PROSPERITY
Too often our success is based on monetary standings, positions and/or social status. We all know that success is a subjective term that is often misguided and skewed. What I do know is that the blessings of God are not always measured by tangible things. There is something to be said about spiritual riches. You can have tons of money, fame, stuff, achievements, companions and more while still being completely unhappy. Many people have a void in their life and heart and try to fill it with so many things. They try to fill it with riches, sex, alcohol, drugs, companions, addictions, entertainment, jobs, hobbies….etc. Some are fortunate to find that the void was meant to be filled by a relationship with Jesus Christ.
There are some mixed messages out there from those of the Christian faith and I apologize on their behalf for their ignorance and/or lack of clarity. There are many scriptures that can be taken out of context for various reasons and often times the prosperity messages are not necessarily delivered correctly. Scriptures such as Job 22:21 which says, “Submit to God and be at peace. Thereby prosperity will come to you” goes a lot deeper than the initial words. Simple but yet complicated.
To start with we must “submit” to God. John 14:15 says, “If you love Me, you’ll obey what I command”. That covers a lot of ground so you have a lot of commands and submission to prove your love. Fortunately for us, God loves us either way and wants the best for us. He can choose to bless us regardless of our sin but desires for us to “strive for perfection”.
When it says “prosperity” that doesn’t mean that your wallet will necessarily be filled with miraculous bling to go beside the Monopoly money you swiped from the last board game victory! Prosperity goes well beyond money. Our health, our spiritual well being, our happiness, our peace, our family/friends, our basic needs and many other descriptions can define prosperity. Don’t forget to count your blessings on a regular basis. We often get so accustomed to our prosperity that we neglect to recognize just how blessed we really are. God is so good and He deserves our praise…even when we don’t always recognize what He has orchestrated.