Plenty or Penury?

DEUTERONOMY 6:10-15 --10  And when the LORD your God brings you into the land He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that He would give you—a land with great and splendid cities that you did not build,11 with houses full of every good thing with which you did not fill them, with wells that you did not dig, and with vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant—and when you eat and are satisfied, 12 be careful not to forget the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 13 Fear the LORD your God, serve Him, and take your oaths using only His name. 14 Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you. 15 For the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God. Otherwise, the anger of the LORD your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth.

The nation of Israel was poised to enter Canaan at last! The dream of 40 years was coming to realization. It was the beginning of the end; the end of endless treading, end of rebellions, end of temptation, end to provoking God to anger. A long comfortable, settled life of happiness and prosperity was at last within reach, or was it?  Moses’ worst fears came true!

There are many who know "how to be abased" who have not learned "how to abound."  It is easier to manage adversity than to handle prosperity. When they are set upon the top of a pinnacle their heads grow dizzy, and they are ready to fall. The Christian frequently disgraces his faith in prosperity than in adversity. It is a dangerous thing to be prosperous.  The crucible of adversity is a less severe trial to the Christian than the refining pot of prosperity. What an irony that leanness of soul and neglect of spiritual things have been brought about through the very mercies and bounties of God!

I have observed from close range three generations of ten Christian families who got jobs in the west Asian oil kingdoms in the 1960s and become rich almost overnight. Those who got “foreign jobs” those days were considered “blessed” in spite of the enforced separation from families –husbands from wives, parents from the children. They always professed they were doing this sacrifice in order to secure a happy future for their children. They built posh homes, bought cars and air conditioners and sent their kids to swanky public schools in the mountains. Fifty years later I look at their descendants and realize things had not worked quite the way they wanted.

There was one son who sued his mother for the house she was living in. Two girls and two boys married Hindus against their parent’s wishes. One actually turned Hindu. Many dropped out of college and professional training. Quite a number of them fought over their aging parents’ wealth. Alcohol, drugs, adultery, incest, and divorces made their appearance, things not heard of in Christian middle-class families then.

·       Could anyone have had it as good as Adam and Eve in Eden? They had everything they wanted (They didn’t even have to buy their clothes!). God came down in the cool of the evening to walk with them. We don’t know how long they carried on like this. But this beautiful fellowship was lost through their studied disobedience.

·       David was the beloved of God. A man after God’s own heart. The greatest ruler of Israel. He couldn’t resist a moment’s temptation and committed adultery and murder. God forgave him completely because his repentance was whole and true, but he couldn’t escape the consequences of his sin, which had enveloped the family first, then the next generation and eventually impacted the whole nation.  

·       Solomon was known as the wisest king of all times enjoying immense power, wealth and fame. He had everything going for him.  But he went astray misled by his foreign wives,   misled the country and eventually caused the split of the nation.

·       Judas Iscariot, a disciple of Lord, personally recruited and trained by Him wasted away a great opportunity for the sake of money. He had set his own agenda and was devastated to see things didn’t work the way he had planned; he was remorseful, but didn’t do the right thing like Peter and courted disaster.

Success, fame, power, authority and wealth are not necessarily blessings. Misfortune, misery, and failure can be blessings in disguise.

·       Joseph was dealt with cruelly by his own brothers, sold into slavery, falsely accused by a woman and had to undergo long, harsh imprisonment. Eventually, great fame, power, authority came to him without bidding. He was reunited with his lost family. The scripture repeats three times God was with him.

·       Moses who was groomed to become the emperor of Egypt was stripped of all his privileges and banished into the desert. He endured 40 years of a harsh shepherd’s life. God chose him to rescue the Israelites from slavery into the Promised Land. He created the Israelite nation and eventually paved the way for the Saviour to be born there.

