Part of the purpose of this blog is to help get a proper understanding of our relationship with God and money.

In Deuteronomy God says He gives you the power to get wealth.  So, this begs some questions – How do you feel about wealthy people that are Christians? How do you feel about wealth for yourself?  Is it wrong or sinful to be wealthy? If you were wealthy, would you feel guilty? Do you feel desiring money is evil? Do you think you would have to sell your soul to have money?

Deuteronomy 8:18 But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.

If God gives you the power to get wealth, how then could being wealthy be evil or sinful? If God provided this prosperity to you, there would be no need for guilt, and if it comes from God, you obviously did not have to sell your soul to the devil to obtain it.  God gives you the power.

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

Think for a moment. Generally, we have no problem with ourselves or others desiring great health.  It is a promise here in God’s Word that it is His desire for us to be healthy.

How then can it be wrong for us to desire the other half of the promise – to prosper?  If you feel desiring prosperity is wrong, it is because of our culture and/or wrong teaching in the church.

God’s Word is divinely designed to be put together.  Not everything on a topic is all in one place.  No one verse covers all there is to know.  For instance:

Proverbs 13:4 The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.

I have known people including myself that worked extremely hard.  I was taught to tithe when I was 12 years old and have done so ever since. I have worked as many as 18 hours a day for weeks on end, and yet I had a hard time seeing prosperity.  This is an example of ONE of the principles of prosperity.  Others are needed also!

Just like working hard is not all there is to prosperity, tithing is not a magic pill either.  There are many aspects we need to learn to see the wealth God desires for us in our lives.

God gives us the fundamentals in His Word on how to accumulate wealth.  It starts with the tithe and giving then moves to saving money and staying out of debt. But there are many things to learn in addition to these fundamental principles.  Here is another one:

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

As I have read about truly affluent people, ones that could live for years on their investments without working any more, three things stood out to me.

1.    Most had been married to the same spouse for 20 – 30 – 40 years.  Be content.
2.    Most have lived in the same nice home for 20 – 40 years.  Be Content.  They were not buying up constantly.
3.    Most buy 2-3-year-old, low mileage American sedans.  They let someone else take the early depreciation.  Be content.

We live in a consumer-driven culture.  Therefore, the news and the commentators are always concerned with consumer spending.  Are people shopping?  Have they gone back to buying? This is what drives business.

The truly affluent have become accumulators of wealth and not spenders – they are – Frugal.  They have learned how to control their money rather than being in bondage to it or in bondage to the lenders of it – credit.

We are subject to commercials, TV, and others writing that tell us we deserve to live like they depict the wealthy.  From what I have read, those that look the part of the wealthy — expensive cars, big houses and fancy clothes — are not the truly wealthy.  Big hat, no cattle as the Texans say!

The truly wealthy live boring lives. They may be your next-door neighbor, and you might never know.  They wear JC Penny’s clothes and drive older cars – Frugal.  They are still married and have lived in the same house for years.  They have no desire to keep up with the culture. Lots of cattle, no hat!

In one story I read, the child asked his father why they could not have a swimming pool.  His father said we can either have a pool or you can go to a great college.  The man had graduated from a great college.  In a word – Frugal!

This all reminds me of another verse:

Luke 12:15 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.

Let others seek after the glitz of this world and wear the big hats.  We want to be of the group that has learned what God has promised, then believe those promises, put our part into action, and then watch God fill our storehouses.

There is a lot to learn in this life. As we learn to be faithful with the things of this world, God will give us the true riches He has in store for us — a deeper knowledge of His word to help us live The Prosperous Life!

When Solomon became king, God came to him in a dream and asked Solomon what he wanted.  Solomon asked for wisdom and understanding.  God said He would give Solomon a wise and understanding heart.  So, God taught Solomon a great many things to the end that the proverbs of Solomon numbered in the thousands.

One of the lessons that God taught Solomon was about diligence as opposed to being lazy.  In teaching Solomon, God many times contrasted the two sides of a subject.  In this case, diligence with being lazy or slothful.

Once Solomon learned the lessons, God had him write them down.  In teaching Solomon about diligence, one of the examples God used was the illustration of the ant.

Proverbs 30:24,25 There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise: The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;

Proverbs 6:6-8 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.

Instruction coupled with understanding and wisdom comes from considering what God has said.

