Beware of the thing that is called "Prosperity Gospel". Sure, God promises prosperity, but God also promises hardship and persecution. You may be talking about passages like Proverbs 10:22 or John 10:10.
I believe that context and meaning is relevant. In many cases, the promise of prosperity refers to to the prosperity in heaven, not earth.
Second, riches can take many forms. I believe that the most prominent one is the gift of salvation, a gift that worth more than anything else one could imagine.
Also, look at 2 Corinthians 8:9. I highly doubt the phrases rich and poor means monetary gain and loss, but instead God coming down to us as Jesus so that we can be saved and lifted up.
The problem with the "Prosperity Gospel" is that is does not focus on Christ and our salvation through him, but instead brings to the focus on our (monetary) gain when we believe. That is false. One must remember that the purpose of the coming of Jesus and ultimately the bible is our salvation and to save our souls from hell, as well as about our fellowship with God. That is the ultimate price. Earthly riches will fade. 1 Timothy 6:7-12 shows that things we gain here on earth have no value beyond this world. The only thing we can take with us is our souls (read: us), so it best to focus on gaining eternal values such as patience, diligence, love and other things that makes a godly character.
If one is blessed with material possessions, one must give thanks to God, use them responsibly and not worship the money over God. If one is blessed with poverty, one must also give thanks to God, for it teaches us humility and allows us to appreciate the gifts given by God all the more. Life is a learning experience that every one of us will experience it differently, but what remains the same is that God has gifted us salvation and that is the greatest gift we could receive from Him.
I believe that context and meaning is relevant. In many cases, the promise of prosperity refers to to the prosperity in heaven, not earth.
Second, riches can take many forms. I believe that the most prominent one is the gift of salvation, a gift that worth more than anything else one could imagine.
Also, look at 2 Corinthians 8:9. I highly doubt the phrases rich and poor means monetary gain and loss, but instead God coming down to us as Jesus so that we can be saved and lifted up.
The problem with the "Prosperity Gospel" is that is does not focus on Christ and our salvation through him, but instead brings to the focus on our (monetary) gain when we believe. That is false. One must remember that the purpose of the coming of Jesus and ultimately the bible is our salvation and to save our souls from hell, as well as about our fellowship with God. That is the ultimate price. Earthly riches will fade. 1 Timothy 6:7-12 shows that things we gain here on earth have no value beyond this world. The only thing we can take with us is our souls (read: us), so it best to focus on gaining eternal values such as patience, diligence, love and other things that makes a godly character.
If one is blessed with material possessions, one must give thanks to God, use them responsibly and not worship the money over God. If one is blessed with poverty, one must also give thanks to God, for it teaches us humility and allows us to appreciate the gifts given by God all the more. Life is a learning experience that every one of us will experience it differently, but what remains the same is that God has gifted us salvation and that is the greatest gift we could receive from Him.
Upvote
0
