Despising the Promise

 

“Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor.”

—Proverbs 21:21

So, we graduate from high school or college. Spurred on by a success-obsessed culture, we look for a way to achieve success as quickly as possible. Before long we meet some people who illustrate for us that by compromising our values—by cutting corners here and there, and by telling an occasional lie—we can climb to the top. We make compromises and drift from our values. Now we’re beginning to realize success as measured by our culture. But, one day we wake up to the reality that we are no longer the persons we once were.

The term “prosperity gospel” has taken on a horrible connotation in our Evangelical sub-culture. The very idea that placing our lives uncompromisingly in God’s hands will bring us spiritual and material prosperity is an anathema to many. There are plenty of preachers who urge us to surrender everything we are and everything we possess to God and, in return, He will pour out unimaginable blessings to fill our lives full to overflowing.

Many other Evangelical preachers look at their own lives and circumstances and declare such “prosperity preaching” just isn’t true. After all, they believe they have totally given their lives over to service to God, yet they remain in near abject poverty—at least as far as material things are concerned. As a result of this thinking, they despise the very idea that faithfulness to God will result in prosperity, and even become quite angry about the very idea.

But, the truth is that surrendering our wills to God through Christ, and opening ourselves up to the leading of the Holy Spirit, will bring us an extraordinary prosperity—a prosperity, however, that is defined solely by the God who loves us with His everlasting love. It is quite natural for questions to arise within us:

• Will we become fabulously wealthy?
  
  
• Will we rise to positions of power and influence in our chosen professions?
  
  
• Will we own multiple residences and travel extensively?
  
  
• Will we become so wise that people will flock to hear and heed our advice?
  
  

The answer to each of these questions: maybe, maybe not. But, we will live lives of transformational prosperity. If we bend our foolish, sinful, selfish wills to God’s perfect will—as the Holy Spirit enables us—we will experience a great outpouring of God’s overwhelming goodness.

King Solomon nailed it when he wrote in Proverbs 21:21:

Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor.

Is there a “prosperity gospel”? I guess it depends on how you choose to define the term. Is the promise contained in the wrappings of Solomon’s proverb true? After all, he became the richest man who ever lived. How dare anyone suggest that God would do for others what He had done for Solomon. So, the question remains: is there a “prosperity gospel”?

I can testify that following Jesus has enriched my life beyond my ability to measure. Even at this point in my life, I continue to experience a richer, fuller life than I would have ever experienced without a great outpouring of God’s mercy, grace, and love. I am not “healthy, wealthy, and wise.” But, I am far better off because God chose me to belong to Himself than I could ever be if I despised His promise.

So, yes, pursuing the pathway of righteousness that God lays out for us does lead to a prosperity of the most valuable kind. There is no point in despising the promise. King Solomon was right. And, that should not be a surprise.

 

Based on a blog originally posted on Wednesday, January 6, 2016

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