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.

Robber Baron Bees attacked my wife’s hive a while ago, to rob it of all its honey.  A robber baron is a wealthy person who tries to gain more wealth through unethical means: by robbing people crossing his land, corrupting legislators or, in our case, robbing our hives of honey that is not theirs. Apparently, they are too lazy to work to build their own prosperous hives.

I had always thought that politics was something unique to humans but apparently not.  Although robber barons used to be mostly wealthy land owners, today that has been taken over by Democrats, through extremely high taxes, IRS audits and asset seizures, etc.

Capitalists today are mostly hardworking folks, storing up for their offspring and retirement and providing jobs in the community.  Well, all bees need honey and pollen, their protein source, to make it through the winter. Apparently, some bees are too lazy to work and are like the grasshoppers and want to play all summer.

When fall starts to set in, they know they need a good store of honey and pollen for the winter so they begin to look around and see which bee hives look like easy pickin’s. The robber baron bees hold a conference, pick a hive the scouts have told them is rich in honey or assets, and they are off.

This tactic of robbing from the hard working bees reminds one of the forced redistribution of wealth that takes place in our country every day.   These hard working entrepreneurs who have obviously worked hard to have a good winter store are now being forced to “share the fruits of their labors” with those either too lazy to work or so powerful they just come in and try to take whatever they can.

All hives have guard bees that watch constantly for illegal bees trying to enter the hive.  Once they spot an intruder, they will fight to the death to prevent entry and prevent their hive from being robbed. (We could use some of that on our southern border!)

In order to make it through the winter, our bees need everything they have. They have been diligent like the ant all summer to store up for the cold, cruel days of winter ahead.  Fortunately for the hard working bees in our yard, they have a great bee keeper in my wife who went to bat for them to help them out. Thus, the attack by the Robber Baron Bees was thwarted.

Bees, having been so closely associated with humans for so long, it appears they have finally adopted our political ways.

Diligence is the price of freedom for both humans and bees.  We could take a lesson from the bees about nationally guarding what is ours. The guard bees will bee on duty again tomorrow along with their valiant bee keeper to defend their hard work from the Robber Barons in the Bee Wars!
Diligence is a great tool in your tool box when building The Prosperous life.

In our understanding of The Prosperous Life, it would do us well to understand exactly what God has said in His Word. Sometimes, what men say God said, He did not say at all. And sometimes, what God does say, men say He didn’t.

Such is the confusion when it comes to the record of the rich young ruler. This record has been used to say that to be a good follower of the Lord Jesus Christ; one must give away all his earthly goods to follow Jesus. Here are some quotes from the early church fathers:

Instead of the tithes which the law commanded, the Lord said to divide everything we have with the poor…… Irenaeus, 130-200 AD

The rich are in possession of the goods of the poor, even if they have acquired them honestly or inherited them legally. John Chrysostom, 347-407 AD

In my book Poverty Vs Wealth: Fundamentals of Prosperity, we cite even more. This wrong doctrine developed in the church because of the failure to read the entire context of the records in the Bible. It has grown and developed until poverty is still aligned with piety. Some parts of the church still take vows of poverty, and we regard them as very religious people living close to God. So let’s go read the record for ourselves and see what we can learn of The Prosperous Life, and pull back the curtain so we can see clearly.

• Mark 10:17-25  And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one (Luke calls him a ruler) 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.

This is where most readers of this record stop. They rightly conclude that it is very hard for the rich (the rich who trust in their riches) to enter the kingdom of God. Then they wrongly conclude that all people need to renounce all worldly possessions. This is where the expression I heard many times growing up came from. Speaking of the preacher, “God, you keep him humble, and we will keep him poor.”

But if we continue to read, we find Jesus is not yet done with this situation, and his disciples wanted to know more just as we do.

• Mark 10:26-31 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.

