I was on a job a few days ago, and the conversation with the homeowner turned to my book Poverty vs Wealth. (Imagine that!!) The first thing out of his mouth was, “Remember: ‘The love of money is the root of all evil.’” As I tried to talk to him, he repeated that phrase about three times in a row. Apparently, he that verse had been pounded into his mind by his church.

Let’s read that verse in its context:

• 1 Timothy 6:9-11 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

These verses are some of the cautions or warnings against loving money more than God. God wants us to love Him first, and then He wants to prosper us and bless our treasuries, but He also tells us that if we get out of bounds, we will only hurt ourselves. The cautions or warnings are against allowing money to go to your head once you see prosperity in your life.

Most people start at the wrong end when looking for prosperity: their job, their business, or some gold mine that will make them wealthy. I propose that you start on the fundamentals and build from there. The church, because of wrong teaching, has not helped its members because the church has taught that to save is to not trust that God will meet your needs. So those in authority in the church have spent most of their teaching time on the warnings and not on the promises. So when church people think of money or finances, the verses that pop into their heads are the warnings.

But if you are broke, you need to hear about the promises of God regarding His will for you to prosper and learn how He set life up for that to happen. If you need funds for retirement or to leave an inheritance for your children and grandchildren, you need to know what is available from God. Many times it is the poorest of people who think the most about money because they don’t have any.

Let’s look at some of the promises in the Bible about prosperity.

• Proverbs 13:22 A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.
• Psalm 35:27 Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.

Here is another promise:

• Deuteronomy 28:2-8   And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

Again, we see the instruction to keep God first in the words, “If thou shalt harken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.”

Notice once again the instruction to keep God first and then the phrase “The Lord shall command the blessing upon you.” “Command the blessing upon” is a rare phrase, and here it is used to refer to prosperity! It is interesting that God could have said He would command the blessing upon many other things, their health, their country, or their children. These things are blessed by Him, but God reserved this phrase for commanding the blessing upon their storehouses, their prosperity.

These are promises to those who seek God first. Seek Him first, and He will prosper you tremendously. You should bring in more each week than you need to live on, so that you can save up your surplus in your storehouses, for your retirement, your spouse’s retirement, for your grandchildren’s inheritance….

Concentrate on and teach the promises. Remember, the cautions are there only for when you get out of bounds. God’s desire is for His children to live The Prosperous Life as they wait for His son from heaven.

There is more on this topic in the book Poverty vs Wealth.  Leave us some feedback in the comments section below.