Israel was an agrarian society and spent much of its time outdoors, thus, many of the illustrations Jesus used to teach spiritual principles were things commonly found in nature:  wolf and sheep, vines and branches, birds, lilies, etc.  In the two verses above, God teaches Solomon about diligence by way of the ant. The ant illustrates practical diligence.

Solomon wrote:  Having no captain or ruler, provides her supplies for the summer and gathers her food for the harvest.  In other words, the ant prepares for the coming winter very diligently.

Another example is found in 1 Peter 5:8. Our “adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.” Our adversary would like nothing better than to steal or devour the prosperity God desires for you. Part of our defense is to learn, believe, and do what God has said in His Word.

If we think about the ant, the main event the ant must be concerned about is the approaching winter when there will be no food for the gathering, and she will freeze if she goes outside. She provides for her children by storing up food.  Storehouses.  She stores food for the approaching winter and spring.  She stores food for her babies.  She stores extra food in case of a long winter.  She stores up even more food in case part of her supplies are destroyed.

How does that relate to us?  In preparing for the future, we may need to store money for our retirement, our children’s education or to put them in business.  We may need to store money for a downturn in the economy like Joseph stored up for the seven years of famine. We may need to store money for broken appliances, car repairs or new cars, accidents or health issues.

One of the great things about believing and doing what God teaches us here is that we are not alone in the preparation.  As we believe His Word, God will provide us with even more.  As the verse says, “to those that have, more shall be given.”

Now in the summer, to all appearances did it look like the ant needed to have a large supply of food? NO! There was food everywhere, a paycheck every week. Our tendency as people is to think that tomorrow will be just like today. Sunny with plenty to eat. Why save?!

But the wisdom of God is to save for the future.

We have no idea what will come up tomorrow or next week or next year.  We tend to think, that what it is like today will last forever, but that is not the way of life.  Winters always come and in many different forms.

Many years ago, I worked in construction, and one day, we had no work to do and none on the horizon.  I asked around what the problem was.  The Fed had raised the interest rates by 2% to curb inflation.  The people that wanted to buy certain houses no longer qualified.  Builders could not sell their houses and construction came to a halt.  We had no money in a storehouse.  We did not even know the lessons God had for us in considering the ant.  If my wife had not been working, we would have been in terrible shape. You may ask about tithing. I have faithfully tithed all my life from the time I was about 10 or 12.  However, I did not learn about the storehouse principle or saving money until much later in life.  When I did learn about it, this changed our lives.

Many things in life go in cycles just like the seasons. Wintertime always comes, but there is always a spring just around the corner where you can plant again.  If the winter of your life has been rough, this time be more diligent.

Learn to save as much as possible, get out of debt, pay cash, or don’t buy it.

So, the ant knowing there is not an obvious need at the moment gathers and stores up for the time when she will need it. God said, “Be wise and study the ant.”  He knew what we would learn if we were interested.

‘To work today is to eat tomorrow.’ ‘Beware of winter before it comes.’

In looking at this topic of being diligent and saving money we need to briefly consider the warnings of Jesus in the gospels.  They have been used to teach that it is wrong to save money. They say that by saving money you no longer trust that God will meet your needs. By saving money, they say you are acknowledging in your mind that God may not always take care of you, so you need to store up treasure on earth for yourself which indicates that you are being selfish and unbelieving.

Matthew 6:19-21 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

So, what are the treasures in heaven we are to lay up?

Luke 12:13-21 is another of those records.  The last verse reads as follows.

Luke 12:21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

To lay up treasure in heaven and to be rich towards God is to trust Him and to believe His Word.  Trust in God is the great treasure that we are to store up.  If we trust God, we will believe His Word, and part of His Word is to go to the ant, consider her ways and be wise.  Be diligent, store up for the future so that the seasons of life are not so tumultuous to our lives.

Learning these rules for life from Proverbs are all part of our instruction in the art of The Prosperous Life.

I have seen many times a bumper sticker on the back of a large motor home that says, “We are spending our children’s inheritance.”

I suspect that is supposed to be a little humorous.

When it comes to spending all the money we have worked so hard for, it might be interesting to take some Bible verses into account.

In 1 Chronicles there is a great record of David praying while dedicating the stuff for the temple his son Solomon was to build

1Chronicles 29:10-14 Wherefore David blessed the LORD before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, for ever and ever. Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name. But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.

