PROSPERING

References are to the NIV-UK (2011)

Q Should the faithful Christian expect to prosper in material things?

A It seems that God does not in principle condemn the acquisition of wealth.

The Old Testament records that faithful Abraham, truly a man of God, was ‘very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold’ (Gen. 13: 2). Job, blameless and upright, the greatest man among all the people of the East, was immensely rich, both before and after his long period of affliction (Job 1: 3; 42: 12 Jesus did not condemn wealth as such, but He knew how easily it could become a compulsive part of human nature.

His comments regarding the rich man and the ‘eye of the needle’ (the narrow gate of the city) are well-known and often quoted (Matt. 19: 23, 24).

He also observes that one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions (Luke 12: 13-21).

Christians and unbelievers alike are assailed by multitudes of advertisements, beckoning across the array of the media, designed to tickle the acquisitive tendency the latest mobiles, fashions, kitchen makeovers, or a luxury car parked in the driveway. The health of the capitalist economy in which we live relies on the consumer to keep spending.

The spirit of ‘getting’ is unbecoming in the Lord’s people and forms a serious impediment to spiritual growth and the attitude of contentment. And while it is proper to provide for oneself and one’s family properly, the critical issue is how we use the resources we effectively hold in trust, as agents of the Lord, in the furtherance of His purposes for us.

If we are the Lord’s, then all that we possess is His.

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