Sometimes when you meet with some people who believe that the gospel must end in prosperity, whom you know have been over-indoctrinated into the gospel of prosperity, you just can’t help but wonder where you will start to preach the true gospel to such persons.
The truth is no matter what you tell them, they will never believe in your saying that the end result of the gospel is not prosperity.
The truth is prosperity is our making not of God for us. How wealthy and famous we become in this world is one of our life choices not of God’s making.
In as much as every good gift in life comes from God, God is not in total control of our financial life here on earth.
The only thing God took and solved for humanity in full is salvation from sin and its resulting consequences.
It is the reason it is said that let him that do not work not eat._2 Thessalonians 3:10.
Eating and working are designed by God to work hand in hand.
It is also the reason Peter writes to Timothy that beloveth, I wish that above all things that though prosper and be in good health even as though soul prosper. 3 John 1:2
The truth is, you can prosper in your soul here; in your walk with God. But if you do not do the needful to prosper materially and health-wise here on earth, you will be poor in material things in this world and die afterwards and go to heaven.
The truth is the call of God on any man in the Bible isn’t to end in material acquisition. In as much as Material blessings is one of the tagline for propagating the gospel to the nations of the world, but that is not the focus of the gospel in the life of a man.
It is why on the last day, God is not going to judge men by the number of material acquisitions to gather in his life. But by the number of souls, they win into the kingdom.
If the blessings of God are all about earthly prosperity and material acquisition, many unbelievers who don’t know our God who are the richest peoples on earth would say our God has failed us.
The reason is that the majority of the people who didn’t walk with God even in the bible were in one way or another richer than those who walk with God materially in the bible.
Take for instance Cain in the Bible was said to be so rich in the bible after killing his brother that he built a city and named the city after his son._Genesis 4:17
The same was Esau who was richer than Jacob materially even after being blessed by their father before leaving their father’s home God gave him a piece of advice on how to bargain with Laban still his wealth wasn’t to be compared to that of his brother Esau.
At the same time, he became broke due to farming and had to run off to Egypt for survival under the covering of his son in Egypt.
So in the Old Testament
If you check all the old patriots, you will discover the majority of them who walk with God weren’t as rich as those who do not walk with God, Whose interest was just after the chase of money and material wealth.
It is the same reason why a genuine man of God in our world today may not also be as rich as the richest man in the world but richer in Godly heritage.
The question we may need to ask ourselves is; between a sinner who went farming and to sow his seed when the rain fell and a Godly man who didn’t farm or sow his seed to harvest during the rainy season and was busy preaching about the kingdom of God, which one do we really think will be richer in material wealth and have more food to eat?
The truth is, this is how the material blessing works in the world. It is not of God’s making. If not God will be termed unjust God being biased for giving some people money and material wealth while he leaves others to suffer in servile poverty.
This is not the nature of our father who causes the rain and the sun to fall on the farm of both the good and the bad.
And Jesus writing in the book of Mathew 5:48, said we should be perfect even as our heavenly father is perfect.
So the proof of perfection in the kingdom is not in the acquisition of all kinds of material wealth neither is it in the belief of self-righteousness. But it is about being liberal in our dealings with everyone. To both the good and the bad. By judging everyone justly with the eyes and the doctrines of God.
So the book of Romans 14:17 apostle Paul in his writing has to tell us that the kingdom of God is not in the eating and drinking but of righteousness, peace of mind and joy in the holy ghost.
Let this also be your measure of God’s workings and blessings in the life of a believer.
