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Prosperity and Godliness
November 12, 2011

There are those who preach what is sometimes called the Prosperity Gospel, that is if you do good, God will bless you including financial blessings. Onethe other extreme, there are those who believe that to be close to God, one must take a vow of poverty. And in between is the middle class, neither poor, neither rich. Is the middle class doomed to spiritual ignominy do its financial status? What does the Bible have to say about prosperity and Godliness? What the Bible says may surprise you. Let's start with teachings from Jesus regarding God and money.

Luke 16:1-18
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. 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. 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. 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 law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it. And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail. Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.

Jesus shows that prosperity and Godliness are distinct and separate in his eyes. As real as it is today, back in the time of Jesus, the faithful also had dangling in front of them money and matters related to financial prosperity. The example given by Jesus may be a useful strategy to use for those who are in business. When cash flow is low, collect on receivables, even if you have to settle for less. This strategy paid off for the steward because it allowed him to make friends with those who might later help him. The greater example is that honest regarding financial situations is a lower form faithfulness, and if somebody is likely to be unfaithful with money, that person is unlikely to be faithful in spiritual matters. If somebody is unfaithful with another person's property, it is legitimate to question how they may conserve and manage their own property. Of interest in this passage is a reference to the Pharisees. The Pharisees are identified as greedy and as a result, they belittled the words of Jesus. What Jesus taught went against what they believed. Essentially, the Pharisees thought they were righteous. Other scriptures show they liked to be seen by men, and if society was then as it is today, those who like to be seen, like to present an image about who they are. The Pharisees were likely well-dressed and presented as party of the elite class of society in their age. Jesus warned that while we can do everything to present an image to impress fellow man, we must remember that God is impressed by what is in our hearts. In other words, God is not impressed by our image, but by who we actually are. It is today as it was then. What society values as righteous is an abomination in the sight of God because as people, we are limited to seeing the image that is presented. We have difficulty in seeing the heart, or intent of an individual. The law and the prophets mentioned by Jesus shows that the Old Testament was limited in that judgment was often given based on the physical manifestation of an idea. The Kingdom of God judges us based the intent, or our heart. Jesus concluded the example with an object lesson on divorce, allowed in the Old Testament, but condemned by Jesus. Those who focus on money and believe that money shows spiritual success remind me of the Church of the Laodiceans.

Revelation 3:14-22
And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

The Church of the Laodiceans believed prosperity meant they had need of nothing. They likely believed that because they had financial blessings, it was a result of being spiritually good. These verses show that prosperity and doing good in God's eyes are unrelated. These Christians focus so much on their financial prosperity that the loose sight of the spiritual matters that should dominate their lives. In fact, this group is so deceived, that they do not see how much they are in need regarding spiritual matters. The lesson we can take from the Church of the Laodiceans is that we should never equate Godliness with financial prosperity, because the two are unrelated. The Apostle Paul, taught this same concept. Notice what he wrote in his first letter to Timothy.

1 Timothy 6:3-8
If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.

Paul knew that what today is known as the prosperity gospel is a trap. His advice is to withdraw ourselves from those who equate Godliness with financial prosperity. Though it is not stated, his advice to us is to align ourselves with those who teach contentment. What can we learn from all of these verses? Those who teach that financially prosperity and Godliness are related, are wrong, and that these people do not have the truth. We must be content in our lives. Contentment does not preclude us from planning for the future; content precludes us from being greedy as we plan for the future. If we are content, we plan for the future in an honest and ungreedy way that is honorable before God. Never accept a lie that you are spiritually in need because of a less than favorable financial status. Never accept a lie that you are spiritually blessed because of your financial status. Be content and consider future needs from an honest and ungreedy view.

All verses are from the King James Version.
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