Material Prosperity
We must never conclude that
material prosperity and political power are
indications that God approves of our lifestyle.
Here's Gene:
To understand this Principle,
we need to understand what was happening
during the time that Amos prophesied.
The children of Israel at that time,
when Amos was prophesying,
were actually experiencing economic prosperity.
Tremendous economic prosperity.
They were having military successes.
And unfortunately, they concluded
that it was God's blessing, even though
their leaders were parading their wealth,
parading their position. Were given over
to materialism and immorality as well.
And Amos prophesied against them
that judgment was going to come.
And that's what we read about
in Amos chapter 6 in several of these verses.
Let me share them with you. Verse 4:
They lie on beds inlaid with ivory,
sprawled out on their couches,
and dine on lambs from the flock
and calves from the stall.
He's talking about the leaders in Israel
who are saying: Thank God, He's blessing us.
Even though they were devoted to idolatry
in terms of materialism.
Verse 6:
They drink wine by the bowlful
[and] anoint themselves with the finest oils
but do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.
In other words, that there is deterioration
because of sin within the tribes of Israel--
using Joseph as an illustration.
Verse 14 speaks of judgment:
But look, I am raising up
a nation against you, house of Israel-- ...
And then Amos says:
...this is the declaration of the Lord,
the GOD of Hosts--and [this nation]
they will oppress you
from the entrance of Hamath
to the Brook of the Arabah.
You're going to be judged
because of your materialism.
And you're going to be judged
because of the fact that you are
now engaged in this kind of idolatry.
And you know, as we think about that,
as we think about what we read
in the New Testament, I think there's
a lesson here for all of us.
And that is:
Material prosperity and success
and power are not conclusive evidence
of God's approval of the way we live.
Actually, Jesus said that--this [Mt 5:45]:
..."He [God] causes His sun to rise
on the evil and the good,
and sends rain on the righteous
and the unrighteous."
So the fact that we have
material prosperity is not a sign of God's blessing.
Now it's certainly a blessing from God.
And we need to thank Him
for that blessing.
But it's not necessarily because of our righteousness
and the way we are living.
And Jesus made that very, very clear.
James addressed this issue
and how to handle material blessings
when he wrote and said:
Come now, you who say,
"Today or tomorrow we will travel
to such and such a city and spent a year there
and do business and make a profit." ...
Now don't make a mistake.
He's not saying it's wrong to go
from this city to that city and make a profit.
There's nothing wrong in being
a good businessman or businesswoman.
There's nothing wrong in making money per se.
The problem is: is when we love it
and it becomes a god.
And so James goes on to say:
...You don't even know what tomorrow
will bring--what your life will be!
For you are like smoke that appears
for a little while, [and] then vanishes. ...
And you see, he's dealing with the fact that
we feel like we're in control of our lives.
That's idolatry in itself.
And so he goes on to say:
...Instead, you should say,
"If the Lord wills, we will live
and do this or that." ...
In other words, filling in the blank,
he's saying: You should say,
If it's the Lord's will that I go to this city
or that city and make money.
If it's the Lord's will.
If it's God's will.
In other words, putting God first
in everything we do.
...But as it is, [James says] you boast
in your arrogance. ...
And that's idolatry:
...you boast in your arrogance.
All such boasting is evil.
So it is a sin for the person who knows
to do what is good and doesn't do it.
Come now, you rich people! ...
And he's dealing there with a special problem
within the Christian community.
...Weep and wail over the miseries
that are coming on you. ...
He warns them:
. . . You have lived luxuriously on the land
[and] have indulged yourselves.
You have fattened your hearts
for the day of slaughter.
And doesn't that sound like
the same kind of thing that Amos
was saying in the Old Testament?
In dealing with the fact that
they believed that God was blessing them
in spite of the way they were living.
He was blessing them because, as Jesus said,
the sun shines on the righteous
and the unrighteous.
It's God's mercy. And obviously it's God's grace. So:
In what ways can the teaching
that it's always God's will
to provide His children with good health
and material prosperity lead
to inconsistencies in our lives?
And there are those who teach
that if we're walking in the will of God,
then we should be blessed with health.
We should be blessed with wealth.
Or they will say that this is
God's will for our lives.
And that can lead to some
serious problems--that kind of theology.
For example, people believe that
God is blessing them even though
they're engaged in sinful practice.
Ever met anyone like that?
There are business people in our culture today
who believe that they're wealthy--
even though they lie and cheat
and deceive and are dishonest
and lack integrity.
They believe that they're being blessed by God.
And if God was upset with them,
they wouldn't have any wealth.
And they wouldn't have health.
I can show you people that have
great health and great wealth.
They've been living for the devil
most of their life.
That's God's grace.
So we can draw false conclusions
if we don't understand this.
For example, another issue is they just may be
making more and more money
and they say:
Well, if God weren't blessing me,
I wouldn't be making all this money.
And if you look at their lifestyle,
they don't have their priorities straight.
They're not being generous.
They conclude that God is pleased
with their behavior.
And you and I know that some of the
wealthiest people in the world
are unbelievers and pagan.
Absolutely pagan.
They're selfish.
They even reject belief in a personal God.
So what I'm simply saying is that this Principle--
and let me state it because it summarizes it:
We must never conclude that
material prosperity and political power
are indications that God approves of our lifestyle.
Now He may bless us as Christians.
And we may be living in the will of God.
And we should always glorify Him for that.
But we should never ever use
the blessings that God gives us
as an excuse to violate His values.
To violate His principles.
Because we misinterpret that concept
of material prosperity--in our culture
and other cultures of the world.