The Bible Doesn't Say That - Part 2

Obedience Leads to Riches

The American Dream has been the reason that millions of people long to come to the U.S. The American Dream is a theory that anyone can become prosperous if we just work hard enough. It doesn’t matter if you are an immigrant like Arnold Schwarzenegger, a college dropout like Bill Gates, someone that was abused and molested as a child like Tyler Perry, or born into poverty and a rebellious teen like Oprah Winfrey.

These and many others have been hailed as proof that the American Dream is real and achievable for all. They point to individuals like Abraham Lincoln who failed time and time again to get elected and still went on to become the President of the United States. They talk about the young friends who started a business in their garage that went on to become Apple.

This idea of perseverance for prosperity is not limited to the U.S. Just read the story about a former school teacher that was almost homeless when she finally found someone who would take a chance and publish her book. That book become one of the all-time best-selling books in the world. The Harry Potter book and movie series made J.K. Rowling the wealthiest person in the United Kingdom.

But there is an underlying problem with telling people that anyone can make it if they just try hard enough. The problem is that millions of people try just as hard every day and never make it. And worse yet is that many Christians have turned the American Dream into a religious belief that obedience to God will lead to riches. If you just have enough faith, God will open up the heavens and pour down His riches on you.

Prosperity Gospel is a Lie

Because so many people believe this lie, they then look down their superior, holier-than-thou, super spiritual noses at any believer that is poor or has health problems. They have grown to believe that it was their faith or obedience that made them healthy and wealthy, so it must be because of our lack of faith or disobedience that keeps us poor or facing health problems.

Why do I say that it is a lie? Because, if faith and obedience lead to good health and wealth, then hundreds of followers of Jesus must have had very little faith and must have disobeyed God. Just listen to Paul’s own testimony:

^21bBut in whatever anyone dares to boast—I am talking foolishly—I also dare:

²² Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I. ²³ Are they servants of Christ? I’m talking like a madman—I’m a better one:

Paul makes the claim here that he is as faithful and obedient as anyone…more so. And yet, look as Paul continues to share just what he got for all of his faith and obedience as a servant of Jesus:

with far more labors, many more imprisonments, far worse beatings, near death many times. ²⁴ Five times I received 39 lashes from Jews. ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods by the Romans. Once I was stoned by my enemies. Three times I was shipwrecked. I have spent a night and a day in the open sea.

²⁶ On frequent journeys, I faced dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own people, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the open country, dangers on the sea, and dangers among false brothers; ²⁷ labor and hardship, many sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, often without food, cold, and lacking clothing. ²⁸ Not to mention other things, there is the daily pressure on me: my care for all the churches. ²⁹ Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation? ³⁰ If boasting is necessary, I will boast about my weaknesses. ³¹ The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is praised forever, knows I am not lying. (2 Corinthians 11:21b-32, HCSB)

If faith leads to a life free of trouble, something went wrong for Paul. If obedience leads to prosperity, Paul somehow missed out.

¹⁰ I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that once again you renewed your care for me. You were, in fact, concerned about me but lacked the opportunity to show it. ¹¹ I don’t say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. ¹² I know both how to have a little, and I know how to have a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. ¹³ I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:10-13, HCSB)

God’s Prosperity is Contentment

Verse 13 is one of the most misunderstood verses of the Bible. People love to quote that verse alone to claim that they can do anything through Jesus. They believe that with enough faith they can have riches and fame and good health. But that is not what Paul said. Paul said that he has known what it means to have and what it means to have not. And yet, he understood that he could persevere in spite of those times without, those times of great difficulty, precisely because of his faith in Jesus.

Paul is saying that we need even more faith during the difficult times. But just because we have faith, just because we are obedient, it doesn’t mean that we will be blessed with great wealth. If you look hard enough in the Bible, you can find a few verses that seem to indicate that God will bless you with riches if you just obey:

¹ “Now if you faithfully obey the Lord your God and are careful to follow all His commands I am giving you today, the Lord your God will put you far above all the nations of the earth. ² All these blessings will come and overtake you, because you obey the Lord your God. (Deuteronomy 28:1-2)

Verse 11 of Deuteronomy 28 even says that God will make you prosper. It certainly looks like God is promising prosperity, riches for those that obey him. But in Philippians, Paul was teaching us that a follower of Jesus will understand that prosperity means something much different than just great wealth and health.

“Prosperity means that you live a life of general welfare, where God meets your needs, and that you are being fulfilled, and enjoying the blessings of God. The bible teaches that is prosperity.” (Adrian Rogers)

It is important for us as followers of Jesus to remember the things that God has already done for us. To see the many wonderful blessings of God on our life each and every day. Too soon do we forget what God has done for us.

When you hear someone tell you that you just need enough faith and you will be blessed with money, or you need to obey God and He will give you anything you ask, or if you just pray enough you will be healed, let them know that true prosperity is found in being content with what God has done for you and where you are right now.

Finding True Happiness

There was a time when our nation was going through a great struggle. A battle that some believed was just and some saw as great evil. A war that would kill over 620,000 Americans with millions more wounded. And in the midst of this war, President Abraham Lincoln recognized how blessed our nation had been.

                   

“We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.” (Abraham Lincoln, U.S. Proclamation calling the nation to fast on April 30, 1863)

Many forgot the grace of God. Many were too focused on the American Dream “intoxicated with unbroken success.” But Abraham Lincoln understood that God was the source of our blessing and that we must turn back to Him. These words were part of a Presidential Proclamation calling the nation to a day of fasting and prayer during the middle of a horrible and tragic war between fellow Americans.

You can prosper through obedience, but you may not be rich. You can be prosperous because of your faith in God, but you still may get sick. The true prosperity that God promises us is that, if we place our faith in Him and obey His commands, regardless of our circumstances, we will be happy. That is prosperity.