Apparently in this record, God has no problem with the amount of money a person has, it was the young ruler that had a problem. His possessions and prosperity, not God, came first in his life  He served the world, trusted in his riches, and loved his money more than he loved God. Jesus Christ realized this and attempted to help him. The record says “he loved him.”

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 that he was wealthy, but that he trusted his wealth.

God never told Job to give up his wealth, in fact in the end of the book of Job, God gave Job twice what he had in the beginning. God never asked Abraham to give up his wealth. In fact, Abraham acknowledged that God was the one that made him wealthy. God also stated that he gave Solomon riches in abundance as well as Hezekiah.

If we keep God first in our lives and trust in Him, it is His desire to prosper those that love Him and trust him.

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 that He will do for those that put their trust in Him.

The book Poverty Vs Wealth: Fundamentals of Prosperity,  pulls back the curtain in many more areas of prosperity. It is not a rehash of what you may have learned in the past. The information has helped many people, including myself, to understand what God really did say concerning The Prosperous Life.

In the lands and times of the Bible many people had stewards that ran their businesses and their households. These stewards were given complete autonomy over the affairs of their masters. They could buy and sell in their master’s name and conduct business on his behalf. Their job was to serve their master and have his best interests at heart. Joseph, in the Old Testament, would be a good example. He was bought as a slave and yet attained the stewardship of his master’s house. The master in return took care of all of the steward’s needs, housing, cars, sending his kids perhaps to a private school, and clothing, everything the servant could need.

With that in mind let’s read the record in Luke 16.

• Luke 16:1-3 And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.

Perhaps he had a nice lifestyle — three bedroom house, a couple of car payments and a kid or two in college. He could not pay for all that on a ditch digger’s wages.

• Luke 16:4-8 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.  So he called every one of his lord’s debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.

He still had complete authority over the affairs until the books were audited, so the record here tells us what he did to provide for himself and his family in the event he was fired. He had the right to do this according to the standard of stewardship of the time. Apparently, the books were found to be in order and that he had done nothing wrong. His master felt that the steward had done wisely.

But here is an interesting thought. When he had the debtors write down their accounts, whose business was the steward taking care of? His master’s or his own? That is worth thinking about.

• Luke 16:9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.

This verse now makes for some confusion. EW Bullinger in The Companion Bible,  notes on this verse that it should read as a question: “Is this what I have taught you? NO!” It is a rhetorical question. I don’t believe you can find another record where Jesus Christ taught his disciples to make friends with the things of this world, money, or the mammon of unrighteousness.

Thus the steward was faithful in the eyes of his master and perhaps he had done wisely according to the times in which he lived, but according to Jesus the steward was unjust or not faithful. So now Jesus explains why he taught this parable.

• Luke 16:10-15 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?  No servant 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. And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him. And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.

The Pharisees did have charge of the money that came into the temple, but their main job was to serve God and his people, to teach the people God’s Word. But the Pharisees were covetous men who loved silver more than God. They were more concerned with themselves, their position, their prestige, and their prosperity than with the things of God.

They were not faithful men. Jesus was using this story to show them you can only serve one master, either God or the unrighteous mammon, money and the things of this world. ….. but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.

Being wealthy and providing for yourself is highly esteemed among men, but God values faithfulness much higher. The steward had been faithful according to the standard of his master and his time, but he in the end was serving himself not his master. Thus according to God he was unjust, unfaithful. The Pharisees were exactly the same. So remember what Jesus said:

• Luke 16:10-13 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own? No servant 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

Jesus thus encourages us to be faithful in our use of money or material things. Faithful to give some, faithful to save some, faithful to be diligent in our finances and faithful to keep God first and serve him in our lives.

The record then says that if we learn to be faithful in these small things we can be trusted to be faithful with much more – the true riches. But he says that if we are unjust in the least, as the steward and the Pharisees were, we will be unjust in much. So if we want the true riches committed to us, we need to learn to be faithful in the material things.

In our pursuit of The Prosperous Life, we are in pursuit of the true riches, an understanding and knowledge of God’s Word.