·       Jacob, as long as he was prospering he took things for granted. When crippled by God,  He learned to trust God of his ancestors

·       Ruth and Naomi arrived in Bethlehem—widowed, penniless, starving, alone with no hope. Naomi’s love for Ruth and the Moabitess’ trust in the God of Israel moved God. Turning of events led to Naomi to counsel Ruth that she became Boaz’ wife and the grandmother of King David, and an ancestor of Jesus Christ!

Material prosperity is not always an indication of God’s blessing.  The nation of Israel (apart from Judah) prospered under the rule of Jeroboam II. He won every war he fought and recovered almost all of its former territory, but he did nothing to fight the terrible social and religious corruption of those affluent days.   Economic prosperity and military might are not always a sign of God’s favour. Idolatry flourished under this king who ruled for 41 years. God was patient watching as prophets Hosea and Amos kept warning the people and few repented, Israel was conquered and went into captivity a few decades later. Read this king’s story in 2 Kings 14:23-29.

“Prosperity preachers” distort Bible’s message overemphasizing ‘blessings and prosperity’ and downplaying the virtue of poverty. They cherry-pick the Bible and set a bad example of how the scripture must be used. They wax eloquent over the first 13 verses of Deuteronomy 28, ignoring the 13 verses before and 55 verses below. The effort is to tickle the ears of the listeners – tell them what they want to hear, and gain popularity and own a large congregation.

To them Jesus is a miracle-working magician, a prospering God.

Of course He can prosper you, but He is more. He is the One, the only One, who can save people from their sins, who bought mankind for God, Who redeemed man from the hold of sin paying the price in blood.

Psalms 119:67, 71 Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep Your word; It was good for me to be afflicted, that I might learn Your statutes.

·       There is no guarantee all our troubles will go away when we receive Christ.  In that case, people will turn to God for comfort, not in love.

·       Being comforted can also mean strength, encouragement, hope to deal with our difficulties. If you are overwhelmed, ask God to strengthen you.

·       Trials you endure will help you comfort others who are similarly troubled. This is the greatest blessing.

·       1 John 3:13  says “do not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you”. Jesus said the same thing also.

The Bible defines true blessings in numerous and different ways: we’ll only look at into a few samples—

·       Colossians 1:14; Rev 5:9 Assurance that your sins have been forgiven, Holy Spirit has taken over your life, that you are being sanctified day after day

·       1 Peter 1:3, 4  It is by his great mercy that we have been born again because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for us, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.

·       Ephesians 1:7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. that you are born again.

·       Ephesians 1:4, 5 He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will.

·       1 John 5:11 And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  that you already have eternal life.

·       Ephesians 1:13, 14 You were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

·       Psalms 112:;2  Their children will be successful everywhere; an entire generation of Godly people will be blessed. 

Why was Jesus born a poor man? Birth in Caesar’s palace would have made His work very effective; with the power and authority at His disposal he could have achieved much. Why not employ angels to preach the Kingdom of God? Why choose humble folks as disciples?

Money is a good servant, but a bad master.

1 Timothy  6:9, 10 – Love of money is the root of all evil. Israel’s long history down the centuries shows whenever they were prosperous, apostasy took over. Richness carries the potential for moral, spiritual decline. Wealth leads to self-sufficiency and pride and to lose dependency on God and take him for granted. The Sermon of the Mount defines true blessings. Deuteronomy warns against the evil of earthly success.  It is prosperity that dulls our spiritual vision more than adversity.

The same thing can happen in our church. Once we become successful in terms of numbers, programs and buildings, we can easily become self-sufficient and less sensitive to our need for God. This leads us to concentrate on self-preservation rather than thankfulness and service to God.

Pavement dwellers - India

History’s greatest sufferer, born to suffer--Jesus’ suffering brought us salvation; His most disgraceful, lonely situation led to our glorification Jesus never promised His followers a rose garden. The greatest blessing is to be a blessing to others. Let us strive for the content Paul attained: “Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little’’ (Philipp 4:11, 12).

To those who don’t have God, life on earth is all that there is. It’s natural for them to strive for this world’s values like money, prestige, popularity, and pleasure. But we set our sights on higher things.

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