mean? The word that is translated prosperity, used four times in the New Testament, literally means, ‘good road’. It indicates a successful (prosperous) and expeditious journey. Paul asks the Romans to pray that he might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come to Rome (Rom 1:10). In the past, he had often been prevented from coming, but now is requesting prayer for a ‘good road’ or successful journey.
The application for believers today is having a good road or successful journey through our pilgrimage on earth in body, soul, and spirit. The corresponding Old Testament word for prosperity means completeness, safety, health, soundness, and contentment. A key ingredient to a prosperous journey is contentment. This frees us from greed, worry, and bondage so we can find contentment by living in the daily flow of His provision. We must realize that the accumulation of wealth does not bring contentment. It must come from within. (Note Just $19.95, June 12, 2011)
Jesus called the rich farmer who had a productive harvest, tore down his smaller barns, and built bigger barns so he could amass more grain and goods, a fool. Jesus explained that he had stored up treasure for himself, but he was not rich toward God (Luke 12:18, 20).
In my travels to numerous countries, some of the most prosperous people I have met lived a simple life. Rather than focusing on finances, they enjoyed the fullness of Biblical prosperity that many others miss. They would tell me they had all they needed. “We do not need a larger house. We have all the food we can eat. We are safe and we enjoy our families.” They lived according to God’s word, and relied on Him to supply their needs. They were neither financially wealthy nor were they poor. I wonder how many Americans have missed the simple things of life, such as being with their spouse and children, or devoting more time to God’s work, while chasing riches?
I like the prayer of Agur, Give me enough food to live on, neither too much nor too little. If I’m too full, I might get independent, saying, ‘God? Who needs him?’ If I’m poor, I might steal and dishonor the name of my God” (Proverbs 30:8, 9, The Message).
Sustaining Word for the Week: Instead of pursuing more, look around at what you have and begin enjoying that. The LORD has probably made you more successful and prosperous than you have been led to believe