Day 8 of False Choices: You must choose between prosperity in this life or eternal reward.

“As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭10‬:‭17‬, ‭21‬-‭22‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In terms of a biblical view of prosperity, it seems very hard for people to find the truth, but very easy to end up on one extreme or the other of the view of prosperity in terms of believers.

On the one hand you will find groups of people who believe that material prosperity is intended for everyone and that those who do not have great material wealth are somehow missing out in terms of disobedience to God or bad planning. Let’s look at this position before going on.

You cannot find biblical support for the teaching that all believers are meant to be very wealthy. You certainly can take scriptures out of their context or out of the context of the whole word and try to prove that point. But, the fact is, we see examples in the Bible of people who were doing the will of God yet were poor. Indeed, we even see an example given by Jesus where a beggar was received into the arms of Abraham where as a rich man was found in torment.

““Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to sit beside Abraham at the heavenly banquet. The rich man also died and was buried, and he went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side. “But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭16‬:‭22‬-‭23‬, ‭25‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Now, this brings us to the other extreme view of the doctrine of prosperity: that being poor is being righteous; being rich is being evil. This view is also not supported in the Bible. Indeed, we see some of the most righteous characters described as being very rich.

“So Abram left Egypt and traveled north into the Negev, along with his wife and Lot and all that they owned. (Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold.)”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭13‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

So, if being rich is not necessarily the result of being righteous and being poor is not necessarily the result of being sinful, and being rich does not necessarily indicate being evil and being poor does not necessarily mean that you are righteous, what is the biblical view about prosperity?

I will offer here a parable of Jesus that illustrates the biblical view on prosperity:

“Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’ “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.””

‭‭Luke‬ ‭12‬:‭16‬-‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The above parable references an arrogant rich man who was glorying in his ability to attain wealth. Rather than thinking of how he could use that wealth to help others, he decided to hoard his wealth for himself. It didn’t end well for him. But notice, the moral of the story is not that this man was foolish because he was prosperous, but that he was foolish in being arrogant about the fact that he was rich and felt no desire or need to help anybody else. That this is the moral is further confirmed in these words of Jesus:

“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭19‬-‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

You might better understand Jesus’ intended meaning if you replace “store up” with “hoard.” The idea here is of one who never has enough that they want to share with others, but always seeks to store more for themselves. Indeed, treasure in heaven can be stored by using what the Lord has given us to help others.

“He was a devout, God-fearing man, as was everyone in his household. He gave generously to the poor and prayed regularly to God. One afternoon about three o’clock, he had a vision in which he saw an angel of God coming toward him. “Cornelius!” the angel said. Cornelius stared at him in terror. “What is it, sir?” he asked the angel. And the angel replied, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering!”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭10‬:‭2‬-‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This scripture references a Roman officer (most likely, very prosperous) who became a Gentile believer in Jesus Christ. His generosity to the poor had built a memorial in Heaven! So, the Lord sent Peter to give him the Gospel. Additionally, all the people of Cornelius’ household were filled with the Holy Spirit.

Our opening scripture presents an opposite and very sad scenario. We see this rich young ruler who desires to follow Jesus but who was held back because of his great wealth. He was not disqualified because he HAD great wealth, but because his great wealth, HAD him. Reading on in this passage of scripture you will find that the Lord expounds on the fact that it’s difficult for rich people to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. It is not difficult for them BECAUSE they are rich, but because they often TRUST in the riches.

““Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News, will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭10‬:‭29‬-‭30‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Jesus goes on to assure that all acts of self denial for the cause of His kingdom will be rewarded here and in eternity.

I cannot tell you that if you live righteously you will end up being rich in this life. At the same time, it would be wrong to say that the one trusting in the Lord should be poor and/or have no savings. The biblical view is that there is no conflict between material wealth and prosperity in the Kingdom of God. There is, however, great tension between loving riches and loving God; indeed, we’re told that it is ultimately impossible to love both.

“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭24‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Today we lay to rest the false choice between prosperity in this life or eternal reward.

#10daysoffalsechoices