This is a great truth to remember when it comes to handling money.  All that we have comes from God, and it all belongs to Him.  We are stewards (or the more modern term would be managers) of His blessing.  We are to do with the finances God gives us as He directs us.  A manager or steward manages his bosses’ stuff.  The stuff does not belong to the manager; he just manages it for his boss’s profit.  In this case, God is our boss, and we manage for Him.

God asks us to give away part of what He blesses us with.  In the Old Testament, they started with the tithe or 10%, and then they were to give to others that were in need also, just as He asks us to do.

Then, God expected them to save part of what He blessed them with.  This is implied in the verse that says there is oil and wine in the house of the wise, but the fools spend it up. They were to save part of the surplus in their barns or storehouses just like we are to save part of our surplus in the bank or “under our mattress.” LOL

It is interesting to come to the realization that all our material goods, our property and all our finances really belong to Him.  We are managers, and we handle our money as He instructs. So, He has instructed us to tithe some, give some and save some. By instructing us about our finances, God is teaching us how money can be a blessing to our lives.

The attitude of the bumper sticker is:  It is my money, I earned it and I will spend it on myself if I want. God warned Israel not to have that type of attitude in Deuteronomy just before they entered the promised land:

Deuteronomy 8:9-18 A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass.  When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee. Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint; Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end; And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.

The life of a believer works better when we keep things in their proper perspective. We are just managers of what God has given us.  It all belongs to Him.  If God has said that a good man gives an inheritance to his children’s children, then part of keeping God and His Word first in our lives would be to so manage our money so that we can carry out His Will and leave an inheritance for our children’s children.

If you wish to see more prosperity in your life, remember Jesus said, “Faithful in little, faithful in much.”

The more we can straighten out our thinking to be in alignment and harmony with what God has said, the more we will see the blessings of God abound in our lives. The more we learn, the more faithful we can become to those Words of God.

The Prosperous Life Staff!!

The idea for this group, The Prosperous Life, began with a desire to disseminate the information I had learned about prosperity.  As I learned, eventually I put the information in a book, Poverty vs Wealth, that is available on Amazon.

If you have a desire to learn more about prosperity, I suggest you start with this book.  Read the reviews on Amazon if you’d like to get a feel for what others thought of it.  I have included the forward here for you to consider:

Forward

The principles in this book took us years to learn, so have some patience with yourself if you are just starting.  Start in on the book, and as you see things that make sense put them into practice in your life.  Then reread the book and as you find more ideas that make sense, incorporate them as well.  If you put the principles of God’s Word into action, He will teach you if you want to know.

Here is a list of questions that we are going to attempt to answer as well as some cloudy areas that we will look at when it comes to money.

1.  Are tithing and giving the same?
2.  Is it easier for God to prosper self-employed people than salaried ones?
3.  If someone were to give you $10,000.00, what you would do with it?
4.  Does God expect us to save anything for the future?
5.  Why do some tithe and give, and yet prosperity seems to escape them?
6.  What are the differences between promises and warnings?
7.  Why are the warnings about money better known than the promises of prosperity?
8.  How do you “live within your means”?
9.  What if you lost it all?

There are invisible laws that make up the universe that we live in. There are laws of mathematics, chemistry, physics, gravity, airlift, and laws that cover the handling of money.  You cannot touch, taste, feel, see or hear them, but they work none the less. The laws of money work the same way every time just as the laws of mathematics do.

We are not going to cover where to invest your money or what kind of markets to be in.  We also are not going to cover making money, but we are interested in the fundamentals of prosperity, on handling the money that we do have.  The fundamentals of prosperity have nothing to do with what kind of job we have, who we work for, or who our parents are.

Many people look for prosperity in books and seminars. They try flipping real estate, reading positive thinking books, and try reading how the rich think.  They start at the wrong end of the subject.  Even if they end up making a large amount, they may easily lose it all because of a lack of the fundamentals.  These fundamentals of prosperity are essential to a prosperous life. Without an understanding of these fundamentals of prosperity, you could have a pro sports contract, inherit the money, win the lottery, or find gold coins buried in a milk can, but you may end up losing it all and living in poverty with no hope of ever regaining it. With an understanding of the fundamentals of prosperity, you can become very prosperous without a pro sports contract and have a good chance of keeping it.

My heart’s desire is that it will benefit you far beyond what you can imagine.

If you have read it, I would be very blessed to know how the principles in it impacted your life.

Roger B.