4. Prosperity

He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.

  Psalm 1:3

Unfortunately, when the word prosperity is mentioned in the context of the Christian faith, many people recoil. There seems to be a built-in reflex to reject everything said about prosperity in the Christian life. Perhaps it is because of the misguided, irresponsible teaching that surrounds the “Give your life to Jesus and you’ll be a millionaire by the end of the week” theology. But the Bible does teach us about prosperity and it is important for us to know the difference between false teaching on prosperity and what the Bible actually teaches.

Prosperity is to be a part of the Christian life and we need not look any farther than the end of the word picture in Psalm 1. The tree is “firmly planted by streams of water” (stability), it “bears its fruit in its season” (productivity), and its “leaf does not wither” (vitality). But notice the last statement about this kind of life… “and in whatever he does, he prospers.” Remember that the first two verses in Psalm 1 instruct us on how we are to obtain this life in Christ but we cannot ignore this declaration of prosperity attached at the end of the verse.

To begin a responsible look into biblical prosperity, we need to realize that there is always some criteria that needs to be met for the prosperity of God to rest on us. Just like Psalm 1 gives us the criteria for living like “a tree planted by streams of water,” we need to understand that God’s prosperity is reserved for those who meet the criteria mentioned in each passage. Consider the following:

But they who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing.

      Psalm 34:10b

This passage reveals that we will “not be in want” when we seek the Lord. The criteria is that we are “seeking” the Lord but when the criteria is met and we find ourselves valuing our relationship with God more than all other pursuits, we can claim the promise that we will not be in want. And not only does scripture tell us that we will not lack anything but that we will not be in want of “any good thing.” This passage is referring to prosperity. It points to the reality that God’s people do not have to live in want or need. When Psalm 1 reveals that “in whatever we do, we will prosper,” it is referring to the reality of God’s provision for a life completely surrendered to Him. Consider the words of David:

Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4

Once again, we see God giving us the “desires of our heart.” But look at the criteria…we must “delight” in the Lord. This means that He is of more value to us than anyone or anything else in this world. But to conclude that there is no connection with our position in Christ and prosperity is to ignore multiple passages of scripture that deal directly with this issue.

So when dealing with Christian prosperity, some might say that the Bible is only speaking about spiritual prosperity. While spiritual prosperity is arguably more valuable to us than material prosperity, we cannot say that every passage of scripture dealing with prosperity is only speaking of spiritual prosperity. Consider the following:

Honor the Lord from your wealth and from the first of all your produce; so your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine.

Proverbs 3:9-10

“Barns” and “vats” are agrarian examples of material wealth. This is often how someone living in those times would determine their level of wealth. Farms and vineyards produced goods that would bring income into the households of those who produced them. “Barns filled with plenty” and “vats overflowing with new wine” are not examples of spiritual prosperity rather they are examples of material wealth and prosperity. But once again, looks at the criteria. If we “honor the Lord from our wealth” and “from the first of all of our produce” then we will see God’s provision in our lives. No, it does not mean that all Christians will become millionaires or even have the same income as those around them but it is a promise of God’s provision for those who honor God by trusting Him with their money. 

There is another passage of scripture in which God is speaking to His people, connecting material prosperity with a willingness to trust God with their money by tithing, another way of saying “honoring God with the first fruits of our wealth.” Consider the following:

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.” 

    Malachi 3:10

The criteria is a willingness to tithe and the promise is that God would “open the windows of heaven” and “pour out a blessing until it overflows.” When God blesses, He doesn’t squeeze out blessings from an eyedropper rather He blesses until it “overflows.” Once again, we see a connection between our behavior and willingness to be obedient and the favor and blessing of God. 

We should be cautioned here. Looking around our culture today, we can see examples of people that are enjoying enormous, arguably obscene, amounts of wealth who do not seem to have any intent to honor God or perhaps even acknowledge Him. We need to remember that material wealth alone is not a litmus test for the favor of God. There are people who are making money through means that are not even God honoring. So we would do well to remember that not all people who are blessed of God are materially wealthy and not all wealthy people in this world are blessed of God. We need to have the discernment to know the difference.

So when we discuss this last characteristic of the Christian life (prosperity), we need to remember that it is because of the benevolent nature of God the we can claim these tremendous promises. Jesus tells us to ask of Him. Consider the following:

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

    Matthew 7:7-8

The emphatic declaration of Christ is that “everyone who asks receives.” God’s desire to pour blessings into our lives demonstrates His amazing love and benevolent character. Consider the following: 

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!

  Matthew 7:11

Jesus is better than any earthly parent. If even earthly parents know how to take care of their children, how much more does God know how to take care of us! In a parallel verse we see God’s spiritual provision as well:

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

    Luke 11:13

Here we see God’s promise of giving us His very presence as we ask! So we need not wonder whether or not God will prosper us both spiritually and materially. We need only make sure that our attitude toward prosperity lines up with what scripture teaches us, staying within the parameters of solid, biblical instruction!