There are two things in life that seem to distract people quite a bit: sex and money. Fortunately, both are covered in the Bible. In 1 Corinthians 7 God, by revelation, lays out some good instructions regarding sexual relations for people in the church, so that, as it says in 1 Corinthians 7:35, “that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction.”

Money and finances are also a great distraction for many people. If you are broke all the time or in poverty, that can be a huge distraction. Generally, the distraction is lack of funds to pay current bills. The purpose of this series of blogs is to show the proper foundational truths, from the Bible, about how to handle finances from the Bible. Then you can learn to incorporate those truths into your life. As you incorporate them, the distraction over finances should cease because you will cease to be broke or in poverty. How to deal with money has been much goobered up by religion over the centuries and it is not conveniently covered in one chapter as sex has been in 1 Corinthians. But as we read we can see the plan that God has laid out for us so that we are not distracted by finances either. Then we can “attend upon the Lord without distraction” in that part of our life also.

My motivation in writing this is to learn and to believe what God has promised. Then we can believe what He has said, carry it out, and then see His Word come to pass in our lives.

We are not after money in this blog so much as we are after a greater relationship with our Father. We want to know what He has said and promised to us as His children. To paraphrase another man, “It is not what you get; it is what you become in the process.” In this case, it would be a deeper or greater walk with our Father with far fewer distractions as we learn about this field of prosperity.

To reiterate, my motivation for learning this subject was to find out what God actually said and then build my believing of prosperity on those words.

So let’s get started:

3 John 1:2 Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

God’s desire for us as He states in His Word is that we prosper and be in health, even as our soul prospers. With both health and prosperity, there are promises and principles in God’s Word concerning how to obtain both. For instance, with health, we have the truth that “by his stripes we were healed,” and we have the principle that “a merry heart does us good like a medicine”. The first part here is a promise, and the second part is a way we can learn to conduct our lives to manifest health by having a merry or happy heart.

So it is with prosperity. We are going to start with the principle of keeping God first and see some of what that may mean. Along the way, we will see some principles that go along with the promises. Here in Matthew, it states:

Matthew 6:31-33 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

We learn that if we keep God first and seek Him, He will add the things we need to our lives. If we seek after the things, we may never find them or never be satisfied with what we have.

Jesus Christ spoke about one of the first problems we run into when it comes to prosperity and wealth.

Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

“Hate” is the antithesis of love, as it is active ill will; “hold” is to cling to the one; “despise” is to think less upon or think down upon. We cannot serve God and mammon (the world or things in the world).

The Weymouth New Testament:

Matthew 6:24 “No man can be the bondservant of two masters; for either he will dislike one and like the other, or he will attach himself to one and think slightingly of the other. You cannot be the bondservants both of God and of gold.

If you try to serve, love or trust in both, you would be double minded, and James speaks on that:

James 1:8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

So when we endeavor to serve both, we are double minded and therefore unstable.

The truth of keeping God first is stated in Matthew 6:33, but to see examples of people who did that, we can look in the Old Testament which was written for our learning. Many times the New Testament gives us the finely stated truths, but to see examples of those truths we need to look in the Old Testament.

Romans 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

Consider Hezekiah:

2 Chronicles 29:1-5 Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done. He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the LORD, and repaired them. And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the east street, And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place.

This is the very first thing Hezekiah did — he cleaned out the Temple and repaired it. Then he held a Passover in the second month. It was supposed to be held in the first month, but they could not do it then because the temple was not cleaned out. The Law allowed the Passover to be kept in the second month in some cases, so this was legal.

2 Chronicles 30:1, 2 And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, to keep the passover unto the LORD God of Israel. For the king had taken counsel, and his princes, and all the congregation in Jerusalem, to keep the passover in the second month.

God showed us what Hezekiah kept first in his heart; he honored God first in the establishment of his reign. Now in the records of Hezekiah, we see God’s prospering of Hezekiah and God’s deliverance from Judah’s enemies.

2 Kings 18:5-7 He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him. For he clave to the LORD, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses. And the LORD was with him; and he prospered whithersoever he went forth: and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not.

In the first Psalm, the Psalmist explains some of how to keep God first works:

Psalm 1:1-3 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

The Psalmist delighted and meditated in God’s Word. God’s Word came first in the Psalmist’s life. Because he kept God and His Word first in his heart, the Psalmist brought forth fruit at the right time in his life, and he prospered wherever he went.

With Hezekiah you see that God was first in his heart because his first action as king was to clean out the temple, to reestablish the worship of God, and then to keep the Passover. As you read about his reign, you then see God prospering him and delivering him.

Here is another example. This record took place just after Judah was carried away into the Babylonian captivity.

Daniel 1:1-8 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god. And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king’s seed, and of the princes; Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans. And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king’s meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king. Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abednego. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.

It was against the Old Testament law to eat the meat or to drink the wine that had been offered to idols. These would have been offered in the temples to the gods and then brought to the king’s palace for
consumption. This is what would have been served to these men. Daniel and the other three in the record had determined to keep God first no matter what. God then honored these men with great positions of power and influence in the kingdom of Babylon.

There are other records like this, but these two examples are of men that kept God first, and then God prospered them.

Keeping God first not only pays great rewards now but at the time rewards are given at the gathering together as well. We will see that in a minute.

These men loved God, honored Him, and trusted Him above all else. These men had great respect for God and His Word, and that is why when it was their time to stand on God’s Word, God came first. God coming first was simply a manifestation of what they had put in their hearts a long time before.
Notice that the inward part comes first; then what is produced in their lives is simply a manifestation of what they had already put in their hearts.

The following record is about a man that trusted in his wealth more than he loved God.

Mark 10:17-31 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions. And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved? And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible. Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.

Notice that the man’s problem was not that he was rich, but that he trusted in those riches. His possessions and prosperity, not God, came first in his life. He served the world, trusted in riches, and loved his money more than he loved God. This is always a problem.

Also note that if he had been willing to give it all away and put God first, God would have given it all back one hundredfold. So the issue was not just that he was wealthy, but that he trusted in his wealth.

(An interesting note here: Abraham was very wealthy as was Job and many others, but they did not have the problem this man had. They trusted, loved and kept God first, not their possessions. So when it says Jesus loved him, he saw what the man’s problem was and offered him the solution. If the man had heeded it, God would have given it all back and much more. Abraham did not need to do that, neither did Job or many others. This was just for that man. It is a lesson not to trust in anything other than God. It is a lesson to keep Him first. Then you do not need to do as this man needed to do.)

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.

As long as we keep God first in our hearts, love Him and trust Him, He will add to us all that we need. What we need is what God has promised in His Word and what He will do for those that put their trust in Him.

Here is another record of a man who asked Jesus a question:

Luke 12:13-15 And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

We have no need to be envious of what others have even if we actually should have had part of it, such as an inheritance. Why? God has promised to supply our needs and fill our homes with His treasures, as we shall see, so that we have no need of going to the law to force others to give us something.

Keeping God first is the first and greatest of the fundamental principles of prosperity that we are going to consider. Practicing these principles of prosperity should be such a part of our lives that we barely think about it. Then we can spend our days keeping God first and prospering in this life He has given us.

If you would like to purchase this book in audio, paperback or a kindle format it is available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Poverty-vs-Wealth-Fundamentals-Prosperity/dp/B073WZ6676